Have you ever had one of those days when you wake up and you are not sure where you are or how you got there? Richard "Dick" Moonlight was a PI who was going through some personal issues. Unfortunately, his professional life was not doing so well either.

One day Moonlight woke up groggy and wondering how he fell asleep in the first place. Not only that, but he was wearing handcuffs that were also attached to a huge guy who must have been a former National Football League tackle.

As things became a bit clearer, he realized he was on an airplane that was in the process of flying into turbulent weather, and he had no idea where it was heading. He honestly had no recall as to how and why he got there.

After a very rough ride, he was tasered, placed in a body bag, sent down the emergency shoot, ending up in the hands of the FBI. They sent him to Italy to find a flash drive left over from a previous case. Along the way he had to contend with a rogue cop; his ex, Lola; a bunch of Russian bad guys; and his own demons, including a bullet fragment in his head.

Blue Moonlight was written by Vincent Zandri, the best-selling author of numerous well-regarded novels including Moonlight Falls. In this series, he has created a flawed hero who does the best he can to get through life no matter how difficult it seems or what it takes.

This is the first of Zandri's books that I have read, and it was a bit of a struggle staying with it in the first couple of chapters, but the story became more interesting to me later on as I got deeper into the plot.

There is a surprising depth to the character Dick Moonlight that you rarely see in most fictional detectives, especially when he shows feelings for others.

The gritty, sometimes harsh story line won't be for everyone, but those who like this type of mystery should thoroughly enjoy the read. It's written in somewhat of a noir style reminiscent of the thirties and forties, and arrives to an understandable and satisfying finish.

A special thank you goes to Thomas & Mercer and Amazon Vine for providing a complimentary copy of Blue Moonlight for our review. If you are interested in obtaining your own copy of any of Vincent Zandri’s novels, they are available at Amazon.com.