Bøger udgivet af Speaking Volumes LLC

Santa Fe Sacrifice (a.k.a. Sacrifice)Adam Rance, a.k.a. Rance Colby, acquires a driver's license for the first time to please his wife and is promptly summoned for jury duty. Unknown to Rance, both the presiding judge and his old friend General Rubin Brock are responsible for his selection. Their intent is to use the trial of murdered Santa Fe socialite Lillian Saunders as a pretense for enlisting Rance and his unique talents. A major threat to America is eminent. Rance is the logical operative to prevent a disaster of monumental proportions.Against his better judgment and in disguise, he agrees to meet in private with Judge Jaquez. Still unaware of the general's involvement but recognizing the threat to America that the judge had explained, Rance is again forced out of retirement. He now faces the responsibility of saving the life of an innocent man while derailing several foreign governments from stealing plans for a revolutionary biological-bomb. Illegally developed at the U.S. Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, the weapon is in danger of falling into the hands of our enemies-who seek to conquer the United States and bring it to its knees.A murdered woman's heart is missing. A timeworn shrub guards an ancient secret. A long-dead Indian shaman and a mystical giant Blue Rabbit guide Rance through a New Mexican subterranean passage. Unknown to anyone-is who authorized the illegal weapon?"W.R. Park's Santa Fe Sacrifice is a blusteringly original effort that's as timely as it is cautionary. Rich in the kind of detail, plotting, and color akin to the best high action work of Stephen Hunter, David Morrell, and, here anyway, the late great Tony Hillerman, Here is a tale wonderfully plotted and brilliantly told." -USA TODAY'S bestselling author Jon Land

As Jared Delaney rides home from a cattle drive to Colorado, he is haunted by a nightmare of menace and impending change, signified by the moon encircled by a hazy band of light . . . a halo moon. When he arrives in Cimarrón, he is shocked to discover that his friend and mentor, Sheriff Nathan Averill, has been murdered. Against his wife's wishes, he agrees to seek vigilante justice to avenge Nathan's death. Estranged from his family and friends, Jared travels the perilous trail to vengeance, unaware that a truly evil man is stalking him and his family at the same time. Refusing to accept the counsel of those close to him, he finds moral guidance from an unlikely source-a young man with a checkered past on the run from the law. Will the end justify the means? How many people will die along the way?

DANGER IN SPACE!Separated by country and culture, will danger unite Elliot, a young astronaut, and Vincent, a Maasai herder?When NASA selected Elliot to be the first teen in space, he eagerly anticipated the day he would board the space shuttle Endeavour. After intense preparations, Elliot never expected anything to go wrong on his voyage, but when danger threatens, the only contact he has, via shortwave radio, is with Vincent, a Maasai boy in Kenya. The two can't agree on anything. When the Endeavour makes an emergency landing on the coast of West Africa and Elliot's life is hanging in the balance, can he and Vincent reconcile their cultural differences and become friends?"Mikaelsen weaves a provocative message through his novel and blends two fast-paced stories into a single, powerful whole." -Booklist (starred review)

Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant,comrades in arms in the Mexican-American War 1846-1848. President Polk, desiring to expand the United States to the Pacific Ocean, orders General Winfield Scott to invade Mexico at Veracruz and march inland and capture Mexico City. Mexico controlled much of what is now the southwestern part of the United States and California.Scott arrives at Veracruz with 100 ships crowded with 9,000 soldiers and the tools of war, cannon, muskets and cavalry mounts. Among the soldiers are Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant and Captain Robert E. Lee. Grant, 24 years old, is a hardened combat veteran from fighting with General Taylor in northern Mexico. Lee, 40 years old, is untested in battle. Both men desire grade and glory and it is during war that these can be won if a man acted bravely.General Scott lands his army upon the hostile Mexican shore. After a heavy bombardment of Veracruz, the Americans capture the city. Scott waits for the reinforcements that President Polk had promised. When they do not arrive and his men begin to die from yellow fever, Scott severs his link with the States and his supply base at Veracruz and marches his small army into the mountains. He must capture Mexico City lying in the center of the nation of seven million inhabitants. He will lead his men to victory or death. General Santa Anna is waiting with an army of 30,000 soldiers to annihilate the small force of invading Americans.

