A gritty hard-boiled novel in the tradition of Chandler and Spillane...

SFPD Detective Joe Goodey's luck turned bad right around the time he shot the mayor's cousin. It got worse when the department took his badge and ran him out of San Francisco to a flophouse motel.

But when a local go-go queen turns up murdered, her black book of names needs to be recovered discretely - lest the mayor's affairs become public. And so Joe Goodey is offered a simple deal: solve the case and Joe gets his badge back. But with few leads - and no time - can Goodey survive San Francisco's winding streets...

They say Katie jumped.
Joe Goodey says different.

After wearing out his welcome at every bar in town, former SFPD Detective turned private investigator Joe Goodey finds himself in desperate need of a case. As luck would have it, along comes a rich man who desires Goodey's particular brand of sleuthing to uncover the truth behind his niece's alleged suicide.
Goodey, though skeptical that the girl was murdered, needs the money, and jumps at the opportunity. But he soon finds that the old man was right - and now it's not just the killer, but an entire cult of former addicts and...

Charlie Rice threatened his family.
Now Harry Castor's returning the favor.

When Harry Castor scrapes enough money together to open the Lamplighter, he believes the bar signals the beginning of a better life. But right after the grand opening, Charlie Rice, a member of the local mob, comes in to demand a piece of the action - or else.

With his life savings tied up in the bar, Henry can't afford to give in - so he decides to fight back. But as the violence escalates, both men find the stakes raised beyond what either man could have imagined...

A gritty, twisting crime yarn from...