ARC Review: Stakeouts and Strollers by Rob Phillips

Stakeouts and Strollers
Author: Rob Phillips
Publication: Minotaur Books (March 17, 2026)

Description: Amateur private investigator and new dad Charlie Shaw gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a young girl’s missing father in Rob Phillips' 2024 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Mystery Novel award-winning debut.

Charlie Shaw is low on sleep. And cash. Otherwise, life is going pretty well for the ex-crime reporter: he’s happily married to his college sweetheart, he’s a first-time dad to the most adorable baby girl in existence, and he’s making ends meet as a rookie PI. But when Charlie meets Friday Finley, a frightened sixteen-year-old runaway on a stakeout-gone-wrong, his world gets a little more complicated.

Friday is looking for her estranged father Shawn, an unreliable alcoholic who left when she was young―and who also happens to be her only shot at avoiding the foster care system since her mother’s death a few weeks earlier. At first, Charlie believes the man is simply hiding out somewhere, avoiding his responsibilities as usual, but the more he investigates, the more unsettling―and dangerous―Shawn’s disappearance becomes. When his own family is threatened, Charlie realizes he’s in over his head, but can he back out now that he’s begun to care for Friday as his own?

A perfect page-turning blend of humor and high stakes, Stakeouts and Strollers is a heartwarming story of fatherhood, family, and what it really means to be a “Girl Dad.”

My Thoughts: Charlie Shaw, former newspaper crime writer, it working as a rookie private investigator. Despite a lack of cash, things are pretty good for Charlie. He's married to his high school sweetheart and is the father of a six-month old daughter. While tailing a woman whose husband suspects her of cheating, he sees the other man attacked and beaten by someone unknown. He also notices that he isn't the only one watching. 

Friday Finlay is sixteen and looking for her father. Her mother has just died, and she hasn't seen her father for a number of years. He did communicate with her occasionally but has dropped off the radar. Charlie agrees to help her find her father not knowing what a can of worms he's opening for himself. Friday's father was working for a couple of local mobsters when he dropped out of sight. They want to find him too since he didn't leave empty handed. 

As Charlie and Friday search them find themselves involved in illegal gambling, drug dealing and murder. 

I really enjoyed this story. Charlie was a great character filled with a reporter's curiosity and a girl dads caring not only for his own daughter but for Friday too. I liked Charlie's point of view and his snark. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.