The Devereaux File


Book Description

Wisecracking Chicago PI Lacey Lockington gets caught in a dangerous game of international espionage in this gritty, “truly hilarious” mystery (Kirkus Reviews). Former Chicago police detective Lacey Lockington isn’t much for small talk. But when he hears ex-CIA agent Rufe Devereaux is coming to town, he looks forward to arguing baseball with his old drinking buddy. Unfortunately, Rufe is involved in a more sinister kind of game—one that gets him killed shortly after his arrival. And as Lacey is about to find out, the other players aren’t playing around. The moment Lacey start investigating, he finds himself chased by the Mafia, the CIA, and a homicidal politician-turned-evangelist. And “help” arrives in the sultry form of a KGB agent named Natasha. He knows he’s in over his head. Because what starts as a search for the truth quickly becomes a desperate race for survival taking him from the gritty bars of Chicago to Miami’s cocaine-filled underbelly and culminating in “a slam-bang ending” (Publishers Weekly). “Spencer keeps the plot racing with amusing dialogue.” —Publishers Weekly




The Abu Wahab Caper


Book Description

All bets are off when Chicago detective Chance Purdue protects a gambler with a target on his head in this PI parody from the author of The Dada Caper. “Bet-a-Bunch” Dugan is being hunted by International DADA (Destroy America, Destroy America) conspirators, a terrorist organization out for control of the world’s oil market. Dugan needs more than a little luck to walk away unscathed. He needs a Chance, and though he knows that half of Purdue’s reputation is that of a guy you are aching to punch, the other half is that he’s a dogged, if occasionally doomed, investigator. No matter where Purdue’s leads take him, though, he always seems to be one step behind DADA. As the hapless Chance watches DADA’s deadly scheme move forward, a siren named Brandy Alexander enters the picture and things finally fall into place, or so Chance hopes . . . Praise for Ross H. Spencer’s The Dada Caper “Parodies of the private‐eye novel come and go. Here is The Dada Caper by Ross H. Spencer. It has every cliché down pat, including rat-tat-tat writing in which paragraphs are seldom more than one sentence. . . . The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




The Reggis Arms Caper


Book Description

In the fast and funny sequel to The Dada Caper, former Chicago PI Chance Purdue comes out from behind the bar to get back in the game. Try as he may, Chance Purdue can’t seem to escape the world of private investigation. The now tavern owner returns to action to protect Princess Sonia of Kaleski, who claims to be the wife of an old army buddy. Convinced he’ll get to the bottom of things at his army battalion’s reunion, Chance indulges in the entertainment while leaving the more serious detective work to his new colleague, the scintillating Brandy Alexander. For Chance, the case provides more fun than intrigue, and yet its solution is a surprise for everyone involved. Praise for Ross H. Spencer’s The Dada Caper “Parodies of the private‐eye novel come and go. Here is The Dada Caper by Ross H. Spencer. It has every cliché down pat, including rat-tat-tat writing in which paragraphs are seldom more than one sentence. . . . The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




The Stranger City Caper


Book Description

From the author of The Dada Caper: Chicago private detective Chance Purdue learns that nothing good comes from working for the mob—except cold hard cash. A quick and easy buck sounds good to PI Chance Purdue. But the paycheck seems to be a bit harder to earn when the job entails more than just looking into a minor league baseball team in southern Illinois. His new client, the gangster Cool Lips Chericola, is definitely leaving out details. Enter Brandy Alexander, whose unexpected appearance in Stranger City, Illinois, complicates things. Then throw in the Bobby Crackers Blitzkrieg for Christ religious crusade, and you’ve got a super-charged powder keg of a caper, with Chance holding both the match and the barrel. Praise for Ross H. Spencer’s The Dada Caper “Parodies of the private‐eye novel come and go. Here is The Dada Caper by Ross H. Spencer. It has every cliché down pat, including rat-tat-tat writing in which paragraphs are seldom more than one sentence. . . . The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




American Mystery and Detective Novels


Book Description

Mystery and detective novels are popular fictional genres within Western literature. As such, they provide a wealth of information about popular art and culture. When the genre develops within various cultures, it adopts, and proceeds to dominate, native expressions and imagery. American mystery and detective novels appeared in the late nineteenth century. This reference provides a selective guide to the important criticism of American mystery and detective novels and presents general features of the genre and its historical development over the past two centuries. Critical approaches covered in the volume include story as game, images, myth criticism, formalism and structuralism, psychonalysis, Marxism and more. Comparisons with related genres, such as gothic, suspense, gangster, and postmodern novels, illustrate similarities and differences important to the understanding of the unique components of mystery and detective fiction. The guide is divided into five major sections: a brief history, related genres, criticism, authors, and reference. This organization accounts for the literary history and types of novels stemming from the mystery and detective genre. A chronology provides a helpful overview of the development and transformation of the genre.




