Starring a Sam Spade for the eighties—
the worlds’ first soft-boiled sleuth 

"I did it because of Sam Spade.
I felt part of a tradition of 
romantic, freelance wise guys." 

John Denson is a private eye for the eighties—the world's first soft-boiled sleuth. He washes down his raw vegetables with screw-top wine, refuses to pack a rod, is a pigeon for a beautiful woman with a problem, and lives by the honor code of detectives from another era. So when a tough-talking (and stunning) female private eye challenges him to a high-stakes wager concerning a string of brutal murders, John can't resist. 

He finds himself in the bizarre and deadly shadow worlds of prostitution and smuggling, as he scrambles to tie up the case, keep his sense of humor (and his head) intact, and impress the lady at the same time. 

"Snappy and amusing dialogue and a plot with enough provocative
twists and turns to arouse the detective in all of us"—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"A crackerjack detective story"—Chicago Sun-Times 

"Its very lunacy makes the story attractive and exciting."—Library Journal