Quinn Checks In: (Liam Quinn Mystery #1) (Liam Quinn Mysteries) Paperback – May 14, 2013

Liam Quinn gave up a promising boxing career to become an artist, much to the displeasure of his cop father, cop brother, and the rest of the Quinns. He figured out as artist, he was a pretty good forger, and ooops, ended up going to prison. He served his time and landed a job with an employer sympathetic to ex cons as an insurance investigator. He’s serious about going straight and just wants to pay his debt to society (literally and figuratively). In this first book in the series, he catches a case involving a stolen Dutch master with an eight-figure price tag. Who better to figure out the painting might be a forgery than Quinn?This was a surprisingly entertaining, action-packed story with well-developed characters, sharp and witty dialogue, tight writing, and great scene-setting. “It was the kind of place where you could smell the urinals ten feet before the bathroom door and half the customers even sooner.” And, “I had tried to be polite about it. To an extent. Abel had said something nasty about my mother, which is a no go, because my mother is a freakin’ saint. I’d reminded him that his mother wouldn’t find that very polite, and would most certainly tell him herself, if she ever got her face out of my crotch. From there, the discourse had progressed in a southerly direction.”I had a great time reading this, and will read more in this series. If you like Janet Evanovich, Carl Hiassen, Mike Faricy, or Gregory Mcdonald, give this series a try.

An artist turned forger turned investigator?! How can you not love that. This is a terrific book. The main character is likable & his friends & family are too. I'm looking forward to reading more Quinn stories.

Liam is a good guy who went bad. He's now back to being a good guy atoning for the bad decisions that put him in trouble with the law and the shame he brought to his family and the Philly neighborhood he grew up in.Given a break by a family friend he investigates insurance fraud cases, in this case a gallery robbery, and a beer theft at a stadium. But first the book opens with him closing a case of a biker faking his death. In a knockdown fight with the guy and his buddy he closes the case. Oh, did I mention he was a boxer and an artist in his youth among other things?This book was a rollicking ride of fights, intelligent discourses on issues of the day how Liam I'd atoning and also an informative look at the neighborhoods of the city of Philadelphia and it's citizens.My only quibble is there were some minor editing issues like word misspelling that for me at least jarred me as I read. But the writing itself was excellent, interesting and thoughtful as well as a challenging enough mystery. Enough so that I have already downloaded the next in the series and two others offered by joining Ian loome's newsletter.Give it a try!

Not Kindle Unlimited, and not in Grammar school either, for those who decided to be grammar nazis. When I am physically reading a book, if can understand what it all means, then ignore the rest; if listening {most of the time} same thing goes, and do not take off stars if it's through audible mess of a program. The story is the point, as in was it well told, etcetera, and everything else is a personal opinion that others should not bother with nor take in to account, because everybody has their usual genres they read, but the point is regardless of that was the aforementioned items good or not so good or bad. Amazon also needs to rethink the star rating, because obviously quite a few people don't know what the rating system is actually supposed to mean. I also don't put any stock in someone who writes a couple of words saying something such as ''don't bother'', because that told me absolutely nothing. Oh got this as freebie somewhere and reviewed it, blah blah blah, as if that matters; I either like a book or I don't, and that's what the bloody rating system is supposed to be for.Quinn Checks In (Liam Quinn Mysteries #1) - Quinn Gets His Kicks (Liam Quinn Mysteries #2) - Quinn and the Deadly Diner (Liam Quinn Mysteries #2.5) - Quinn Goes West (Liam Quinn Mysteries #3) - Quinn & The Vanishing Bride (Liam Quinn Mysteries #4) - Quinn Gets the Blues (Liam Quinn Mysteries #5) - Quinn & The Dead Man's Daughter (Liam Quinn Mysteries #6) - Quinn Slips the Noose (Liam Quinn Mysteries #7) - Quinn Goes to Jail (Liam Quinn Mysteries #8) - Quinn Gets Hitched (Liam Quinn Mysteries #9)The Rough Side (Brett Harrison Mysteries #1)Abigail Deane and the Demon's Gate (Abigail Deane #1) - Abigail Deane and The Sapphire's Curse (Abigail Deane #2)Terrible People Doing Terrible ThingsThe Antique Hunters - The Process Server - The Rough SideBuried in Benidorm (Max Castillo Mystery, #1) - Vendetta in Valencia (Max Castillo Mystery #2) - Suicide in Salobrena (Max Castillo Mystery #3)Maximum Max: The First Three Max Castillo Mysteries (Max Castillo Mystery, #1-3)Revenge in Ronda (Max Castillo Mystery #4)