Spring 1876 . . . .When a bomb explodes and destroys a sawmill in Glenbrook Harbor, the residents and businessmen on the shores of Lake Tahoe are left reeling. Will Toal and his wife, Beth, are caught in the deadly, fiery fragments of the devastating explosion, and Beth is severely injured.Will gets Beth to the doctor and sets out to find those responsible. Once again, he is drawn back into the crosshairs of business barons clashing among themselves while competing for economic and political clout amid the sliver riches of the West. Will's been in this position before in earlier days, but this time, the big company money is out to get him-and the things just got personal.Will just wants those who hurt Beth brought to justice, but he must find out who's responsible for setting that blast-the first of many to come, if he figures right. With the timber business leveling the forests around Lake Tahoe, and the silver mines clamoring for the necessary wood, the arsonists could be working for anyone. Those who don't believe in the deforestation process will go to any length to save the woodlands, but those who need the jobs lumbering provides are just as determined.Ina race against time, Will is forced to work with an old nemesis, private investigator Dale Paris, to try to stop the arsonists and save the sawmills from disaster. Can they stop the bloodshed? At any price, Will is determined to have CLEAR CUT JUSTICE . . . .

OUTLAWMAN: The Life and Times of Matt WarnerMatt Warner was an outlaw. And a lawman. In a word, an outlawman.Once among the most notorious bandits in the Old West, riding with Butch Cassidy and other famous outlaws, Warner was wanted for crimes across the Southwest, the Northwest, and the Mountain West. After serving time on overblown charges following a shootout, Warner changed his prison stripes for a badge and served as a town marshal, justice of the peace, and deputy sheriff. Whether wearing a black hat, a white hat, or some shade of gray, Warner outlived the Old West but never abandoned its wild and wooly ways.Follow the trail through Brown's Hole, Robbers Roost, and other outlaw enclaves as a mysterious old man tells the outlawman's story in a rundown barroom once owned by Matt Warner himself.

After Dean Martin saves Eddie G. from being hit by a car, Eddie's torpedo buddy Jerry arrives from Brooklyn with the news: somebody's put an open contract out on him. As anybody can cash it in, pros and amateurs alike are coming out of the woodwork to have a shot. So when Eddie is asked by Frank Sinatra to go to LA to help his friend Judy Garland with a problem she's having, Eddie and Jerry seize the opportunity to leave Vegas.Unfortunately the contract follows Eddie there. While doing his best to stay alive long enough to find out who hates him so much they want him dead, Eddie must also solve Judy Garland's problem of a possible stalker and blackmailer.PRAISE FOR RAT PACK MYSTERY NOVELS"Entertaining . . . A breezy period romp" -Publishers Weekly on The Way You Die Tonight"An engaging mix of humor and Vegas history. Randisi's light touch and sense of nice-and easy swingkeeps the plot moving in sprightly four-four time" -Booklist on The Way You Die Tonight"Randisi's eighth Rat Pack mystery delivers a tasty slice of nostalgia with healthy dollop of crime and humor" -Publishers Weekly on You Make Me Feel So Dead"The light, breezy style delivers its own brand of Nelson Riddle, toe-tapping pleasure." -Booklist on It Was a Very Bad Year"Offers plenty of Hollywood glamour." -Publishers Weekly on Fly Me to the Morgue"If you remember the Rat Pack era fondly . . . then you won't stop smiling." -Booklist on I'm A Fool To Kill You"Randisi gives a lively sense of Vegas's glitz and the glittering, feckless people who flourished in the spotlight." -Publishers Weekly on I'm A Fool To Kill You

