SOLVED. Amateur Sleuth/Mystery: A deadbeat dad with a drinking problem investigates the death of the elderly woman that lives next door. East Coast of US. [s]

[Dusty]

I read this book some time back in 2015/16. It was set on the East Coast and involved a guy with a drinking problem who started looking into the death of the old woman he lived next to. The amateur investigation led to a pretty crazy chain of events with a cast of interesting characters. I can't remember the name of the book, or the author, but I'm pretty sure the author was male. Please help!

[Kris]

Dusty, can you tell us more about the guy - his age, job/skills/interests, who does he live with, married/divorced/widower, # children and their ages, etc.? What caused his drinking problem?

Why does he think his neighbor's death is suspicious? At first, what appears to be the cause of death?

Is a police officer/detective/P.I./FBI agent featured in the story?

[Dusty]

Hey, Kris...

The guy is in his 50s, I believe. He's divorced from his high maintenance wife and estranged from his daughter. He's living with his dog in an old cabin on the water that he inherited from his parents.

His old lady neighbor is found dead in her bathtub. I can't remember the details about why he thought it was suspicious, but he takes it upon himself to look into things. It leads him all over the seaside area, running into a crazy cast of people.

And no, there are no PIs or detectives featured.

Thanks for the help!

[Peter]

"Crazy cast of people" on the East coast makes me think of Carl Hiaasen, but the plot doesn't match any of his books that I've read.

[Dusty]

After some digging through the stacks, I found the book I had been looking for. It's called "The Last Refuge" by Chris Know. It's the first book in the Sam Acquillo series.

[Dusty]

Chris Knopf. /spellcheck

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, Dusty. Here's the link - The Last Refuge by Chris Knopf.