Book Stuff

Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, winter has actually felt like winter for a change, with bitter cold and stiff winds and a little bit of snow that seems not to be melting right away. Getting ready to walk the dog is a production. Dinners are best accompanied by a fire. I like it.

You know what goes well with a cold night and a warm fire? Of course you do; you read the subtitle at the top of the page. Did you know that I’ve written three mystery novels? Have you read any of them? Have you read all of them? They’re available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. If you like my non-fiction writing here—and/or if you like mysteries—and/or if you like character-driven stories with a strong sense of place—perhaps you might enjoy my books.

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All three of the mysteries follow a slacker jazz musician named Jordan Greenblatt (the least film-noir detective name imaginable, for the least noir-ish hero I was able to imagine), who lives in a low-key, artsy neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia and who aspires to not much beyond hanging out on his porch with his bandmates, his college friends, and his wife. He supports his music habit by doing uninteresting, un-dangerous, investigative work…until he wades into waters that are way over his head.

The books are sequential, but I think (and have been told) that they work just find as stand-alone stories.

Here’s a little bit about each:

Cool for Cats

Jordan Greenblatt deals with life the way he deals with music—as a supporting player. Jordan is the bass guitar in the band of life—steady, solid, able to keep his cool, emotionally detached. Even as a private investigator, Jordan keeps a low profile. He takes pictures of adulterous husbands and helps local lawyers with medical malpractice cases, but he rarely breaks a sweat. And then, one steamy summer day, Jordan agrees to look into an old hit-and-run accident that took the life of a girl he knew in high school—a case in which he has a personal stake, for once in his life. The more he looks into the story, the more he is forced to question everyone’s assumptions. Bit by bit, he is dragged deeper and deeper into a mystery that he is not prepared to handle—a mystery that threatens to uncover many closely-guarded and long-protected secrets—including his own.

The Cat Came Back

Jordan Greenblatt thought he had put diva drama and bad choices behind him a long time ago. But when a worried theater student comes to him for advice, it sets off a chain of events that leads Jordan back to his old college campus, working undercover to find a dangerously addictive new drug and the students or staff members who might be selling it. Leaving his regular life behind, Jordan tries to solve a puzzle and save a life without losing himself in the bargain. The longer he stays, the more he wonders if he can get the answers he needs and find his way back home.

Cats in the Cradle

Bill and Robinette Tomlinson think their prayers have been answered when they bring two foster children into their suburban Atlanta home. But when the birth mother is released from jail and fights to get her children back, the kids don’t just move away; they disappear. And so does the mother. And soon, so does Bill. Unsure what to do, Robinette turns for help to her college friend, Jordan Greenblatt, recently retired as a private investigator. What starts as a simple favor for a friend turns into a deadly search through small, South Georgia towns and the darkest recesses of the Internet. What kind of web has trapped Bill and the children—and can Jordan untangle it in time to save them?

I hope some of the above intrigues you enough to give one of the books a try. If you read one and like it, let me know!

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