The Tenacious Goldbrick
by Chester Henry
When a stranger jumps into Celeste’s car and begs her to help him escape his pursuer, she decides to help him out. Drawn into the mystery, Truman tries to help Rolán recover some compromising evidence that his former boss, Davo, is using to blackmail him. Davo turns out to be more than a penny-ante local crook, with an expensive secret and shadowy connections overseas. Working undercover, Celeste collaborates with Mariam, Davo’s wife, on a design project, and gradually gets more entangled with her when Mariam asks for her help navigating LA’s art world.
Things come to a head in a cluttered self-storage unit when Truman and Celeste uncover the truth about Rolán and learn what Davo is really up to. The feds intercede when the pair get ensnared in their surveillance of the players. Celeste has to decide whether her feelings for their goldbrick client are eclipsed by his bad behavior, while Truman blithely hits on the G-man and hooks up with one of the tangential lowlifes.
Join the bar-hopping, booze-swilling duo as their digging pushes things right to the edge, where Truman and Celeste have to figure out whether to do what’s easy or do what’s right.
Selected praise:
“Once again Truman and Celeste solve an intractable mystery, outsmarting some nasty con artists and macking on guys all the way. Long live the booze hounds!”
“Truman is like that twinkie who slipped through your fingers that time—sweet and a little naive but whip-smart. And every man should have a reliable friend like Celeste. With these two booze hounds running around, the city promises to be a little wilder, and a whole lot more exciting.”
