Böcker av Nathan Birr

The Grandeur Hotel & Resort offers first-class accommodations and amenities that make it one of South Florida's hottest vacation destinations. Its exclusivity, isolation, and location in 1980s Miami-and the resort's shady history-also make it a hotbed of international espionage and clandestine criminal activities. Good thing the hotel detective is cool as the ocean breeze.Identifiable as much by his designer sunglasses and fashionable duds as his keen observations and insights, "Shades" keeps an eye on the resort's patrons-and not just the cute ones-while trying to stay off the radar of his boss and enjoy the perks of working and living in paradise. Thieves, ex-mobsters, and spies complicate his weekend, but perhaps none as much as the beautiful guest who may or may not be involved with them all. Shades will need all his wits and charm to sort out the mysteries and maintain peace at The Grandeur. And then there's the matter of his other job, the real reason he was hired in the first place . . .

The owner of the Palisades Club has just been murdered, and there's a score of suspects to choose from.The club's star, a beautiful and soulful singer, bore the brunt of the victim's jealous wrath, but she was on stage at the time of the murder. A sleazy local mobster had his hooks into the victim and an old score to settle, but has a solid rebuttal for every accusation. A gorgeous but hostile socialite had been spurned in her bid to buy and transform the club, but has a trustworthy witness who can vouch for her innocence. Throw in an overworked waitress with a secret vice, a snarky bartender who confesses in jest, and an aging pianist with more to his past than he lets on, and it's enough to baffle even the best detective. But that detective, P.I. Thomas James, has a trick to play too . . .

Private Investigator Jackson Douglas has gone off the grid in Mexico, a place he notoriously despises, and it seems to have nothing to do with a case. Instead, all evidence suggests he has purposefully disappeared with no interest in being found-or in much of anything at all. Even so, the women in Jackson's life head south of the border to locate him and convince him to come home. As they follow his trail from Tijuana to Ensenada and into the Sonoran Desert, questioning everyone from a poolside bartender to a bullring bookie to a socialite's sister, they discover their worst fears and doubts about Jackson seem to have come true. With varying levels of belief in whether Jackson can be saved, they pursue him to the end . . . while hoping it isn't. As Good As Dead is the fourth short story in The Douglas Files, and bridges the penultimate and final full-length novels in the series.

A weekend ski trip with a trio of beautiful women could be a lot of fun. If they didn't have it in for Jackson. And if one of them wasn't being hunted by killers. Jackson's brother's fiancée, Hillary, has been receiving death threats, likely tied to her career as a defense attorney. Getting away for a relaxing weekend seems prudent until they find evidence that someone is following their group. Hillary refuses to turn back, which puts Jackson on edge, seeing snipers behind ski lifts and questioning the loyalty of his traveling companions. And when a heavy snowstorm strands them all in their palatial cabin with a mysterious stranger, his paranoia seems perfectly apropos. As the night wears on, fears become reality. Killers breach the cabin, forcing the group to use whatever means necessary to fight for their survival. As dawn nears, they hatch a plan to save themselves. But will they escape from danger, or place themselves in its very midst?

Jackson Douglas is only an associate at MTR Investigative Services, and that for all of three weeks. But when a potential client shows up late one Friday, he offers to help. Reggie Cameron is about to open a new restaurant, and his ex-wife's sister, Leila, wants in on the action. Unless Reggie makes her a partner, she plans to tell the world that he stole $25,000 from her stepfather-Reggie's former employer. Reggie insists he didn't do it, but fears Leila will use his past to stereotype him, adding credence to accusations that could ruin him before his new career gets started. Since none of the pros at MTR are available to take the case, Jackson is left to work alone. Hoping to prove Leila is actually the thief, he spends his Saturday tailing her and observes unusual behavior that appears to tie her to a local crime family. Despite the danger, Jackson pushes on, determined to help Reggie for reasons he can't explain. Will he incriminate Leila in time, or will he end up pushing too far?