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Q: What do you get when you combine the camaraderie of the gang in the Oceans Eleven series, the plotting and intrigue of a newish James Bond movie, the hard-boiled romance of an old time Humphrey Bogart flick, and the epic-action-adventure-mayhem of a Marvel comic-book?

A: this latest installment in the always-excellent Clay Wolfe detective series is sure to keep the reader entertained and engaged as the latest crime-wave to hit the sunny summer paradise of Port Essex Maine finds its way to the doorstep of the always unflappably-dapper (red-brocade waistcoat and all) Master PI.

A definitely more seasoned private investigator since he hung out his shingle three books ago, Clay is older, arguably wiser, still deeply in love with his now-partner Baylee (a relationship as of yet, for various reasons conspiring against them, sadly unconsummated), and yet just as susceptible to finding himself on the jagged-tail end of trouble, violence, and even the law.

With a knack for both solving crimes and discovering them, in this edition, Clay and his local team (we can definitely call them a gang) of friends and colleagues have their hands full when local sightings of a strange, shimmering airborne object raise alarm bells, seeming to indicate a hard-to-fathom alien invasion, or, perhaps even more alarmingly, a new and awe-inspiring foreign secret invention.

As Clay maneuvers his way through the romantic engagement of an old-college friendship; a commission from an unlikely US Military alien task force; a missing wife; a sadistic assassin; a horrifying chemical weapon; and the sparkling blue eyes of a monster-madman; there is no rest in sight as the plot escalates with chilling precision to a finale that is every bit as grand (in keeping with previous series crash-bang endings), as it may be unexpectedly emotional.

Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), suffice it to say that changes are afoot in this series, which (happily for this reader), along with this group of now-old friends, shows no sign of slowing in big-hearted appeal.

A great big thank you to the author for an ARC of this wonderful book. All thoughts presented are my own.