The Next Act by authors Jim Jesson and Pete Jesson is engrossing and highly entertaining. The book contains twenty short stories spanning the life of a detective Jim and his son Pete…yes, the authors. The short stories are about individual cases that Jim, and sometimes Pete, investigated and solved.  They are not in chronological order and The Next Act jumps back and forth from Jim being in elementary school solving a puzzling case of musical chairs to being a police detective chasing down suspects in a mob heist. He moves on to become his own private investigator solving mysteries through the many referrals he has gained throughout his years.

Jim was born to be a detective and we soon see why he is in demand to solve any mystery. He calls on his techie son Pete to join him in some of the cases as decades pass and technology becomes part of the puzzles. What I really liked about this book is the diversity of the stories. From seemingly mundane cases which are solved with extra ordinary circumstances to the complete opposite with complex problems being solved quickly with the simplest answers. Jim and Pete have definitely interesting lives.

Now as authors, Jim and Pete can also hold their own. Using a lighthearted narrative style from Jim's point of view, it pulls you into the plot of each story quickly and the clues start piling up to see if you can solve that mystery before Jim does. The interaction with Jim and the minor characters makes you feel like Jim has known them for years and, maybe he has. This book is a winner, but I am a bit miffed that Jim and Pete put in only Part I of two different stories and no Part 2’s!! Now I will have to read their next book to see how Jim and Pete solve the Missing Math Man and the Mr. Dix story.