Malone Mystery Novels Series

A tale of deceit, betrayal, dark choices, and murder that reviewers describe as "gripping," "full of suspense and thrills," and "hard to put down."   Inspired by a shocking true story, Come What May, the debut book in the Malone private investigator detective mystery series, is a high-stakes thrill ride through the gritty underbelly of the City of Angels and a look at the darker side of human nature.   Ben Malone is a veteran Los Angeles Police detective with a bright future ahead of him. Or so he thought until he is caught up in a run of bad luck and his life starts falling apart. The worst of it, his unfortunate entanglement in a spate of fatal on-duty shootings at a time when activists are protesting the use of deadly force by police and rioting all over the country. On edge and questioning his judgment, Malone's LAPD superiors speculate that he may be too quick to use deadly force. Relieved from street duty, Malone is sequestered in Robbery-Homicide Division's Cold Case Homicide Section to keep him under wraps while he undergoes department-mandated psychiatric evaluation. His work-related problems compounded by a vindictive ex-wife intent on bleeding him dry financially sends Malone into a spiral of depression that soon has him drinking too much in the attempt to cope.   Initially resentful over his reassignment to the cold case section, Malone's attitude starts to change when he and new partner, Detective Jaime Reyes, come across the files of a cold as ice, 23-year-old unsolved murder case. The more they study the case, the more certain they become that the theory pursued by the original investigators was completely wrong. Since the decades-old murder does not fit the unit's criteria for reopening a cold case for active investigation, Malone and Reyes embark on an "off-the-books" investigation. Predictably, that creates some problems, especially for Malone.   It quickly becomes clear that there are powerful forces at work both inside and outside the LAPD determined to keep the truth behind the murder buried along with the corpse. The more resistance he encounters, the more unwavering Malone becomes in his unwillingness to let sleeping dogs lie, even when things start to get increasingly personal. His persistence in digging up bones from the past begins to threaten his very career with the LAPD. Even when the investigation sends him hurtling into more trouble than he ever dreamed possible, Malone is unrelenting. He is determined to solve the mystery and to uncover the truth behind the brutal 23-year-old unsolved murder, come what may.   Get your copy of this gritty, fast-paced story now and join the 1m+ readers that have already enjoyed Come What May!

Combining a gorgeous socialite turned high class escort, a dark mystery, a murder or three, a wise-cracking private investigator, and a transnational organized crime consortium is a recipe for a deadly mix ...   When a drop-dead gorgeous socialite with a wad of cash and a sordid tale walks into L.A. private investigator Malone's office, he finds himself unable to refuse - despite his best efforts. Malone does what any self-respecting private investigator with a healthy appreciation for the fairer sex and rent to pay would do. He takes the case.   But soon, he realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew when he attracts some powerful enemies. As loyalties get tested and a shocking twist revealed, Malone and his client Evania find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into an elaborate and deadly scheme that will alter the course of their lives forever. As the body count rises, all signs point to the involvement of a transnational organized crime consortium, the Russian mafia. It becomes increasingly clear to Malone that there's far more at stake than his client's stated desire for protecting her privacy. And then the stakes rise too and hit a little too close to home in the romance department for Malone when his love interest, Sara Bernstein, becomes a kidnapping victim at the hands of violent gangsters. Malone must turn to both the FBI and a shady underworld character for help.   The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line. Can Malone stop this developing runaway train of death and destruction? Can he untangle the web of criminal wrongdoing in time to save Sara? Or will he lose her and maybe his own life in the bargain?   Fair is Foul and Foul Is Fair, is the second novel in the Malone private investigator series of crime and suspense thrillers. You may enjoy reading it as a standalone, since you can read and enjoy the series in any order.   But why stop there? Instead, why not binge-read the entire totally gripping, action-packed Malone series?   Come What May Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair Cold Comfort Foregone Conclusion Live Long Day Foul Play Black Deeds Perchance to Dream What's Done is Done Passage to Remorse (Coming soon)   Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair is perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Raymond Chandler's Marlowe.

