Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery

A priest, an ex-cop, and three badass babes walk into a bar... Lucky for readers, that's a great opportunity for the kind of rare mystery series with something for everyone-a tough guy, three awesome women, and a classic Golden Age gentleman-detective clergyman. The twist? The cop and the cleric are half-brothers who operate a PI firm out of their bar. Owen Parr pulls off a crowd-pleasing coup in the first entry in his Joey Mancuso/Father Dominic O'Brian series-a perfect blending of the hard-boiled and intellectual schools of detecting. Joey's the ex-cop, who got kicked out of the police department by means of a small frame, and the women are a fiery FBI agent (Joey's elusive Cuban girlfriend), a glamorous "researcher," and perhaps most memorable of all, Joey's mentor and ex-partner, Lucifer-officially Lucy, but what a nickname! Captain O'Brian's Pub and Cigar Bar, with its old-world New York warmth and reliably friendly Irish bartender is a character in itself, the kind of place that's like home to its devotees. So when one of the brothers' best customers dies in an apparent suicide-a Wall Street guy celebrating a new client the night before-they're just not feeling it. They know he wasn't a guy who wanted to die; and they quickly find out he was someone a lot of people wanted dead. It's a made-to-order financial puzzle for a couple of seasoned New York PI's, with the kind of twists and scams and puzzles that warm a mystery fan's heart like a shot of Jameson. Fans of New York detective shows from Blue Bloods to Elementary will find it right up their alley, and devotees of Golden Age mysteries will love it, especially those set in New York, like Ellery Queen and Nero Wolfe; and those starring brainy clergymen, like Father Brown, the Rabbi, and Father Dowling.

Too many leads, two few breaks, and only ten days to go in the trial of the year... Things are finally turning around at Captain O'Brian's Pub and Cigar Bar, an oddball location for a PI office, but the kind of warm, buzzy scene every mystery reader loves. After first getting fired, then earning a glowing reputation in his first high-profile case as a PI, ex-NYPD Detective Joey Mancuso's back on the crime scene with his half-brother and Brooklyn's favorite man of the cloth, Father Dominic O'Brian. The brothers have gotten into a good rhythm at their makeshift (but delightfully colorful) Financial District office, and two job offers have come in. But then comes the sort of case Joey loves... the difficult kind. Just in time for Christmas, a wealthy real estate developer named Harold Longworth is on trial for the murder of his wife in the bedroom of their Long Island mansion, and the Manhattan elite are glued to their seats. The odds are stacked steeply against the developer. It seems he called 911 twenty whole minutes after discovering his wife's body, was found covered in her blood, and his prints were on the murder weapon. Things are looking pretty grim when his team asks Joey to investigate the case, but better when he discovers that Mrs. Longworth's personal and professional lives were a sticky web of secrets and lies, populated by a rogues' gallery of jealous lovers and corporate conspirators. Then, just as the pressure mounts, his soulmate, FBI Special Agent Marcy Martinez suffers an accident on the job. His attention now splintered, he's got only ten days to solve the case. Father Dom's prayers might not be enough this time. Divine intervention might be more in order! There's something here for everyone: Think Matt Scudder meets Father Brown. Fans of both New York PI novels and clerical mysteries will love this offbeat detective team.

HE WAS JUST AN ORDINARY GUY- SO WHY WAS HE QUIETLY WHACKED? In his seventh hard boiled tale, New York-based private eye Joey Mancuso travels to the lush, verdant shores of Miami Beach. But this is no vacation-Joey's wading knee deep into a gritty cesspool of corruption, using his street smarts and industry connections to investigate a vast financial conspiracy. A young hedge fund employee-a kid right out of college, green as can be-was killed by an anonymous sedan while on a motorcycle ride after hitting the South Beach clubs. Miami Beach police don't seem interested, but Joey does-the kid's dad is a friend of a friend. And Joey Mancuso is nothing if not a loyal friend. So Joey and Marcy, his gun-toting F.B.I. agent wife, hole up on a boat in Miami Beach, hell-bent on figuring out how an entry-level employee could provoke such tragedy. Soon, Joey and Marcy call in a favor of their own: they ask an old friend with Wall Street experience to play undercover agent at the fishy hedge fund. Joey's rag-tag team quickly uncovers a dirty trail of wealth and greed-a big, fat, Eastern European crime syndicate that stretches from Miami Beach back to their new stomping grounds in New York. Returning to their beloved, bustling, Lower Manhattan bar, they team back up with Joey's brother and PI partner, the quick-thinking Father O'Brian. But New York is the bad guys' home turf, too-suspects are becoming victims and these villains are plenty adept at slipping around the shadows of the city, intent on murdering anyone who tries to mess with their money. Before you can say "Czech mob" Joey and Father O'Brian find themselves trying to stay one jump ahead of this deadly organization.

SHE WAS THE PERFECT WIFE - SO WHO KILLED HER? The widower says his wife was killed by gangs - but now he's running for Mayor of New York City. Just to be sure (or else to portray himself as a properly mourning husband), he hires PIs Joey Mancuso and Father Dom to solve the murder. Only they can't help noticing he's pushing them to come to the gang conclusion as well. Hey, is something fishy here? Joey Mancuso, his priest half-brother - Father Dom - and their crack team have got their work cut out for them. A year ago, a Brooklyn politician's wife was brutally murdered, seemingly in a terrible burglary gone wrong. But no one really knows: the case remains unsolved. The mourning politician hires Mancuso to solve the cold case - right before announcing his plan to run for mayor of New York City. Oh, and in that same speech, the politician blames his wife's death on gang violence. Well... none of the gangs in Brooklyn seem to have it out for the politician's family. Plus, the politician may have a straying eye - there are rumors of the affair. It's a labyrinthine puzzle, the kind Joey (forever inspired by his hero, Holmes) delights in. Mancuso and Co. take to their office - which doubles as a bustling, Lower Manhattan cigar bar - and delve into Joey's strangest mystery yet. Joey Mancuso's latest adventure is a gritty tour of a side of Brooklyn that's rarely seen anymore, any fan of The Wire will find a lot to love in the gripping gang politics. Plus, author Parr weaves in the ritzy drama of upper-class New Yorkers, all of whom have sordid secrets... Anyone who loves Matt Scudder or Father Brown will adore Joey and Father Dom. Fans of both New York PI novels and police procedurals like Nelson DeMille's John Corey, and those by Raymond Chandler, Joseph Wambaugh, Lawrence Block, and Rex Stout will love this motley detective team. As will devotees of clerical mysteries and the greatest detective of all time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.