Hacksaw: First in the Eva Baum Detective Series

Charlotte Phillips & Mark Phillips
iUniverse (2007)
ISBN 9780595456079
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/08)


I always know that whenever I get my hands on a book published by iUniverse, I am going to love it.  Once again, iUniverse did not let me down.  “Hacksaw” is the first book in the Eva Baum Detective Series.  It is written by the husband and wife writing team of Charlotte Phillips and Mark Phillips.
       
“Hacksaw” immediately pulled me in.  It is one of those books that has so many twists and turns that you won’t want to put it down.  The main character, Eva Baum, is a private investigator.  She does her best to do what is right, but she also has to deal with temptations that sometimes involve having to step around the law.  She learns from those lessons.  When pushed into a corner, she does not back down.  As a matter of fact, you really wouldn’t want to find out what she can do when pushed.  I loved this aspect of her character.  As a woman, it made me feel empowered.  Even if she is just a fictional character, I had thoughts like, “If she can do it, so can I.” 
      
I also liked Eva’s independence.  She knows what she wants and goes for it.  She is loyal to the people around her.  In this story, Eva is trying to help Shade, who is a mentally ill man still emotionally recovering from having been accused of being Hacksaw.  Hacksaw is a serial killer who likes to torture and dismember his victims.  Shade was cleared of any wrongdoing; however, mentally he suffered dearly from the whole ordeal.  When Shade is beaten up by someone seeking his ex-wife Julie, Eva steps in.  She discovers that there are several people looking for Julie and none of them are reputable characters.  It appears that Hacksaw himself is after her.
      
Eva has to step down into the dark world of drugs, pornography and prostitution to get clues of Julie’s whereabouts.  She encounters some really unscrupulous people.  Her own life becomes at stake.  She also learns a hard lesson about betrayal.
        
“Hacksaw” is a great female private-eye mystery.  Both men and women will love this book.  I am looking forward to future books in the Eva Baum series.  I don’t think that we have heard the last of the Phillips and Phillips writing team.

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