Las Vegas, 1964: Edward G. Robinson is in town to research his role in the upcoming poker movie The Cincinnati Kid, in which he will star with Steve McQueen. His friend, Frank Sinatra, puts him in touch with Eddie G., Sands Casino pit boss and general 'go to' man in Las Vegas.It turns out that Howard Hughes is also in town, and looking to buy a casino. He's interested in the Sands, and HH usually gets what he wants. Jack Entratter, the owner of the Sands and Eddie's boss, calls on Eddie to deal with the problem.Then, when Entratter's secretary goes missing, Eddie G. needs to turn to his friends the 'Rat Pack' for some much-needed help . . .PRAISE FOR RAT PACK MYSTERY NOVELS"Randisi's eighth Rat Pack mystery delivers a tasty slice of nostalgia with healthy dollop of crime and humor"-Publishers Weekly on You Make Me Feel So Dead"The light, breezy style delivers its own brand of Nelson Riddle, toe-tapping pleasure."-Booklist on It Was a Very Bad Year"Offers plenty of Hollywood glamour."-Publishers Weekly on Fly Me to the Morgue"If you remember the Rat Pack era fondly . . . then you won't stop smiling."-Booklist on I'm A Fool To Kill You"Randisi gives a lively sense of Vegas's glitz and the glittering, feckless people who flourished in the spotlight."-Publishers Weekly on I'm A Fool To Kill You

A fun adventure novel for middle-grade kids 8-14-and young-at-heart adultsAn elderly zookeeper who can converse with animals, a pretty young veterinarian, a fugitive African teen, zoo animals, and kids from the American town of Lincoln join forces in a rousing rebellion to defend zoo animals' rights when a corrupt mayor and his cronies greedily attempt to turn the zoo into an amusement park.The Lincoln Zoo Rebellion deals with animal rights and preservation in an entertaining and humorous way, making it an engaging read for kids from 8 to 14-and young-at-heart adults. It connects with today's kids, who are more aware than previous generations because of the internet and faster moving times. It makes learning more exciting and fun.PRAISE FOR THE LINCOLN ZOO REBELLION"The Lincoln Zoo Rebellion is amazing! The characters are well-developed, the storyline will draw you in, and the fantasy to real life connection is amazing. One of the best books I have read." -Owen, age 10 (6th grade)"I loved this wonderful tale. The hero, Reggie, is a positive Pied Piper. This exciting story helps to foster children's ability to handle tough competition and greed and learn about standing up for one's beliefs with grit, generosity, humor, and love. I recommend it highly and enjoyed it enormously." -Judith Warren, PhD., Psychologist"It's a terrific book! It will have broad appeal to both boys and girls, especially animal lovers (most kids like animals). It's a fast-paced story-very humorous with witty and wonderfully colorful descriptions. I loved Abby Sweet going into the lion's cage, Reggie learning animal languages, and the animals escaping from their cages." I had some good laughs in between holding my breath as the action accelerated." -Alice Kaplan, Librarian"The Lincoln Zoo Rebellion was really creative with the animal voices and was cool that the kids wanted to help make a rebellion. Also, you feel a line of suspense growing and thickening, then it pauses, and a new suspense starts. I learned a lot about animals and especially liked Reggie the Zoo Keeper, Teeny Tiny, and Little Max, and the zoo animals-the Penguins, Rambo the Hippo, Leslie the Ring-tailed Lemur, and the Spotted Hyenas." -Sophia, age 11 (5th grade)

Award-winning writer of Wyatt Earp, An American Odyssey, winner of the 2020 Will Rogers Medallion Award, a 2019 Spur Award Finalist and an "Editor's Choice" by The Historical Novel SocietyThis modern-day, comic farce follows the convoluted paths of an ensemble cast of characters, who coincidentally converge on a small mountain town in north Georgia. There, in historic Lumpkin County, where gold was discovered more than a century and a half ago, a part-Cherokee curmudgeon named Hoke Limberlost has undertaken a mission to right the wrongs of the white man's blight on the once pristine land.

A CASE OF PIOUS MURDER?When a City Councilman is killed, the citizens of Whitewater, Washington demand an immediate solution to the town's first unsolved murder in decades.Police Chief Jack Tallon's only clue implicates Dharmaville, a controversial religious cult led by an inscrutable swami. Was it a case of holy homicide?Tallon's bizarre investigation unearths a slew of skeletons in Whitewater's closets and produces more problems than answers. From the motorcycle arsonist to the kidnapped Hollywood starlet to the mistress in Spokane. It all adds up to... TROUBLE FOR TALLON.

