Art Gaines is a single dad involved in a bitter battle with a former girl friend over visitation rights with their daughter. Now he must also discover who murdered a potential client at his home.

As he wisecracks and bullies his way through a group of suspects, he enters an unfamiliar world of old family money, real estate frauds, corporate greed and Southern separatist politics.

 

When he gets close to solving the mystery, one of the suspects kidnaps him. Art's escape forces a bloody meeting with some of the suspects on Georgia's Stone Mountain, where the carving of General Robert E. Lee helps send one of the murderers to his just reward.

Although injured, he still has the strength to confront the ultimate villain, solve the case and reach a compromise with his daughter's mother

 

An Investment of Lies will appeal to the many fans of the traditional "murder mystery." The main character succeeds by "poking around and stirring things up," much like the characters of Mickey Spillane, Rex Stout and Stuart Woods. The novel is character driven yet it is action oriented with humor and snappy dialogue that will appeal to the many people who buy Robert Parker's books.

 

 

 

Art Gaines is back in The Goddess in Camouflage. When Amanda Halsell's cousin is arrested and charged with the murder of a rich entrepreneur, she asks Art for assistance. He drops his current assignments and rushes off to a small town in South Carolina to prove the cousin's innocence.

 

In addition to a remarkably beautiful woman, he meets some unusual characters. But this time, his wisecracking, reckless behavior might not be enough to keep him out of trouble. Fortunately, he has his dog Gort and some unexpected allies to help him overcome the big city evil that exists in this rural community.

 

Along the way, his feelings for Amanda intensify; however, as their relationship nears a major turning point neither of them is willing to accept their true emotional attachment to each other.

 

"Are you saying God's plan revolves around two people who the State of Georgia has proclaimed unfit to live outside the wall of this mental institution?" I looked him straight in the eye, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "You know, Randy, you really are crazy," I said. He smiled again and then calmly raised his hand, as if he was blessing me, and said in a voice similar to that used by Charlton Heston when he played Moses, "Of course I am, and so, my friend, are you. Shazam."

Shazam.

 

Meet Randy Morris, locked away in an asylum, reciting the saga of his family to a new patient, who, for a while, becomes his friend. Each of Randy's tales has a closer, an ending like, ... To the moon, Alice, to the moon... A Blue Light Special... Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn...See the USA in your Chevrolet...Gort! Klatu, barada, nikto. Each closer is a clue to unraveling Randy's state of mind.

As the tale unfolds, from pre-Depression Alabama to our more modern world, Randy's friend discovers that the line between sanity and insanity is very thin and poorly defined.

 

A Fine Southern Madness is rich in history and popular culture. It captures the comic, yet disturbing reality of growing up in the rigid confines of southern culture. The characters are real, some are deeply flawed and tragic and some are heroic, but all will leave a lasting memory with the reader. Shazam.