A Brig Ellis Tale Series

Fool's Errand marks the debut of a contemporary gumshoe whose character traits are rooted firmly in the past. Brig Ellis is an ex-military and current private investigator based in San Diego, but willing to go wherever the assignment takes him. He tilts at windmills and turns over trouble regardless of who it might annoy, embarrass, or otherwise offend. His card reads: Investigations, Security, Confidential Matters. However, this shamus is not shy about accepting work that might color outside the lines. And while most people agree that if you're smart, there are some jobs you just shouldn't take, Brig's point of view is, if you're smart, you're in another line of work. Perhaps that's why this initial Brig Ellis saga has him juggling three tasks at once. A favor for a friend puts Brig in contact with a real knockout. But the first time they meet, the specter of larceny hangs in the air like the stale scent of a cheap cigar. Before Ellis can decide to make a pass or make tracks, unknown thugs turn his office into a junk yard. He knows he should try to find out why, but when money calls he listens and puts payback on hold. Hired by the black sheep of a dysfunctional dynasty, he agrees to retrieve the clan's daughter from apparent involvement with Zapatista rebels in Mexico. A tale of two cities then ensues laden with hidden agendas, recriminations, revelations, mayhem, murder and more; including a violent conflict on the eight thousand foot cliffs of the Copper Canyon Railway. Before all the loose ends get thoroughly knotted, Ellis is left to wonder if making friends, doing favors, unmasking foes, or extracting vulnerable heiresses are all, in one way or another, fools' errands.

In Hollywood, five people in the movie industry agree to participate in a devious and ingenious lottery to commit murder. The lottery is designed so that four of the five will have no way of knowing who the actual killer is. Their intended victim is Abel Dane, a brilliant but self-absorbed film director who has damaging material on all of them and is literally making each of their lives a living hell. The lottery is completed. The murder committed. Time passes and it looks as if the crime will go unsolved. One policeman however, is not content to let this cold case freeze. He brings in his former military mate, San Diego Private Investigator Brig Ellis, to help. Soon, multiple motives come to light. But just as soon, bodies start piling up. Prime suspects, the actual lottery participants, are being eliminated one by one. By whom? And why? What is really going on, who the hell is responsible, and who actually killed Abel Dane? It's up to Ellis to find out… if he can avoid becoming a target himself.

Private Investigator Brig Ellis is on his way to spread the ashes of a friend with whom he once soldiered. His nostalgic journey soon becomes a nightmare, however, when hideous murders begin to occur and Ellis is labeled the prime suspect. The more information that comes to light, the more it looks as if the killings might have something to do with a military mission that went off the rails years ago. Soon, Ellis is on the run, trying to solve the mystery and stay out of the authorities' clutches. While the police are hot on his trail, his pursuit of the real killers takes Ellis not only across the country but deep into the past as well. What's the connection between the mission that resulted in a night he'll never be able to forget and the horror happening around him now? Could any of his former squad mates be involved? Are they even still alive? And if so, for how long? The clock is ticking and the bodies are falling as Ellis searches for answers.