Samson's Deal: The Jake Samson Series Book 1

Samson's Deal is the FIRST book in the "wonderfully wry" adventures of ex-cop Jake Samson by award-winning author Shelley Singer.

"Breathtaking action is offset by the wise-cracking Jake and Rosie. The tension will keep you reading all night long. Compelling characterization by Singer makes this series a must-read, with authentic details and witty dialogue." -Mystery Time

Library Journal said: "Great bar scenes, a wonderfully wry narrative, and the obvious affection between Jake and Rosie will have readers clamoring for more."

MURDER, POLITICS, AND STRANGE BEDFELLOWS...

Ex-Chicago-cop Jake Samson's likely to lead with his easy-going Columbo style, but he's earned a reputation for being a tough guy who occasionally "handles discreet matters." Samson is drawn into Berkeley's political hotbed when an old friend--a progressive political science professor--calls with an enticing offer. Seems the professor's wife was found dead in the backyard of their Berkeley home, and he wants to pay Jake ten thousand dollars (plus expenses) to figure out whodunit.

The police pick up the usual leads: jealousy, dirty politics, and an estate worth killing for. Naturally, since the professor is the dead woman's spouse, he's the primary suspect. Samson doesn't like the guy much, but the case heats up - quite literally - when the professor's office is set afire by a radical right wing activist group, of which, it turns out, the wife was a member.

With his good friend Rosie, and her justice-dispensing two-by-four, Samson follows a twisted trail that leads through the Bay Area's bizarre cultural labyrinth, from pop meditation ashrams to neo-Nazi rallies, to the startling but all too human truth.

"Singer has a good ear for dialogue among the witless ... It's fun to watch [Jake and Rosie] work together, and the bad guys eventually get their satisfying comeuppance, after an interesting plot twist that keeps things hopping till the very end." - San Francisco Bay Guardian

WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Thomas Perry, Harlan Coben, Stephen Dobyns, CJ Box, Timothy Hallinan, Lawrence Block, Steve Hamilton and Tony Dunbar; as well as lovers of San Francisco mysteries like Bill Pronzini's "Nameless" Detective series, Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series, Susan Dunlap's Jill Smith series, and Julie Smith's Rebecca Schwartz series.


Genre: Mystery