Someone was definitely feeling stabby when they plunged a steak knife into the chest of one of Tinseltown's brightest stars... Not once, but four times—leaving the starlet's beautiful face frozen in the last moment of a violent death, lips slightly parted, after her last breath escaped...   But who murdered Holly Sutherland?   LAPD murder cops are sure Sutherland's  estranged husband, bad-boy actor Zack Sinclair, stabbed her to death—so sure, they arrested and charged him—saying Sinclair had the means, opportunity, and definitely a motive. As Sutherland's lone heir, he's in line to inherit her multi-million dollar estate, and he's desperate for money. Sinclair hasn't made a picture in years. He's broke and owes his bookie a quarter-million dollar gambling debt. The situation looks bleak for Zack Sinclair, whose appetites for booze, gambling, and extramarital sex are as out-sized as his ego.   But his attorney, Liz Harper, a top LA criminal defense lawyer, says not so fast. Convinced her client didn't do it, she hires Malone to find out who did. Malone, a former LAPD homicide detective turned private investigator, is skeptical. He isn't interested in helping another famous, and guilty Hollywood celebrity beat a murder rap. But he can't say no to Liz Harper, so he reluctantly takes the case.   Malone searches for the truth, but soon ends up with more questions than answers in what turns into the most baffling of murder mysteries. With each step, each new clue uncovered, he unravels more startling facts that lead him to one conclusion: Zack Sinclair might be innocent, the victim of an elaborate frame job. As he probes deeper into the sinister underbelly beneath Hollywood's facade of glitz and glamour looking for the truth, Malone touches a nerve, putting himself in the crosshairs of the boss of a dangerous organized crime syndicate determined to shut down his investigation. He faces his greatest challenge, and the clock is running out for Zack Sinclair.   Cold Comfort is a gripping and gritty crime thriller with twist, perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker's Spencer and Chandler's Philip Marlowe. It's the third exhilarating installment in the fast-paced Malone private investigator crime thriller series, which you may read and enjoy in any order.

A search for the estranged husband of a rich young thing from Boston seeking reconciliation leads L. A. private detective Ben Malone south of the border to the exotic locales of the Mexican Riviera and into an entanglment with a trio of ruthless grifters who will stop at nothing including murder to protect their confidence scheme. "It was one of those clear, sunny afternoons we get in Los Angeles in the early spring after a rain. There was still snow on the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains, but the Hollywood Hills were green, and the jacaranda trees were blooming in Beverly Hills." So begins Foul Play, the sixth novel in the private investigator series of crime and suspense thrillers featuring Los Angeles private eye Ben Malone. Business is a little slow, and Malone is feeling restless until L. A. attorney Liz Harper calls with a job: a young, beautiful, and desperate woman wants Malone to find her estranged husband. Malone sets out on his search, almost immediately discovering the man's whereabouts. But that only propels him into a series of bewildering events and a web of fraud, deceit, and murder. Foul Play is perfect for hard-boiled private detective novel fans of authors like Robert B. Parker, Raymond Chandler, and Ace Atkins.

When two private investigators team up to recover some ridiculously expensive stolen jewels, together, they must push their skills - and their lives - to the ultimate limit. And along the way, they discover the true meaning of loyalty and friendship...   When a single diamond surfaces fifteen years after an armed robbery crew pulled a daring daylight heist, the biggest jewel theft in LA history, the insurance company that absorbed the costly claim, hires Malone to look for the rest of the missing $68 million worth of the rarest and most valuable gemstones on the planet. Finding the diamonds means Malone must first find Kyle Murray, the sole surviving member of the crew who recently completed his fifteen-year prison stretch for his part in the robbery. But Malone finds it isn't easy to find a man determined not to be found. Murray's trail takes Malone through California, then to Toronto, Canada, and finally to New Zealand.   While looking for Murray, Malone suddenly finds himself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse - and he's already several moves behind - with two other people determined to find Murray and the diamonds before he does. And their first attempt to kill Malone to rid themselves of the competition is only the beginning...   Malone and his former protégé, Honolulu P.I. and New Zealand ex-pat T. J. O'Sullivan, team up once again. And they must find Kyle Murray and the diamonds fast - while heading for a showdown that may well be their last.   Foregone Conclusion is the fourth novel in the thrilling Malone Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers. If you like breathtaking action, and laugh-out-loud humor, with a hint of romance, then you'll love this edge-of-your-seat detective story. Perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker's Spencer, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, and Ace Atkins' Quinn Colson. You may enjoy reading the Malone series in any order.

Wise-cracking, Shakespeare quoting L. A. private investigator Ben Malone is back in this ninth installment of the Malone Private Investigator series.   When L.A. private investigator Malone's attorney friend, Liz Harper, with the gorgeous legs he finds irresistible, asks him to take a case as a personal favor to her from a former law school acquaintance who practices criminal law in New York City, he has reservations. But Malone agrees, even though he feels sure the New York lawyer, Bennett Holden, is holding out on him by leaving out some pertinent details.   Holden hires Malone to intercept a woman at the Los Angeles International Airport arriving on a flight from New York City, to tail her to her destination, and then report her location back to him. The thing is, nothing seems to make sense, until it's too late. When Malone learns the truth about why Holden wants the woman found only after he's already given away her location, he can't just drop it there or accept the adage "what's done is done." Instead, he goes to work making things right by unwinding the injustice he helped cause. What's done is done when he says it's done.   But since the case turns out to revolve around a small fortune in diamonds worth over a million bucks, some criminal types conspiring with Holden want to erase Malone from the equation permanently by any means necessary.

