THE FIRST RULE OF TEN by GAY HENDRICKS AND TINKER LINDSAY

Tenzing Norbu, or Ten, is a dectective for the LAPD. Although he is commonly believed to be the rising star of the squad, Ten is tired of the LAPD. Then he is grazed by a bullet while answering a call. As he says, that is a wake up call. Ten quits and decided to become a PI and go out on his own. He quickly finds out that going it alone is no safer than being a detective for the LAPD. What follows is a classic mystery in the vein of those by such as Earl Stanley Gardner, Sue Grafton, or Micheal Connelly. Interestingly, Mr. Hendricks credits the same authors for inspiring him. If he was trying to emulate them, he was a success. As a pleasant surprise, Hendricks and Lindsay have given their main character a little twist to set him apart from the myriad of PIs out there in fiction land. Ten spent his formative years in a Tibetan monastery being raised by the monks, one of which is his father. This experience gives Ten a different way of looking at things, which he uses in his everyday life in various ways. In addition, though, Ten is not just a spiritual person, but very human and imperfect in addition. Following his thought patterns and actions was a thouroughly enjoyable experience as I read through this book. Add to Ten a cast of characters ranging from an ex-con techie sidekick to Tank the persian blue cat that shares Ten's life and you have a story that will draw you in and keep you turning the pages wanting to know how it all turns out. A wonderful first book by both Hendricks and Lindsay. I understand that it is the first in what is to be a series of books with Ten as the protagonist. I certainly hope so. I am looking forward to reading more about Ten and his cohorts.