Noah Valentine, fresh from processing some (some) of the problems that were holding him back in Hidden Treasures, solves another murder — this time with his mother visiting from Grand Rapids.

Thornton sets this one around the Thanksgiving holiday, and makes multiple attempts to justify only paying lip service to Pinx Video, which largely works. The ending itself if pretty obvious while the whodunit is the least predictable to date. At this point it is hard to deny that Noah’s team of sidekicks is largely interchangeable, but the addition of his mother to the dynamic is nice, particularly after her brief flirtation with Christian radicalisation in Hidden Treasures; it’s nice to read a period book like this with supportive family members on the protagonist’s side.

Late Fees shows a light hearted series that has developed a sense of optimism as it has progressed, allowing its lead to come out of his shell and endear himself to the readers more. Despite Noah’s surprising naïveté (and Thornton’s occasional editorial hiccups - this book misspells both Roy Cohn and Whoopi Goldberg’s names), the Pinx Video series proves itself once again a capable cosy.