I like the fact that this is a detective story from another angle. As an insurance investigator, Quinn doesn't have the same resources or powers that the police have, but he is still able to get to the truth of a situation faster than they can. He is fortunate that his father is a retired policeman and his brother is still on the force in that dropping their names gets him further at times than his own name alone would do. The fact that his brother considers him a stain on the family name and prefers not to speak to him, is no barrier to Quinn's name dropping. His own criminal past is little hindrance to his investigative abilities as he uses the things he has learned and the contacts he has made to best advantage in his post-jail, going straight world. It seems that Quinn has always been a helpful kind of man and a lot of people seem to owe him favours which he doesn't hesitate to call in to help him resolve this case. Being an ex-boxer and keeping himself pretty fit is also a huge advantage to him when the bad guys take exception to his investigations, but will it be enough, as having a criminal record means that he isn't allowed to carry a gun and can't afford to break the law, that is not a regulation which the people chasing him are too worried about adhering to.Basically Quinn is a nice guy who has made mistakes in the past which he is determined not to repeat. He also has a big down on himself, and will do a favour for anyone but himself. There are a number of ladies who would be glad to get to know him better, but he thinks they deserve more than him. I do hope that there is at least one who is not so easily put off.This book isn't high octane, even though there are a few car chases, nor is it an unputdownable read, but it is diverting and entertaining and I enjoyed it and would recommend it. I will also look out for further books in the series and am sure that I will also enjoy reading them.

The opening episode in the Quinn series, this fast-paced private investigation features an intriguing core character in a savvy scenario. Like old-fashioned pulp fiction detectives, Quinn is a good guy who’s been a bit of a bad boy.He has contacts on both sides of the Philadelphia backstreets where he investigates insurance claims. He’s been inside, is owed a few favours, but has family in the force. He’s more than capable of breaking a few heads if the odds in a dark alley stack up against him. Yet Quinn also has a creative streak and a history with art… art fraud in particular. And that’s how he ends up investigating the theft of a Vermeer painting.The author’s free-flowing writing is dry, worldly-wise and seething with snappy one-liners. Quinn’s universe is comprehensively constructed with a tip of the hat to all kinds of genre tropes. It all feels familiar – but given a refresh and a modern spring in its step. Quinn plainly is a hard man but he’s as smart as Jack Reacher when it comes to calculating a fight – and the carefully choreographed and tightly-described fight scenes are as good as I’ve read in a long while.LH Thomson has built an intriguing urban environment for Quinn to develop in. Best of all, he satisfactorily wrapped up this mystery, pulling myriad plot threads together in fine style, yet left some interesting avenues open for future exploration.All of which bodes well for the next book…9/10There's more about this thriller and other crime fiction at murdermayhemandmore.net

I got this book through bookbub recommendation and I'm happy to say its one of my better decisions lately. I managed to read all of the book which means that although there are still the dreaded filler pages, here they are usually just a few lines of back story. Quinn is well written, quite pacy, with entertaining characters to make the storyline flow. I think,for me at least, there were a few to many characters cos I found myself trying to remember where they all fit, but that's probably my lack of memory retention rather than the book. Anyway, the question is will I read another book in the series? The answer is yes. Which in itself says all you really need to know. Give it a go, the most you can lose is a couple of hours entertainment but like me, you may have discovered a new author to read.

I was pleasantly surprised how this book kept my interest and i couldnt put it down.Quinn is a fabulous character so real and raw but with a sense of humour. Great character.Im a fan of crime stories but this was different with fine art being involved. The author was very knowledgable and made for an interesting story.Could not rate this story higher. Brilliant.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are great and Liam the main character comes across really well. Its great that this isn't just another 'war hero, turned cop' book. I like the way the family is included too.Great pace, lots of action without any gore. A good who dunnit, and twists along the way Clever. And fresh. I will be downloading the next book in this series. If you like plenty of action, a few gangsters and a great story definitely give this author and book a go.