Terry’s not quite ex-wife Marylou (she wanted to divorce him while he was in jail, but now is not in such a hurry to do so) has tracked him down and wants him to help her move (actually, she wants more, but decides this is a good place to start). Terry declines, knowing that any involvement with Marylou can only lead to trouble. And trouble does find him one night when Marylou is found wondering around his trailer park wasted, gun in hand and a dead man in a nearby trailer.

For all of Marylou’s faults, Terry knows she wouldn’t kill anyone, even if she was stoned out of her mind. With a little help from his friends, Terry sets about finding the real killer. In the meantime, Terry and the boys are trying to finish an addition to the bar Gruf’s father owns and find themselves without night jobs as they clash with the new owners of Carlo’s.

Lights Out, the second Working Man mystery, finds Terry adjusting to his new life quite well. He took a job (the delivery job) without worrying if it was beneath him or not just to get back on his feet. The other employees at the pizza place took Terry right under their wings and now he is able to return the favor as he hires some of them to help with his carpentry work.

The camaraderie the group has formed shines through as do the individual characters. It makes the group fun to read about and readers will feel as if they are sitting at the next booth at breakfast eavesdropping on them. Even though the state (Ohio) is mentioned, the setting is written as such that it could be any small town USA, lending a familiarity to the story. Marylou, while not always portrayed by Terry in the best of lights, can be a sympathetic character and fans will find themselves rooting for her.

Terry and his friends first must track down the identity of the dead man, why he was there and why Marylou was with him, especially since she remembers none of the evening. Terry uses his limited contact and since he doesn’t know many of the players as well as his friends, he has a fresh perspective on many of their situations. This ultimately helps him put all the pieces together before he and Marylou end up in a reversal of roles. A budding romance for Terry adds some lightness to the story. Lights Out is a fast-paced read that will win Terry some new fans and have everyone rooting for this unlikely hero.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry