Third in the Leipfold Mysteries series, The Leipfold Files, by Dane Cobain, is a series of discreet, but connected, short stories. These stories mostly cover James Leipfold’s life prior to what’s recorded in Driven and The Tower Hill Terror (both of which I reviewed previously). However, a few stories cover cases occurring between those enacted in the prior books.
In these stories we learn how 14-year-old James Leipfold first meets novice policeman, Jack Cholmondeley. The reader learns why Leipfold no longer drinks and how he edged his way into becoming a private investigator. Leipfold’s assistant, Maile O’Hara, figures in the later stories in this collection. These stories occur in the time frame between the previous books. She gets no introduction here, under the assumption that the reader has read the previous tomes.
Some scenes covered in these stories have been referenced in previous books, such as the breaking and entering incident at the building housing Leipfold’s office. However, a bit more is added so that these instances are fleshed out. All in all, these stories round out James Leipold as a bit of an eccentric with a formidable memory. His ability to resolve problems makes his transition from jailbird to private investigator an almost foregone conclusion. Maile adds to the storyline with her in-depth knowledge of most computer-related things.
I enjoy the teetotalling, ginger-haired PI. So, I finished The Leipfold Files in two days. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Leipfold and Maile, his tech-savvy assistant, in future outings.
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The Leipfold Files
by Dane Cobain
©2022
Encircle Publications