Always a Cold Deck is the first Harry Reese Mystery. Harry is an insurance investigator with a wry sense of humor who never takes life too seriously. In July 1900, he is sent to Buffalo, New York, to look into a fire that has destroyed a grain elevator. But when Harry uncovers a smuggling operation, the case morphs into something more serious. Trains and steamships feature prominently as he crosses into Canada and back, accompanied by a curious young woman who seems to be conducting an investigation of her own. But Harry can never be sure of anyone’s loyalties, least of all those who’ve hired him.

Book Description

Part mystery, part parody, Crossings is the second novel in the Harry Reese Mystery series. It's the spring of 1901, a time when Brooklyn's own corrupt political machine, Willoughby Street, is more than a match for Manhattan's Tammany Hall. Harry is seeking a link between the apparent suicide of an insurance agent and the untimely deaths of two of his clients. To solve the case, he must visit gambling parlors, vice dens and, finally, New Jersey, while corrupt cops, opportunistic con men and often his own wife do what they can to mislead him.

For more information on the series, please visit:  streetcarmysteries.com

Book Description

Boodlers, and pikers, and sly boots, ...oh my!

It's December 1901, when the paths of three of the era's notable characters cross in the nation's capital: the Wizard of Oz, the Countess von Schnurrenberger und Kesselheim, and Harry Reese, insurance investigator. Harry has come to Washington in order to solve a string of jewelry thefts. But first he must match wits with a throng of thirsty newspapermen, a pack of rapacious lobbyists, and a young devotee of the Wizard's. And as is usual, his dear wife Emmie has her own agenda.

For more information on the series, please visit: streetcarmysteries.com

Review

“Written with more than a discreet nod at Hammett and a dash of P.G. Wodehouse this novel, the third in a series, is a great and engrossing little read.” — CatesBookNutHut

“The American people deserve somebody telling them what is really happening in Washington.” — Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, soon after his release from federal prison.

“You have any lobster?” — Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Buchwald, speaking to the author while the latter was behind the counter of a New Mexico Avenue deli in 1980.