Langdon is muddling his way through the pandemic like everybody else. Business restrictions have dealt a blow to his mystery bookstore, and nobody leaves the house anymore to get into trouble and create a need for a PI. At the same time, his marriage is stronger than ever, and he’s had a chance to catch up on things around the house.
Then it all changes. The bookstore opens back up, and he gets hired to find a missing woman, find proof of sexual harassment against another local business owner, and track down a kidnapped boy before he is executed by a madman in a desperate bid to force the state to ease masking restrictions.
Price range: $16.99 through $27.99
“Somebody stole my wife,” the man said.
Did Annika Morin leave her husband… or was she taken?
I was sexually harass’ by my boss and then fire’ when I refused his advances.” Raven’s dark eyes flashed a promise of anger and vengeance.
Local brew pub owner Rick Strong is accused of sexual harassment, which seems likely, but is he guilty of much more? Or is it entirely fabricated?
“Where is my boy?” Jill asked, her words anguished.
And then the boy is abducted, and the kidnapper attempts to hold the entire state hostage. If the governor refuses their demands, the kidnapper promises to execute the child on Halloween.
With the help of his wife, Chabal, and his friends Bart the bad-tempered cop, 4 by Four the playboy lawyer, Richam and Jewell, and Star, his bookstore employee, Langdon is in a race against time to find the missing wife, obtain proof against an unlikeable business owner, and track down a kidnapped boy before it is too late…
Rating
These stories may not keep you up at night, but I can guarantee you won’t fall asleep reading them. Edgy, noir, often macabre tales, you can never predict how the tale is going to end, but it usually doesn’t end well. Kilgore deploys an incredible range of hard-luck characters: a hitman planning to retire (The Auckland Assignment); a British file clerk (The Madding Tale) who volunteers for a passage to India (don’t read during bug season); a cat-walking Parisienne woman (The Woman in Paris who Walked Her Cat); a down on his luck actor whose time has run out (Twenty-Ten). On second thought, they might keep you up at night.
Many of the stories have been told before but the author has written them so well it doesn’t matter