NIGHT STALKERDrug addicts, prostitutes, street gangs and shoot-outs. Police Sergeant Jack Tallon had had enough; he wanted out. He traded his L.A. beat for the quiet, wide-open spaces of Whitewater, Washington.And trouble followed. A few short days after his installment as Chief of Police, Tallon faced the toughest crisis of his career-suspicion and hostility from the very people he was hired to protect. Whitewater's first major crime in years-a series of vicious rapes-was accompanied by an equally-vicious rumor: Tallon was the criminal.From the author of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT comes a fascinating study of police procedure, a suspenseful whodunit, an engrossing portrait of a small town paralyzed by fear.

A partially decomposed body of a young woman is discovered in a park in Pasadena, California. The woman was strangled but not sexually assaulted. The police suspect she might be a missing heiress who disappeared over a year ago, but dental records prove them wrong. But who is she? And is there a link between the heiress and this corpse? The celebrated black detective Virgil Tibbs re-shapes the known facts regarding these two women and discovers astonishing connections. His quest leads him around the world to Katmandu where, beneath the searing "eyes of Buddha" at the famed Monkey Temple, he learns the truth in a striking denouement.

The body of an elderly Chinese importer of rare jade lies on the carpet of a quietly expensive house in Pasadena, California. In a rough semicircle around his head rest four pieces of jade; protruding from the heart is a fifth-the Ya-Chang ritual knife.Who murdered the importer? Was it Yumeko, the beautiful half-black, half-Japanese girl who lived with him? Johnny Wu, a rich Chinese-American? Another customer? Or a political enemy from overseas?Black homicide detective Virgil Tibbs finds himself in the middle of a deadly situation involving hard drugs, Communist Chinese agents, and the exotic settings of the jade trade as he coolly tracks down the murderer.Praise for John Ball"A nice tight murder puzzle."-Times Literary Supplement "A taut, dramatic yarn."-Charlotte Observer

John Thomas Rourke's world is now roughly one-third of what it was; everything above latitude 35° north and below latitude 35° south is encased in glacial ice. The geography drastically changed but little else did. Maniacs and evil had still tried to dominate those who wanted to be free.Days became weeks, weeks became months and months turned into years as he battled and vanquished the enemies of humanity in every form and shape damnation threw at him. His last victory, almost seventeen years ago, granted him peace-a peace he had courted, a peace he had sought-one he never believed he would find.That peace is about to end; Rourke's world is threatened again by forces he never conceived of. Are they so unpredictable-situations so dire-there is no way to "plan ahead?"

Doc Roberts and his friend Hank set out on a search for gold and lost treasure in the Mexican desert. Instead of finding gold, they find trouble. They know something's out of kilter when they encounter a strange resort in the middle of the Mexican desert. Their suspicion is confirmed when they find murder, rape and perversion at a level neither had seen before. They report the crimes to the U.S. authorities. Unfortunately they fail to respond or intervene.Both Doc and Hank are in their fifties. They are both grandfathers, but not your typical grandfather. Doc and Hank are two decorated military professionals, with expertise ranging from counterterrorism to air intelligence. They are quickly faced with making decisions that send their lives spinning off on a course neither could have imagined.Knowing that lives are at stake and that time is of the essence, Doc and Hank take matters into their own hands. Using their military experience, they plan the mission and create a tactical team, with Doc-the TAC Leader.What Honor Requires combines modern military tactics and equipment with a psychological analysis of crime and sexual deviance. This book demonstrates that ordinary people can and do accomplish extraordinary things. It's simply a case of doing what honor requires.

