Private Eyes (Are Watching You) Display
These titles all feature main characters who earn their living as a private detective or private investigator. Enjoy some serious sleuthing today!
"Deep Into the Dark" by P.J. Tracy features Sam Easton, who is home from Afghanistan, trying to rebuild a life in his hometown of LA. "Separated from his wife, bartending and therapy sessions are what occupy his days and nights. When friend and colleague Melody Traeger is beaten by her boyfriend, she turns to Sam for help. When the boyfriend turns up dead the next day, a hard case like Sam is the perfect suspect. But LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan, whose brother recently died serving overseas, is sympathetic to Sam's troubles, and can't quite see him as a killer. She's more interested in the secrets Melody might be keeping and the developments in another murder case on the other side of town. Set in an LA where real people live and work--not the superficial LA of Beverly Hills or the gritty underbelly of the city--"Deep into the Dark" features two really engaging, dynamic main characters and explores the nature of obsession, revenge, and grief."
"Lavender House" by Lev AC Rosen is "Knives Out with a queer historical twist." "Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene's recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret--but it's not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they've needed to keep others out. And now they're worried they're keeping a murderer in. Irene's widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept--his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand. Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He's seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn't extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy--and Irene's death is only the beginning. When your existence is a crime, everything you do is criminal, and the gates of Lavender House can't lock out the real world forever. Running a soap empire can be a dirty business." This first book in a series by a new voice in suspense does not disappoint!
"Owning Up" by George Pelecanos is a collection of four blistering novellas, drawn together by themes of strife, violence, and humanity. "When the son of the Carusos is involved in a hold up, the family home comes under siege in the form of a no-knock warrant. Months after the cops destroyed their home, the Carusos struggle to return to normal. Elsewhere, two former inmates reunite by chance on the set of a TV production. Both have found their way on the straight and narrow path, that is, until one sees the potential for an easy grift. A teenage boy must step into the man he'd like to be as a hostage crisis grips his hometown. A woman adrift meets a man tied to her grandmother's past, an encounter that awakens her to a bloody history that undergirds the place she grew up. Pelecanos' portraits are characterized by shades of grey, resisting the mold of heroes and villains, victims and perpetrators, good and evil. At once streetwise and full of heart, "Owning Up" grapples with random chance, the bind of consequence, and the forked paths a life can take."
In Loren D. Estleman's "You Know Who Killed Me," first a rich young wife is missing, then bodies start showing up. "Amos Walker's up to his neck in dames, drugs...and murder, again Amos Walker doesn't mean to walk into trouble. But sometimes it finds him, regardless. The missing woman has left a handwritten note that said, "Don't look for me." Any P.I. would take that as a challenge, especially when he found out that she'd left the same message once before, when having an illicit affair. But this time it's different. The trail leads Walker to an herbal remedies store, where the beautiful young clerk knows nothing about the dead body in the basement...or about any illegal activity that might be connected to the corpse. She is, however, interested in Walker's body, and he discovers he's interested in hers as well. But he can't tarry long, for the Mafia could be involved...or maybe there's a connection to the porno film studio where the missing woman's former maid now works. But when two Mossad agents accost Walker - and then are brutally killed - he realizes he's discovered a plot far darker run by someone more deadly than either the Mafia or a two-bit porn pusher. Who - or what - could be so viciously murderous? Walker has few clues, and knows only that with every new murder he is no closer to solving the case. When he finally gets a break, he recognizes the silken, deadly hand of a nemesis who nearly killed him twice before...and this time may finish the job."
You'll find these and lots of other titles in our "Private Eyes (Are Watching You)" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
