Ben Ames Case Files

Private investigator Ben Ames is supposed to be on vacation. He's followed his rock star boyfriend, Jesse, to the Edmonton Folk Festival, where Jess is doing an acoustic set with friends and having a boozy sulk about his changing image. Neither is there to solve a crime, but they're offered a case anyway, when the festival headliner hires them to help his author friend Charlie. Charlie's latest manuscript is missing. A normal guy would have backups, but Charlie's an internet-hating conspiracy theorist who saved his work to a laptop flash drive, and now the drive and the computer are gone. Ben thinks the case is impossible, but Jess could use a distraction, so they pay a visit to Charlie's river valley home, where Charlie tells them he knows who took the book, he's not telling, and a detective can't help. Good day. They're still in Edmonton, enjoying a lazy summer day, when the word comes that Charlie's been murdered. Back on the case and without suspects or a motive, Ben knows the answers are in that missing book. He just needs to do the impossible and find it...

Can a disillusioned former cop track down a missing girl before it's too late? Seven years ago, criminologist Ben Ames thought he'd change a big city police force from the inside. He failed. Now he's a private detective trailing insurance frauds and cheating spouses through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Like police work, the job would be easier if he didn't have a conscience. When university student Kimberly Moy goes missing, her sister begs Ben to take the case. But before Ben can follow up on any leads-What does the Fibonacci series have to do with Kim's disappearance? What do her disaffected friends know? And where is her car?-chance and bad timing drop his unexpected ex, Jesse, into the mix. Ben doesn't have time to train Jesse into the junior PI he seems determined to become. Amateur sleuths are always trouble. Unfortunately, this is turning out to be the kind of case that requires backup, and his intuition is telling him Kim's story may not have a happy ending.... The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out is the enthralling first book in the Ben Ames Case Files, a mystery series with a distinctly Canadian flavour. Author Gayleen Froese, winner of BookTelevision's Three Day Novel Contest, delves deep into the flaws of humanity and delivers an immersive story fraught with twists and danger. If you like private detectives, bickering partners, and vividly drawn settings, you'll love The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out.

Calgary PI Ben Ames expects a relaxing evening off as he supports his boyfriend, Jesse, one of the star performers at a charity concert. But it turns out relaxing isn't on the program. When last-minute guest Matt Garrett shows up, it creates a frenzy backstage. An A-list movie star with an ego to match, Garrett has bad blood with many of the performers-Jesse included. So when Garrett turns up dead, Ben begins to dig for the truth, both to protect Jesse and to satisfy his own instinctive curiosity.   So much for his night off.  When the police arrive, emotions backstage heat up, but no one can step out to cool off, because the Western Canadian winter is so cold that hypothermia waits outside. With such a high-profile crime, the lead detective seems poised to make a quick arrest… and Jesse's a prime suspect. Ben has his work cut out for him to solve the murder under the police and paparazzi's noses before Jesse's reputation becomes collateral damage.