The Duke of Cleveland: A Milan Jacovich Mystery

Les Roberts' Cleveland settings were what attracted me to him in the first place: I went to college near Cleveland, and have family there. But having been attracted, I found myself delighted as well: this is a great series of detective novels...good plot, interesting characters, and some very masterful writing. I recommend the whole series--highly.

This is the second Milan Jacovich mystery that I've read and I'm finding that he's growing on me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the first book I read - I did, but as I get to know Milan better, he's becoming like an old friend and I've felt comfortable slipping back into Cleveland to visit him again. "So why should I read this book?" you ask. Well, if you like a good private investigator mystery with little violence, only a bit of swearing (Milan Frowns on it) and interesting, believable characters, I think you'll enjoy this book.Milan is hired by a beautiful young heiress to find her boyfriend, a middle-aged artist who has also disappeared with $18,000 that she loaned him. When Milan starts asking around, he finds that the guy he's looking for is a hustler and there are quite a few people in town that would also like to get their hands on him. The Cleveland art scene, or more specifically the ceramic art scene, comes under the spotlight as Milan conducts his investigation.By the way, as Les Roberts goes to great pains to explain, Milan Jacovich is pronounced (MY-lan Yacovich), so make sure you get the pronunciation right.

Ethical Milan Jacovich mixes with Victor Gaimari, the Cleveland mob figure. Even though Milan despises what Victor stands for, Milan respects Victor in a strange way. Victor likewise shares the same sentiments about Milan. Their friendship becomes cemented in a delightful, captivating read in "The Duke of Cleveland."