Part of Harry Stoner Mystery, book 6
First published 2012
Billy Parks was the Cincinnati Cougars' All-Pro star, a hero to fans across the city. Now he's gone without a trace. Private investigator Harry Stoner takes the case when the Cougars hire him to track down their missing player. The team claims Parks disappeared over a contract dispute, but Stoner suspects something darker lurks beneath the surface. His investigation leads him through Cincinnati's underbelly. Parks' teammate Bluerock, facing his own roster cut, provides cryptic clues. A dancer from a local club points toward troubling influences surrounding the missing athlete. The web of suspects grows to include team management, a local reverend, sports agents, Parks' own mother, and his pregnant girlfriend who traded stripping for religion. What started as a simple missing person case tied to contract negotiations quickly reveals itself as something far more dangerous. Stoner must navigate the corrupt world of professional sports, where money and power create deadly enemies, to find Parks before it's too late.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, secrets
Setting: Cincinnati
Period: 20th-century
251 pages · Kindle Edition · Blackstone Publishing