Archie Monday was the assistant to the late Robin Spencer. In the two years since her death, Archie continued to live on the estate to work on Robins manuscripts although Robin’s son Mac Faraday inherited the estate and has taken up residency in the main house. One day Archie was taking Mac’s German shepherd to the groomer when she noticed a local police car following her. Thinking it was strange that two men she didn’t recognize were tailing her and attempting to pull her over; she grabbed her handgun and stopped the two hit men before they could get her.

Twelve years ago a student librarian by the name of Kendra Douglas witnessed the beating and murder of a University of Maryland college professor accused of having an affair with a man’s wife. Come to find out, Kendra had gone into the witness protection program and had hidden out on Robin Spenser’s estate. Somehow the mobster who killed the professor found out that Archie was Kendra, the witness that put him in prison, and sent his goons to kill her.

Mac Faraday and his half-brother and police chief David O’Callaghan went into action to protect Archie until they could stop crime boss Tommie Cruze from following up on his vow to destroy the witness that sent him to prison. As the bodies fall, and the FBI’s presence increases and the investigation heats up, the two men must follow their instincts and the clues in order to save their loved ones.

Blast from the Past is the fourth Mac Faraday mystery by Lauren Carr. It is also the first where we find out more about Archie Monday and why she has stayed quietly loyal of the Spencer estate. This novel brings all our favorite characters into the picture while introducing a couple of new ones.

Carr is comfortably settling into the series, digging deeper into the histories and personalities of her characters. Although readers can start anywhere in the series, going back to the beginning will help them understand the various relationships of the series regulars.

Carr began her successful mysteries with prosecutor Joshua Thornton before starting the Mac Faraday mysteries. Now she has created a new Lovers in Crime series that features Thornton and homicide detective Cameron Gates.

All of her mysteries are interesting and fun to read. Her characters are well-rounded and ring true, which brings a believability to the stories. Avid readers will be glad that new installments are on the way.

A special thank you goes to Acorn Book Services for sending a complimentary copy of Blast from the Past for our review. If you are interested in any of the mysteries written by Lauren Carr, they are available at Amazon.com.