I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

What begins as a simple Ponzi scheme investigation becomes a race against time for one private investigator as he comes across a conspiracy of drugs and murder in author Dan Flanigan’s “Mink Eyes”, A Peter O’Keefe novel.

The Synopsis

October 1986—the tarnished heart of the “Greed is Good” decade.

Private detective Peter O’Keefe, a physically scarred and emotionally battered Vietnam vet, is hired by childhood friend and attorney Mike Harrigan to investigate what appears to be a petty mink farm Ponzi scheme in the Ozarks. But quickly O’Keefe finds himself snared in a vicious web of money laundering, cocaine smuggling, and murder—all at the behest of a mysterious mobster only referred to as Mr. Canada. Also caught up in Mr. Canada’s illicit network is the exquisite Tag Parker, who seems to dance between roles as the woman of O’Keefe’s dreams—and his nightmares.

From start to finish Mink Eyes delivers classic noir crime fiction at its finest. In a category filled with formulaic and predictable characters and plot lines, reviewers are calling Mink Eyes absolutely “unique and unexpected.”

The Review

This was a gripping and captivating noir thriller. The hard-broiled, gumshoe-style noir meets detective thriller found the perfect balance between the more modern (relative to most noir storylines) setting and the style and genre noir is known for. The gritty tone and the atmospheric way the novel’s mystery is brought forward kept the reader engaged with the characters themselves.

The character development in this book really brought this novel home. The classic themes the author plays on, including the detective being a war veteran, add depth and emotion to the protagonist’s arc, as he struggles with the haunting imagery that his time in Vietnam had on him whilst wrestling with the complex yet truly villainous Mr. Canada.

The Verdict

Memorable, gripping, and entertaining author Dan Flanigan’s “Mink Eyes” is a must-read noir thriller. The twisted, shocking revelations and action-packed mystery will keep readers hanging onto the author’s every word. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Dan Flanigan is a novelist, playwright, poet, and practicing lawyer. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Rice University and J.D. from the University of Houston. He taught Jurisprudence at the University of Houston and American Legal History at the University of Virginia. His first published book was his Ph.D. dissertation, “The Criminal Law of Slavery and Freedom, 1800-1868.”

He moved on from academia to serve the civil rights cause as a school desegregation lawyer, followed by a long career as a finance attorney in private law practice. He became a name partner in the Polsinelli law firm in Kansas City, created its Financial Services practice, chaired its Real Estate & Financial Services Department for two decades, and established the firm’s New York City office and served as its managing partner until October 2022.

Taking a break from the law practice for two years, he and his wife, Candy, founded Sierra Tucson, a prominent alcohol and drug treatment center located in Tucson, Arizona.

Recently, he has been able to turn his attention to his lifelong ambition—creative writing. In 2019 he released a literary trifecta including “Mink Eyes,” the first in what has become the Peter O’Keefe detective series, which was a 2023 Best Book Award Legacy Fiction Finalist, “Dewdrops,” a collection of shorter fiction, and “Tenebrae: A Memoir of Love and Death.”

“Tenebrae” is a bracelet of verse and prose poems dedicated to his wife, Candy, to honor her last illness and death and their 40-plus years together, a work that has been described as “celebratory” and “heartbreaking and exquisite.” It was a Finalist for both the 2022 IAN Book of the Year in Poetry and in the 2022 American Book Fest “Best Book” Award in the Legacy: Autobiography/Memoir category.

“The Big Tilt”, the award-winning second book in the Peter O’Keefe series, was published in 2020 and has been described as “deft, hard-boiled, but literary prose that’s reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s best work.” The Big Tilt won the 2022 National Indie Excellence Award for Crime Fiction and was a Finalist for the 2022 Independent Author Network’s Book of the Year in Thriller/Suspense. Most recently, “The Big Tilt” was a Legacy Fiction finalist for the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award as well as making the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize Short List.

“On Lonesome Roads,” published April 26, 2022, is the third book in the series and continues in the award-winning tradition of its predecessor. Honored as a Notable 100 Book in the 2022 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition, “On Lonesome Roads” has more recently been a finalist for Crime Fiction in the 2023 National Indie Excellence Awards (after “The Big Tilt” won the award in 2022), a silver medalist for the 2023 IPPY Ebook awards, and winner of the 2023 American Fiction Awards in the Mystery/Suspense category.

Dan has also written stage plays including “Secrets” (based on the life of Eleanor Marx) and “Moondog’s Progress” (inspired by the life of Alan Freed), which was awarded the 2022 Honorable Mention in the 91st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition for “Script.”

His novella, “Dewdrops,” was originally written for the stage and enjoyed a full-cast staged reading at the Theatre of the Open Eye in New York. The short story collection comprised of “Dewdrops,” “On the Last Frontier” and “Some Cold War Blues” was a Finalist in the 2022 Independent Author Network Book of the Year for Short Story Collection and a 2022 American Book Fest “Best Book” Award Finalist in Fiction-Short Story.

Dan serves on the Board of Directors of Childhood USA, the U.S. arm of the World Childhood Foundation, established by Queen Silvia of Sweden, working to end child sexual abuse and exploitation everywhere. He divides his time among Kansas City, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Dan Flanigan