by John Lutz (1984)
Her twin sister Jenine had been murdered, and Jeanette Boyington wanted St. Louis-based private eye Alo Nudger to help find the killer. Nudger knew he shouldn't take the case, knew it wasn't a good idea to get involved in an active police investigation. But he needed the work, and so he agreed to take it—and soon found himself caught in a web of deceit and danger.A murderer is stalking the streets of the Gateway City, and the only connection between his victims are the nightlines—special phone lines used by the phone company to test equipment. At night, lonely people use them to make contact with each other: to talk, to meet, perhaps, to have someone who will care, even if just for a moment, anonymously. But something has gone horribly wrong, and people are dying.Nudger is part of the network now, and discovers the very special lure of the nightlines when he falls in love with a woman he meets over them. A woman who may be the next victim...
Marion Chesney
Exposing a suitor's dishonorable intentions toward the daughter of a new client, Harry Cartwright is hired by a wealthy marquis to solve a house party murder, a case that is complicated by the host's desire to preserve discretion.
Richard Stevenson
Sixteen years after this 1992 story, and forced outing remains a hot button in gay politics. When an activist's claims that men he's outed are stalking him don't ring true, Albany's only gay PI drops his protection detail - and the client winds up dead. Strachey peels back the layers of his client's double cross only to find ... a triple cross. (Filmed for release by HereTV in 2005.).
Lis Wiehl
Welcome to East Salem. A sleepy town with a history older than America where things are just a bit off. Where the supernatural bleeds into the everyday. And where a tragic murder mystery is underway. A high school girl is found dead in the town park. And where forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris wants answers. All the suspects are teenagers who were at the party with her the night before--but who woke up the next morning with no memory of what transpired. Even though evidence confirms they were all at the scene of the crime. Former pro-football linebacker--and local celebrity--Tommy Gunderson finds himself drawn to the case. And to Dani--who he last spoke with on their one high school date forever ago. Yet his celebrity status opens doors barred to Dani--so they form an awkward alliance. They soon realize that there's more to the mystery than murder. And more to the evil they are facing than a mere human killer.
Steve Hamilton
Half a lifetime ago, Alex McKnight was a young cop in Detroit. Now he's an occasional private eye up in Paradise, Michigan, and trying hard to put the past behind him. Then he gets the call that every cop dreads: a killer he helped put behind bars is getting released, and he might just have payback on his mind. Suddenly the years fall away, and in his mind Alex is back in that hot summer in Detroit, hunting the brutal murderer of a young woman. The problem is, something about the case no longer makes sense, and Alex feels compelled to retrace the steps that led to the arrest and conviction of Darryl King. But it's not just the case that looks different: returning to Detroit, Alex finds a city that is almost unrecognizeable from the one he left, a city that is quite literally dying on its feet, where crime and decay hold sway, and law and order are in retreat. And as Alex searches for the truth among the shadows of the past, he discovers a story more shocking than the one he thought he knew and a danger more threatening than an ex-con looking for revenge.