Malone Mystery

Inspired by a shocking true story, Come What May, the debut book in the new Ben Malone detective mystery series, is a high-stakes thrill ride through the gritty underbelly of the City of Angels and a look at the darker side of human nature. Ben Malone is a veteran Los Angeles Police detective with a bright future ahead of him. Or, so he thought until he is caught up in a run of bad luck and his life starts falling apart. The worst of it, his unfortunate entanglement in a spate of fatal on-duty shootings at a time when activists are protesting the use of deadly force by police and rioting all over the country. On edge and questioning his judgment, Malone's LAPD superiors speculate that he may be too quick to use deadly force. Relieved from street duty, Malone is sequestered in Robbery-Homicide Division's Cold Case Homicide Section to keep him under wraps while he undergoes department-mandated psychiatric evaluation. His work-related problems compounded by a vindictive ex-wife intent on bleeding him dry financially sends Malone into a spiral of depression that soon has him drinking too much in the attempt to cope. Initially resentful over his reassignment to the cold case section, Malone's attitude starts to change when he and new partner, Detective Jaime Reyes, come across the files of a cold as ice, 23-year-old unsolved murder case. The more they study the case, the more certain they become that the theory pursued by the original investigators was completely wrong. Since the decades-old murder does not fit the unit's criteria for reopening a cold case for active investigation, Malone and Reyes embark on an "off-the-books" investigation. Predictably, that creates some problems, especially for Malone. It quickly becomes clear that there are powerful forces at work both inside and outside the LAPD determined to keep the truth behind the murder buried along with the corpse. The more resistance he encounters, the more unwavering Malone becomes in his unwillingness to let sleeping dogs lie, even when things start to get increasingly personal. His persistence in digging up bones from the past begins to threaten his very career with the LAPD. Even when the investigation sends him hurtling into more trouble than he ever dreamed possible, Malone is unrelenting. He is determined to solve the mystery and to uncover the truth behind the brutal 23-year-old unsolved murder, come what may.

A gorgeous socialite. A maverick investigator. A deadly connection. When a drop-dead gorgeous socialite with a wad of cash walks into Ben Malone's office with a sordid tale to tell, he does what any self-respecting private investigator with rent to pay would do — he takes the case. But soon, he realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew. As the body count rises all signs point to the Ukrainian mob. It becomes increasingly clear that there's far more at stake than his client's need for privacy. This mind-boggling starts to hit too close to home for Malone, and he has no intention of letting it get any worse. The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line. Can Malone stop this runaway train of death and destruction? Can he untangle the web of criminal wrongdoing in time, or will he die trying?

Following a political campaign fund-raiser dinner, a highway construction worker gets run down and left fighting for his life in intensive care. High profile Los Angeles attorney, Liz Harper, left the dinner intoxicated and can't remember driving home. When she learns about the hit-and-run victim the next morning, Harper faces the chilling realization she could be the guilty party. Determined to do the right thing, she hires Malone to find out if she was the driver. He discovers her car was involved in the hit-and-run, but believes there is more to the case than meets the eye. Malone investigates several others who left the same event and uncovers an eyewitness to the accident, who then disappears before he can identify the driver for the police. The investigation takes a dangerous turn when someone shoots at Malone at his own home, when it appears he is getting too close to discovering the identity of the hit-and-run driver. As he delves deeper into the case, Malone unravels a web of deception and intrigue where every clue only leads to more questions. With danger lurking at every turn, can Malone uncover the truth before the police arrest and charge Liz Harper? And will the truth prove her innocence or condemn her?

Ben Malone is a modern-day Los Angeles private eye in the mold of Chinatown's Jake Gittes and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, a street-wise, smart-mouthed tough guy with a heart of gold. Offered as another option for readers, "Malone Mystery Novels Two Book Sets" include two books in the series in chronological order at a special price. Two Book Set No. 1 consists of the first two books in the series, "Come What May" and "Fair Is Foul, and Foul Is Fair." Come What May Come What May chronicles Malone's last case as an L.A.P.D. homicide detective. It's a tale of deceit, betrayal, dark choices, and murder that reviewers describe as "gripping," "full of suspense and thrills," and "hard to put down." Inspired by a shocking true story, Come What May is a high-stakes thrill ride through the gritty underbelly of the City of Angels and a look at the darker side of human nature. Ben Malone is a veteran Los Angeles Police detective with a bright future ahead of him. Or so he thought until he is caught up in a run of bad luck and his life starts falling apart. The worst of it, his unfortunate entanglement in a spate of fatal on-duty shootings at a time when activists are protesting the use of deadly force by police and rioting all over the country. On edge and questioning his judgment, Malone's L.A.P.D. superiors speculate that he may be too quick to use deadly force. Relieved from street duty, Malone is sequestered in Robbery-Homicide Division's Cold Case Homicide Section to keep him under wraps while he undergoes department-mandated psychiatric evaluation. Malone and new partner, Detective Jaime Reyes, come across the files of a cold as ice, 23-year-old unsolved murder case. The more they study the case, the more certain they become that the theory pursued by the original investigators was completely wrong. Since the decades-old murder does not fit the unit's criteria for reopening a cold case for active investigation, Malone and Reyes embark on an "off-the-books" investigation. Predictably, that creates some problems, especially for Malone. It quickly becomes clear that there are powerful forces at work both inside and outside the L.A.P.D. determined to keep the truth behind the murder buried along with the corpse. The more resistance he encounters, the more unwavering Malone becomes in his unwillingness to let sleeping dogs lie, even when things start to get increasingly personal. His persistence in digging up bones from the past begins to threaten his very career with the L.A.P.D. Even when the investigation sends him hurtling into more trouble than he ever dreamed possible, Malone is unrelenting. He is determined to solve the mystery and to uncover the truth behind the brutal 23-year-old unsolved murder, come what may. Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair A gorgeous socialite. A maverick investigator. A deadly connection. When a drop-dead gorgeous socialite with a wad of cash walks into Ben Malone's office with a sordid tale to tell, he does what any self-respecting private investigator with rent to pay would do — he takes the case. But soon, he realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew. As the body count rises and all signs point to the Ukrainian mob, it becomes increasingly clear that there's far more at stake than his client's needs. This mind-boggling case just might hit too close to home for him, and he has no intention of letting it get any worse. The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line. Will Malone stop this runaway train of destruction and untangle the web of criminal wrongdoing in time, or die trying?