Review: All or None (A Detective Ryan Mystery, Book 2) by Clive Fleury
A taut detective mystery where every choice carries weight.
Welcome! Today's post is part of the Goddess Fish Promotions review tour for All or None by Clive Fleury, the second book in the Detective Ryan Mystery series. Below you'll find my thoughts on the novel, an excerpt to sample the writing style, and details on how to follow the rest of the tour.
Tour dates: February 4 - February 25, 2026. To see the full schedule of stops, visit the Goddess Fish Promotions page here: Goddess Fish Promotions - All or None Tour Schedule.
About All or None
All or None
By Clive Fleury
Series: A Detective Ryan Mystery #2
Published by Epicenter Press on November 11, 2025
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 344
Source: Goddess Fish PromotionsReturning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running-investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.
As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer's crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there's another pressing problem-the plague of rats in his apartment block.
Detective Ryan's hands are well and truly full!
Review at a Glance
| Genre | Detective / Crime Fiction |
| Setting | Australia |
| Length | 346 |
| Content Rating | Light to moderate (murder, organized crime themes) |
| My Rating | 4.5/5 |
| Quick Take | A tightly constructed detective mystery balancing layered investigations, character depth, and flashes of dry humor. |
Content Considerations: Murder, references to organized crime, and police procedural themes. Overall content remains measured, with light humor balancing the darker elements.
My Thoughts
All or None returns Detective Ramesh Ryan to center stage two years after the events of Off Season, and the series settles comfortably into its stride. Promoted to the Homicide Squad, Ryan teams up with Zoe Yang, now a detective herself, and together they step into a case that quickly proves more layered than it first appears.
Clive Fleury weaves multiple threads through the investigation, letting the mystery unfold at a brisk pace without losing clarity. High-stakes poker, organized crime, and murder raise the tension, while quieter character moments keep the story grounded. Ryan and Zoe carry the narrative with ease, and the supporting cast has enough depth to feel purposeful rather than decorative.
The personal pressure on Ryan adds a welcome human layer, especially in the scenes with his mother. Those sequences bring warmth and humor that soften the harder edges of the casework without undercutting the stakes.
While All or None can be read as a stand-alone, reading Off Season first adds context and makes the relationships and continuity land with more impact. This is a confident second installment, fast-moving and thoughtfully constructed, that rewards attention without demanding it.
Closing Notes
Taken together, All or None delivers a well-balanced detective mystery that blends layered investigation, character depth, and measured humor. It is an engaging continuation of the Detective Ryan series and a solid choice for readers who enjoy crime fiction driven as much by people as by plot.
If you enjoy character-driven crime fiction, you may also like my review of Horse to Water by Peter Bailey.
Excerpt
To give you a feel for Clive Fleury's writing style and the novel's tone, here is an excerpt from All or None. This scene offers an early glimpse into the story's layered approach to character and setting.
There were eleven of them squashed into the red Ford Transit van. All were in high spirits except for the driver, Tommy Clarke. He was not happy.
Tommy had thought long and hard about offering his services locally as a driver and would not have if it had not been for Anne, his wife. She had heard that people were looking for transport into the city for a protest march and saw it as the perfect opportunity for them to earn some money, even though it was scheduled for Saturday, which would mean Tommy missing the big match: the Swans versus the Eagles.
He had tried to argue, but it was a waste of time. Anne Clarke was an unstoppable force of nature, and opposing her was an exercise in futility. Still, it was that same determination and persistence that had attracted him in the first place, and a body that could stop traffic.
Before meeting his wife, Tommy had drifted like a ship without an anchor. But Anne had plans, lots of them, and the principal one was to buy a house. Of course, properties cost money, and Tommy had no idea where they would get that. Luckily, Anne did.
She stuck a big whiteboard up in the kitchen, taping it to the wall. Using a black marker, she split the board vertically into three columns: incomings, outgoings, and savings. Then she crossed the lines with dates. Every week, she filled the boxes with numbers, money they earned, spent, and saved together. The savings column had gotten larger and larger, but they still needed every cent they could get, which was why Saturday's driving job had to go ahead.
Tommy picked the passengers up outside Absolute Muffin, Church Point's only bakery. He stashed their banners and signs in the back of the Transit and then set off to Sydney Town Hall, where they would join the others for the Future Is in Your Hands march. After they returned, Tommy would drive them back. He would get three hundred dollars cash for the job.
It was the first demonstration Tommy had attended. He thought protests and marches were a waste of time and was surprised at the eclectic mix of people he had picked up for the protest. There was old Mrs. Deans, who was almost eighty and could hardly walk; a farming family, the Morinas, father Antonio, mother Lucia, and their eight-year-old son, Sasha; Claire Nichol, who owned the local ladies' fashion boutique, and her husband Noel, a teacher; a couple of hippies whom Tommy had never met before; and the Coopers, newlyweds who were older than Tommy and Anne but had gotten married at almost the same time and in the same church. Theresa Cooper worked as a dental hygienist and was bubbly and outgoing. Irwin was more intense, an academic who worked as a chemistry lecturer at the local college.
Excerpt continues in the novel.
About the Author
About Clive Fleury
Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of books and screenplays and has worked all over the world as a Film/TV director, writer, and producer. He has written six books, most recently 'All Or None', the second novel in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series.
'All Or None' sees Detective Ryan back in the thick of things. His latest investigation into a mysterious death couldn't come at a worse time. He discovers his mother is hiding a troubling secret and is further sidetracked by a new romance. Fans of whodunits, crime thrillers, and cop and detective stories will love this novel.
Clive's other books include 'Off Season' - book one in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series; 'Kill Code' - a dystopian science fiction novel set in a world facing climate change; 'Scary Lizzy' - a novel about an eight year old girl, who befriends an African child ghost – and the teen action adventure book; 'The Boy Next Door' - a story of what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next door neighbor, who isn't all he seems. He also co-wrote 'Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four' - a young adult fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician.
Where to Buy
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Giveaway
Clive Fleury will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour
If the giveaway widget does not load, you can enter here:
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