When a routine missing persons case goes sideways, Malone must once again descend into the seedy underbelly of the City of Angels in his quest to find two missing Brentwood socialites.   When two young Kardashian-like sisters, Brentwood debutantes, go missing, their father calls in Malone to find them. The client, the ultra-wealthy owner of Los Angeles' largest luxury car dealership and a candidate for the L. A. city council with a trophy wife half his age, can't imagine where his daughters have gone. Malone embarks on what he expects to be a routine missing persons gig, a simple bread and butter case for a gumshoe, but things get complicated. After Malone interviews one of the missing girl's close friends, she inexplicably commits suicide. Next, there's a mysterious murder. He uncovers hints of blackmail. Once again, Malone must descend into the seedy underbelly of the City of Angeles in his quest to find the missing young women and get the answers to some very pressing questions.

A Malone Novel. In this latest thriller featuring the intrepid Los Angeles PI, Malone gets reacquainted with some old friends and meets new enemies in a troubling case that threatens to shake the City of Angels to its core. An aspiring investigative reporter, Piper Lang has her cornflower blue eyes set on becoming more than just another pretty face in the newsroom of a major L.A. newspaper. She also has somebody sending her death threats and threatening to rearrange her lovely face if she keeps snooping into the goings on at a secretive Los Angeles-based female empowerment and entrepreneurial training group. It seems the shadowy company is operating with impunity like a multi-level marketing scheme that one of Lang's sources claims is only a front for a dangerous sex cult. Malone's job is to keep the attractive and vivacious Piper healthy until she breaks the biggest story of her career. But after her primary source is almost murdered by two tough guys, Malone's professional skills are put to the test in a deadly game–a game that may cost Malone and Piper Lang their lives. When it seems clear Malone may be outgunned this time, series favorite L.A.P.D. detective Jaime Reyes comes to the rescue to provide backup. From the mansions of Bel Air to the film studios of Tinseltown, Malone will need to watch his step as he and Piper unravel a exploitative sex-cult. In L.A., all that glitters isn't always gold.

If You Love Harry Bosch, Robert B. Parker's Spenser, Philip Marlowe, Jack Reacher—it's time you met Los Angeles private eye, Ben Malone. He's a street-wise, smart-mouthed tough guy, but with a heart of gold. Three complete novels, and more than 900 pages of lightening-paced thrills, suspense, and action. Come What May Inspired by a shocking true story. LAPD homicide detective Ben Malone is transferred from Hollywood Division to the Cold Case Homicide Unit after being involved in a spate of officer-involved shootings. Once he comes to terms with the transfer, Malone and new partner detective Jaime Reyes start digging into a 23-year-old murder case. The deeper they dig, the more obvious it becomes that the original investigators had the murder theory all wrong. But, as Malone and Reyes keep digging up bones, it soon becomes apparent that powerful forces both inside and outside the LAPD want this body to stay buried. A high stakes thrill ride through the seamy side of Los Angeles. Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair Former LAPD homicide detective Ben Malone has taken over the private detective agency of a dear, deceased friend.  When a drop-dead gorgeous socialite with a wad of cash walks into Ben Malone's office with a sordid tale to tell, he does what any self-respecting private investigator with rent to pay would do – he takes the case. But soon, Malone realizes things are not always as they seem, and he may have bitten off more than he can chew. The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line. Will Malone stop this runaway train of destruction and untangle the web of criminal wrongdoing in time, or die trying? Cold Comfort One of Tinseltown's brightest stars has been murdered. The accused is her estranged husband, bad-boy actor Zack Sinclair, whose appetites for booze, gambling, and extramarital sex are as outsized as his ego. His situation doesn't look good. With next to no alibi, and on the hook to his bookie for a quarter million bucks, as sole heir to his wealthy wife's estate, Sinclair had multi-million reasons to kill his wife. But, Sinclair's attorney believes he is innocent, at least of murder. She hires PI Ben Malone to prove it.

A troubled sixteen-year-old girl from a dysfunctional family. The dark world of drugs, pimps, and teenage prostitution. A private investigator determined to make a difference.   On the surface, except for a strict, ill-tempered step-father, Bridgette Carpenter seems to have everything a teenage girl could want. She has a family, nice clothes and lives in a home in a quiet middle-class LA neighborhood. But, if everything is so right, why does everything seem so wrong? Malone finds out when he hires on to go after a runaway girl.   Unfortunately, by the time Malone picks up her trail, Bridgette has already traveled to a place that seems a million miles away from her suburban home in Echo Park. Now she is caught up in the dark world of drugs, pimps, and sexual exploitation—a kind of hell on earth inhabited by people who care only about making a fast buck and savoring forbidden pleasures.   Can Malone find Bridgette in time before she falls victim to appalling, unspeakable acts that will steal what's left of her childhood and perhaps her very life?