Book Review: "Hit & Run" by Maxine O'Callaghan

"Hit & Run" by Maxine O'Callaghan was a fun read with enough red herrings to make it difficult to figure out who done it. This is the third book in the series but the mystery does not rely on the previous two to bolster the story. I think it's worth four of five stars, let me tell you why.

Our main character is a female P.I. who is probably too curious for her own good. To me, the character that the author creates in Hit & Run, Delilah West, is a combination of Sue Grafton's character Kinsey Millhone and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.

Delilah has the tenacity of the Millhone character, she just won't let an injustice go but she is poor as a church mouse at the moment, much like the Plum character. Delilah is living in her office and sleeping in a sleeping bag on her office floor. She hunts down small jobs from insurance companies and lawyer's offices but this still isn't enough to put food on the table so she moonlights as a waitress at a mom and pop restaurant to make ends meet.

"Hit & Run" begins with Delilah being struck by a car on a rainy night. She is unhurt but there is a body in the road and she is the only witness to this brutal slaying. It seems that a reckless driver in his Trans Am has mowed down an elderly man who was out for a walk. But is this actually the case? Is Delilah sure that's what she saw? The young man who is quickly charged with the murder claims he didn't do it and his mother tries to hire Delilah to look into the incident. 

The interesting conflict of interest that our main character finds herself in really adds to the mystery. The reader can't help ask whether Delilah should even be involved in this investigation. By poking her nose in where it ostensibly doesn't belong, she is essentially invalidating her testimony at any trial that is held for this murder. Delilah can't let it go though, she thinks there just might be a miscarriage of justice. Finding whether there is another killer puts her own life on the line.

Maxine O'Callaghan's book is well written and I think this character can grow into a strong lead. My only complaint is that there was so much focus on her monetary circumstances that it did detract from the book. I look forward to reading more of this character, she's a strong female lead that competes well with other female P.I.'s in this genre. As I said, O'Callaghan's character holds it's own against the likes of Grafton, Evanovich, Paretsky, Jance and Robb. If you like these authors, I think you'll like this series. It's worth a try, adding another author to your favorites is always a treat.

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