IN THE WAR OF TOMORROW, THERE'LL BE NO SURVIVORS! The Zone-a contaminated strip of Western Europe that is the battleground for mankind's final war. Ravaged by defoliants, experimental chemical weapons and deadly radioactive waste, the hyper-toxic wasteland promises certain death for those foolish enough to cross its boundaries. Only well-equipped combatants enter the battle-seared tract, and they do so for the sole purpose of adding enemy bodies to the piles of already-rotting corpses. As NATO Command struggles to thwart a devastating WARPAC bombing raid, a giant Russian transport barrels through The Zone, disgorging two hundred elite commandos on the outskirts of Frankfurt. Suddenly, and without warning, communication facilities are seized, industrial centers destroyed, and blood soaks the streets of what was once a NATO stronghold.With no one left to turn to, NATO Command points to Major Revell and his Special Combat Company, battle-hardened grunts hungry for action, to reclaim the city. They race from one hot spot to the next, often fighting amid masses of civilians. Mistakes are made, innocents die, and Revell's men find themselves seriously out-gunned by an insidious new breed of enemy from... The Zone.

A NEW BREED OF SUPER-WARRIOR WAGING THE WAR OF THE FUTURE-WITH SURVIVAL AS THE ONLY PRIZE!The Zone-a strip of Western Europe where armies have faced each other and fought their wars for centuries past. It has become the devil's playground for the super-weapons and super-warriors of the future. Blasted to a likeness of Hell itself, barren, desolate beyond description, ridden by disease and stinking of death, here opposing forces seek each other out in a deadly, never-ending game of cat-and-mouse.A shaky truce has been called. Major Revell's Special Combat Company, misfits and mavericks accustomed to fierce front-line action, is assigned mundane behind-the-lines duties. But their interest-and their anger-are aroused when a series of mass graves is discovered. Civilians are being slaughtered by the KGB battalion facing the SCC position. Revell's reports are ignored. HQ threatens to disband the SCC if the matter is pressed. So Revell and his fighting band of misfits take matters into their own hands, waging merciless war on the perpetrators of the atrocities and adding new devastation to the nightmare landscape called... THE ZONE.

COURAGEOUS WARRIORS TAKE ONE FINAL STAND IN THE RADIOACTIVE WASTELAND OF THE FUTURE! Mankind's final war continues in the contaminated strip of post-nuclear European hell known as The Zone. Drowning in a savage deluge of Soviet Warpac missiles, subjected to seemingly endless, round-the-clock air strikes, the brave but exhausted remnants of NATO's Special Combat Company are forced to fall back across the gutted, radioactive wasteland of West Germany. But American Major Revell and British Sergeant Hyde are sick of retreating. They want to hit back at the ruthless Russian aggressors, and hit back hard! In a huge, abandoned ammunition dump, Revell and Hyde prepare to rally their decimated forces for one explosive last stand against the overwhelming enemy. But in the face of an unstoppable Soviet advance, it will take much more than raw courage to survive in... THE ZONE.

It took a new breed of men to fight the war of the future! The contaminated territory lies along the battle-scorched edge of the hellish strip of Western Europe known as The Zone. Leeched of life by Russian defoliants and experimental chemical weapons, littered with the decaying corpses of soldiers and refugees, the barren wasteland exudes a poisonous toxin soup of certain death for anyone unequipped to cross its boundaries. When the joint NATO task force of American Major Revell and British Sergeant Hyde is assigned to intercept a spurious civilian peace mission intent on reaching Russian lines, their most direct route leads across the plague-infested terrain. But hellish death can come in unexpected forms to the new warriors of the Armageddon, and the special combat team suddenly finds themselves waging a savage battle against a more insidious enemy than they could ever have imagined on the infected, death-seared edge of... THE ZONE.

AN AIR STRIKE WAS THE ONLY CHANCE LEFT FOR THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF THE FUTURE!The cold war burned with renewed fury as the super-powers launched their best men into battle. Across hundreds of square miles of western Europe, where Napoleon's armies had once marched and Hitler's Reich had crumbled in blood and rubble, the new warriors of Armageddon do battle amidst the landscape of hell.American Major Revell and British Sergeant Hyde aim their joint NATO strike force with surgical precision at the Soviet supply jugular-but the shut-down of the vital arterial rail junction deep behind the East German front line turned out to be useless. Soon this special combat group found themselves battling desperately back, hoping to survive the wasted, death-seared warscape of... THE ZONE.

