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Featured Book: The Big Dive by Bruce W. Most

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In this whodunit set in 1951 Denver, the partner of street cop Joe Stryker is brutally slain almost in front of Joe’s eyes. The second time Joe has lost a partner to murder! In this sequel to the award-winning Murder on the Tracks, Joe faces two baffling questions: How did the killer pull off such a brazen murder and escape? And why was Joe’s “choir boy” partner murdered while burglarizing a pawnshop? To protect his dead partner’s reputation—and save his own career—Joe conceals his investigation from his new partner, his superiors, even his wife. All while dodging a homicide detective hell-bent to pin the crimes on Joe. His investigation soon leads him to a ring of dirty cops—and a dark secret that goes back to the shameful internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Before Joe can answer the baffling questions and track down the brutal killer, he once again must risk his career, his marriage . . . and his life.

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Featured Book: The Reluctant Coroner by Paul Austin Ardoin

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Blood is thicker than oil… until murder is involved.

Fenway Stevenson doesn’t want to return to the coastal town where her estranged father is practically king. But the death of her mother draws her back home–and the murder of the county coroner draws her into a deepening conspiracy. As the body count rises and all signs seem to point toward her father’s oil company, will Fenway uncover the truth before family bonds become deadly?

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The Big Dive by Bruce W. Most

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For the second time in Joe Stryker’s headline-grabbing career as a street cop, a partner is brutally slain in the line of duty . . . almost in front of Joe’s eyes.

In this sequel to the award-winning Murder on the Tracks, set in 1951 Denver, Joe faces two baffling questions: How did the killer pull off such a brazen murder and escape? And why was Joe’s partner—a by-the-book cop—murdered while burglarizing a pawnshop?

To protect his dead partner’s reputation—and save his own career—Joe must conceal his investigation from his new partner, his superiors, even his wife. All while dodging a homicide detective hell-bent to pin the crimes on Joe.

Facing betrayal from unexpected places, Joe’s investigation leads to a ring of dirty cops—and a dark secret reaching back to the shameful internment of Japanese-American citizens in relocation camps during World War II. Before Joe can answer the baffling questions and track down the brutal killer, he once again must risk his career, his marriage . . . and his life.

“Joe Stryker is back in this tour-de-force novel by award-winning author Bruce Most.”
Novelist Doug Hawk

Targeted Age Group:: 18 and up

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Two things inspired me. After Joe Stryker's debut in Murder on the Tracks, I simply wanted to spend more time with Joe. Like children, characters are your creations, and you want to spend as much time as possible with them. I wanted to follow Joe as he struggles with his strained marriage (now complicated by a child), deals with a changing social and economic world in post World War II, and pursues his quest for justice while clashing with his superiors on the police force.
The second inspiration for the book was two actual historical events I built the plot around: a massive Denver police scandal of crooked cops in the 1950s, and America's abhorrent treatment of Japanese Americans in World War II. So both personal and outside forces twist together for Joe to create what I think is an exciting mystery.

Featured Book: The Czar’s Egg by W.H. Lock

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In a city full of superheroes there is only one man trying to balance the scales of justice.

Private Detective Jack Story.

A former superhero wants Jack to find her husband. A husband that disappeared chasing a Faberge egg rumored to have mystical powers, and who happens to be a former supervillain.

But as Jack investigates, he uncovers the Egg’s long sinister history and the trail of bodies left in its wake. A history of sudden shifts in fortune followed by brutal deaths going back to the original owner, Nicholas II the Last Czar of Russia. Even a professional cynic like Jack has to admit that perhaps those powers aren’t just an urban legend.

After the husband turns up dead in a cheap motel, Jack finds himself in a race against time to stop the killer from getting The Czar’s Egg, an artifact that can grant anything the owner desires, even ultimate power.

The Czar’s Egg is the first book in a Private Detective series set in a world of superheroes. If you like hard boiled detectives, dames, and superheroes who try to get away with murder, you’ll love the world of Jack Story.

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