By Thomas Perry

One wet, winter day a body is pulled out of a blocked storm drain flooding an intersection in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley.

The two bullet holes in the back of the victim’s head make it clear this is no accident.

The victim is James Ballantine, a research chemist employed by Intercelleron Corp. Quiet, reserved, liked by his colleagues, Ballantine secretly had a variety of girl friends, whose views of him aren’t exactly consistent.

Months into the investigation the lead LAPD investigator has a fatal car accident. Given his taste for drinking too much in a favorite dive bar and the fact his car went over the edge of a winding mountain road, it appears to be a car accident.

But is it?

With the lack of progress from the LAPD, Intercelleron hires Sid and Veronica “Ronny” Abel, retired LAPD detectives now working as private detectives, to find out what happened to Ballantine.

At the same time, assassins Ed and Nicole Hoyt have been hired to keep the Abels from learning anything — even if it means taking them out permanently.

But when it proves challenging to get rid of the Abels, the unidentified people who hired the Hoyts decide the Hoyts are making too much of spectacle and need to be taken out themselves.

Soon, the Hoyts and the Abels reluctantly find themselves on the same side.

This is an often humorous, quite twisty story that races back and forth across the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The Hoyts and the Abels are evenly matched in their craft, creativity, resourcefulness and wiliness. This book is a page-turner to see how the two pairs get free of each other.

About the Author: Thomas Perry (1947 – )

Thomas Perry‘s first novel, THE BUTCHER’S BOY, received the 1983 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel. The first book of his critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series, VANISHING ACT, was chosen as one of the “100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century” by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Perry has written more than 29 novels, including the four-book Butcher’s Boy series, the nine-book Jane Whitefield series, the two-book Jack Till series and 14 stand-alone novels, which includes FORTY THIEVES, published in 2016.

Born in Tonawanda, New York, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a doctorate in English literature from the University of Rochester. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and two children.