Nick Polo's latest case finds him on familiar San Francisco turf where a Russian antiques dealer has hired him to locate Anna, the stunning holder of a valuable Mongol paitza-a dog tag of sorts-originally worn by Ogodie Khan. Using no more than a defunct phone number and a grainy photograph of Anna, Polo soon catches up with the paitza's guardian.But before he can bring Anna and the treasure to his client, a rival investigator who is also hunting for the paitza winds up on a U.S. Army Fort with a slit throat. To catch the murderer and retrieve the Mongol badge, Nick must out-maneuver a United States Park Police officer, tanning salon prostitutes, military intelligence agents, and a shady German Consulate attache.

Volunteering at a local soup kitchen, Polo gets to know Scratchy, a self-described "sidewalk architect." With a Food for Vets sign in hand, Scratchy spends his days at his "office," a freeway off-ramp in downtown San Francisco, where certain drivers are exceptionally generous. Scratchy asks Polo to check the license-plate numbers of the charitably-minded individuals, and Polo comes up with a multimillionaire shipowner and a mysterious ex-CIA agent. But before he can give Scratchy the information, the man is dead, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run.The police have little interest in the accidental death of a homeless man, so at the urging of the soup kitchen's operator, Father Tomasello, Polo decides to investigate. What he finds takes him up against the Dragon Head of the Chinese Mafia, whose connections with the shipping magnate and the ex-CIA agent threaten not only Polo, but his friends and family too.

"Someone is trying to ruin us. Junior and I have poked around but haven't come up with anything. Our attorney had someone look into it, but came up with nothing. I need a professional. A man with imagination, and guts. Your uncle says you're that kind of man. Can you help me, Mr. Polo?"It sounds like a fun-filled weekend in the country when Nick Polo's reporter friend Jane Tobin invites him up to Sonoma County for the gala opening of the Baroni Estates sparkling wine facility. But the festivities are soon over for Polo as Angelo Baroni, Sr., drags him away to enlist his professional assistance.Now semi-retired, Baroni has been able to hold his wine empire together through some tough times: prohibition, recessions, droughts, and foreign take-over attempts. But once again it's under attack, and now someone is upping the stakes to sabotage and arson. The suspects include Baroni's philandering son, his sharpshooting daughter-in-law, and Victor Mardesa, a former casino operator who was cold-shouldered out of Nevada by the mob. As the campaign progresses to kidnapping and murder, both Polo and Jane Tobin find their own lives at risk. And it's up to Polo to sort everything out before it's too late.Praise for Jerry Kennealy and the Nick Polo series: Green With Envy"The sixth Nick Polo story again blends the Pi's wry commentary on modern society

Polo leaves his San Francisco home base to do a favor for an old friend. It sounds simple enough: Fly to London to hand deliver a letter, a check, and a cassette tape to a distant cousin of Polo's friend Raymond Singh. With first-class plane tickets, a hefty expense account, and reservations at the Ritz, how can he refuse?Raymond's cousin Gurbeep Singh proves elusive, though, and in the process of tracking him down, the persistent detective runs into several nasty situations. As Polo delves deeper into Gurbeep's affairs, a dark picture emerges. Undeterred, he continues an investigation that takes him from London to San Francisco and Canada and into the vicious underworld of pornography, smuggling, kidnapping, and murder.Praise for Jerry Kennealy and the Nick Polo seriesGreen With Envy"The sixth Nick Polo story again blends the Pi's wry commentary on modern society-especially as experienced in San Francisco-with fast- paced adventure to create a thoroughly entertaining romp."-Publishers Weekly"A fine entry in this underrated series."-Kirkus ReviewsPolo's Wild Card "Kennealy has a knack for weaving local scandal with San Francisco topography... Add to this the latest methods in picking locks, buying burglar gloves, computer hacking (private-eye style), and use of criminal indexes... we get quite a bit for our money from ex-con and ex-cop Polo."-San Francisco Chronicle"Polo's at his most raffishly amusing throughout... Highly recommended for people who read mysteries for the detective's company...."-Kirkus ReviewsPolo in the Rough"Diverting caper featuring PI Nick Polo... Kennealy, a PI himself, weaves a series of twists and turns that reveal a sure-handed knowledge of detective work."-Publishers Weekly"Kennealy's finely crafted stories always hold my interest. Never a wasted word."-San Francisco Examiner