The Fifth Script


Book Description

In this “pugnacious, feisty” mystery series debut from the author of Death Wore Gloves, a devious killer has it in for a poison penned beauty (Kirkus Reviews). Chicago Detective Lacey Lockington has never been squeamish about taking out a few low lives in the pursuit of justice. But when tabloid columnist Stella Starbright calls him a “kill-crazy cop,” he suddenly needs to find a new line of work. Taking a job as a private investigator is a step down, for sure, but his first few cases certainly pique his interest: former “Stella Starbrights” are turning up dead on the streets of Chicago, and the current one—the very same Stella who ruined his reputation—is coming to him for protection. Going against his gut, Lacey agrees to keep Stella from sharing the grisly fate of her former namesakes. In the midst of all the madness, Lacey hunts the real killer, someone looking to silence gossip columnists for good. But can Lacey crack the case before another victim gets a headline in the obituaries? “Ross Spencer is wild, shrewd, mad, and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




The Dada Caper


Book Description

“The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny” (The New York Times). Chance Purdue may be better at a lot of things than he is at detecting, but he’s the only man for the job when the FBI comes looking for someone to take on the Soviet-inspired DADA (Destroy America, Destroy America) conspiracy. Plus, he needs a paycheck. Chance gets off to a rough start as he’s led on a merry chase through Chicago’s underbelly and drawn into a case of deception that can only be solved with the help of a mysterious femme fatale who’s as beautiful as she is cunning.




The Secret File of Joseph Stalin


Book Description

This account of Stalin's life begins with his early years, the family breakup caused by the suspicion that the boy was the result of an adulterous affair, the abuse by his father and the growth of the traumatized boy into criminal, spy, and finally one of the 20th century's political monsters.




The Radish River Caper


Book Description

From the author of The Dada Caper: Even an anti-American conspiracy can’t keep Chicago PI Chance Purdue from falling prey to his personal femme fatale. Private Investigator Chance Purdue and Brandy Alexander work in tandem on a case that finds them traveling to the Illinois town of Radish River. The CIA continues to need help putting a stop to the DADA (Destroy America, Destroy America) Conspiracy, a terrorist organization whose latest plot is completely under wraps, except that it promises immense destruction. Things prove difficult for Chance and Brandy as they do what they can to remain focused on the task at hand. But it’s hard when distractions from football-playing gorillas, chariot races, copious booze—and especially each other—weave in and out of their lives and keep this case on the back burner. Praise for Ross H. Spencer’s The Dada Caper “Parodies of the private‐eye novel come and go. Here is The Dada Caper by Ross H. Spencer. It has every cliché down pat, including rat-tat-tat writing in which paragraphs are seldom more than one sentence. . . . The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




Kirby's Last Circus


Book Description

The author of the Chance Purdue series introduces a Chicago detective who goes under the big top to take down the ringmaster of a Russian conspiracy. When the CIA chooses Birch Kirby, a mediocre detective with a personal life even less thrilling than his professional one, no one is more surprised by the selection than Birch himself. But the agency needs someone for a secret mission, and Birch may be just the clown for the job. Going undercover as a circus performer, he travels to Grizzly Gulch to investigate the source of daily, un-decodable secret messages that are being transmitted to the KGB. Birch interacts with wildly colorful characters while stumbling through performances as well as his assignment. With the clock ticking, Birch must hurry to take a right step toward bringing the curtain down on this very important case. Praise for Ross H. Spencer’s The Dada Caper “Parodies of the private‐eye novel come and go. Here is The Dada Caper by Ross H. Spencer. It has every cliché down pat, including rat-tat-tat writing in which paragraphs are seldom more than one sentence. . . . The hero is a private eye who is always tailing the wrong people and hitting the wrong guys. The Dada Caper is wild, shrewd, mad and unexpectedly funny.” —The New York Times




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