The above link takes you to the prologue of my mystery novel.
With traumatic memories of a failed case threatening his success, a private investigator pits his wits and fists against thugs to recover stolen art – and rescue the boy thief the murderous thugs are chasing:
Private investigator Nicholas Lief thrives on stealing back stolen valuables. But nine years ago, that valuable was a kidnapped boy, and the boy ended up dead. Haunted by the horrific rescue attempt, Nicholas has never again accepted a missing child case.
Until now. Inadvertently.
A Santa Monica art gallery owner pays Nicholas $10,000 to recover a stolen $5 rubber chicken. His client proclaiming herself psychic, Nicholas is inclined to dismiss the theft as a prank (“Perhaps a poultry-geist struck”). But his lead suspect – a young Latino boy – disappears. Thugs chase Nicholas for information about the bird and boy. Escaping them brings out Nicholas's secret: he has an alter ego, Ice Man, born as a coping mechanism during Nicholas's harsh childhood. Impervious to physical and psychological pain, Ice Man has greater strength, endurance, and “punching power.”
Ice Man, however, can't defend Nicholas against Onnie Justice – a sassy, daredevilish Southerner and fledgling PI enlisted by the gallery owner to join the case. Nicholas finds himself attracted to the young woman, an experience new and exhilarating. Fearing his feelings for Onnie, fearing for her safety, he tries – and repeatedly fails – to shunt her to the sidelines, despite her key contributions.
But catastrophic problems loom. Nicholas discovers a link between the stolen rubber chicken and the same monstrous evil that destroyed Nicholas's childhood. Yet, he pursues the case, relentlessly. The boy's life is at stake. Nicholas must not fail, not this time, not again. That way lies madness.
I first took up the pen to write Remington Steele fanfic stories. Please follow the above link if you wish to pursue these guilty pleasures