It all begins when fellow P.I. John Henning is found dead, an ostensible suicide. In his will, Henning leaves half of his earthly possessions to Polo (the other half to the Catholic Church and Alcoholics Anonymous), and names Polo his executor.A Key leads Polo to a local bank and Henning's safety-deposit box, where he discovers a cache of "drops of oil"─priceless Colombian emeralds. But where would Henning, a lone-wolf P.I., have gotten the money to buy such exotic jewels? And why would a recovering alcoholic choose to end his own life when it seemed to be on the upswing?With the assistance of local reporter Jane Tobin, his on-again, off-again lady friend, Polo begins a search for the answers that will explain Henning's death, a search that takes him to the home of a woman whom Polo suspects may have been one of Henning's last clients. There's only one problem-the woman is dead.That's one death too many for Polo, who is determined to catch the killer in a case sparked with Kennealy's special humor and intrigue, undoubtedly inspired by the author's own firsthand knowledge of the true professional investigator's trade.

San Francisco private eye Nick Polo finds that there's more than one wild card in the deck when a high-stakes poker game pushes him into the investigation of some stolen paintings. Soon Polo is in an alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies: FBI, SFPD, even Interpol, as he tries to track down the artwork for its owner, financier Claude Martel.Complicating matters are Mattel's oversexed wife, his vindictive daughter, a resentful son, and a crooked private detective. Polo's job becomes more than just pleasing a client; he must recover the painting for the sake of his own skin. But can he do it before his luck runs out?

Nick Polo, the private detective whom readers last met in Polo's Ponies, has stooped to bodyguard work. Well, why not? All he has to do is "slosh around Pebble Beach a few hours and have the evenings to himself." He's guarding a writer named Jack Slate in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where Slate plans to play in, and Nick plans to watch, a big golf tournament.Slate has been receiving death threats. He is an investigative journalist, and right now he is onto something very hot indeed.Then Slate, and a stranger later identified as an FBI agent, die in the decidedly accidental crash of a small plane they had somewhat inexplicably taken up.Far from being over, Polo's job just begins with Slate's death. Slate's lawyer, who had hired Polo in the first place, wants Nick to get hold of the dead man's explosive manuscript before anyone else can. One delightful obstacle to Polo's try is a beautiful young woman named Vanilla.

There was no doubt about the murder weapon. You could see the outline of the horse's hooves...But that was the second murder. When San Francisco private investigator Nick Polo rejoins his date at the races after a rather prolonged trip to the men's room, the first thing she says is "Are you feeling all right?" And the second is "Your zipper's undone." There is reason for both. Polo is not looking too well, and quite understandably. He'd just discovered the dead body of one of his Uncle Pee-Wee's employees, a small-time hood named Johnny Aiello, in one of the men's room stalls. Enough to make anyone forget to pull up his zipper.An even better reason for the smart, slick private eye's discomfort soon materializes: the police think that Solo, who has served some time for a less-than-egregious crime, may be Johnny's killer. So it doesn't look at all good when Nick goes out to keep an appointment with a prospective client and discovers yet another body-the client's-kicked to death by one of his own horses. It's clear the horse hadn't taken the initiative, and the cops choose to credit Polo.The odds are against Polo; the closer he comes to the real murderer, the higher they climb.

Nick Polo-San Francisco-based, smart and slick private eye-has never been known to work strictly within the bounds of the law. So when Ron Dettman-president and owner of a powerful Silicon Valley corporation-is suspected of cheating his friends in a high-stakes poker game, Polo, who has had a few aces up his own sleeve at times, is called in to set up a sting operation. But Dettman's game is much larger than simple embezzlement, and the stakes much higher than those on any poker table. And by the time Polo figures that out, and realizes that he's in way over his head-it's too late to turn back. All he wants to do is get out alive.