The Starr Sting Scale: The Candace Starr Series (Candace Starr #1)

Intrigued by the idea of a hard-drinking retired hitwoman agreeing to help a classy female detective catch a killer, I couldnt read fast enough to find out what awaited them in this gripping page-turner. I was particularly impressed by the first-person POV, quirky characters, dark humor, plot twists, and an unexpected ending. Its officialIm now a fan of The Candace Starr Series and hope that Ms. OCinneide will deliver the next installment ASAP.

Oh to be a retired hit-woman, or is it hit-person? Candace Starr, out of jail and making ends meet by a variety of jobs, legal and maybe not so, finds herself involved, reluctantly, with the cops to solve a murder, she may have knowledge of. And so it goes, and go it does. Ms. O\’Cinneide keeps the action coming through a parade of characters and incidents that hold the reader in till the very end and what an end it is. Fun and entertaining with a lead character that might be tough to love, but oh so interesting.

Candace Starr is a \”retired\” hit woman. (personal assassin, please!) She states,\”I\’m not in the game anymore…cooling my jets since prison, working at the E-Zee Market and keeping a low profile.\” Fat chance. Society maven Kristina Corrigan seeks Candace out. She agrees to pay Candace to \”off\” her daughter\’s boyfriend, Tyler Brent. \”He is a parasite. A barnacle affixed to the hull of society with no purpose or design.\” \”Ten thousand…delivered like I tell you\”, says Candace. \”So much for retirement.\” Candace Starr is a six foot three, unapologetic alcoholic who favors straight bourbon. She has amassed a \”stunning collection of ways to kill people.\” Her vocabulary is crude and rude. She doesn\’t have friends since it is \”…more lucrative to cultivate people that \’owe\’ her.\” Two unwelcome police detectives arrive on her doorstep, a small abode over the E-Zee Market. Detective Saunders, instrumental in sending Candace \”up the river\” shows her a newspaper clipping. Tyler Brent, seventeen, was found down by the river with his neck broken. Saunders says it looks like Candace\’s work and wants to view the security tapes from the time in question, the hours when Candace was working at the E-Zee Market. Saunders leaves but Detective Malone stays behind to continue to question Candace. Chien-Shiung Malone is a classy, tall Asian female attired in a crisp white shirt and tailored black pants. Detective Malone asks Candace to help her find out who \”offed the kid\” in exchange for opening the file on Mike Starr\’s murder. \”I was inside…awaiting trial…[when they] took out my dad…I tapped every connection I had to find out who was behind his death…nobody was talking.\” Candace agrees to help Malone investigate the death of Tyler Brent. Did Malone have a hidden agenda? Malone and Candace inspect the crime scene. If asked, Candace will be introduced as PI Carrie Fisher, a comic touch! Combing the surrounding area, the duo discovers a zip line near the bend in the river. Tyler\’s cell phone is missing. Candace needs to assist Malone while staying under the radar. If her parole officer finds out…[she could be] back in a prison jumpsuit…I look like shit in orange.\” \”The Starr Sting Scale: The Candace Starr Series\” by C.S. O\’Cinneide is the first book in a hard-boiled crime fiction series. I enjoyed the unique pairing of Candace Starr and Detective Chien-Shiung Malone. I am looking forward to the continued escapades of Candace (not Candy) Starr. Thank you Dundurn Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review \”The Starr Sting Scale\”.

I grabbed this off the library shelf and loved it so much I\’m buying it. Noir with a sense of humor, strong female leads, and a very morally compromised main character. First in a series of three, and you bet I\’ll be buying the others too.

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