First published 1983
Travis McGee gets a call that changes everything. His ex-girlfriend's husband, Dr. Fortner Geis, is dying in Chicago, and someone has quietly drained $600,000 from him through blackmail. McGee boards a plane to help untangle the mess, expecting to find a simple case of elder abuse. Instead, he discovers that the respected doctor harbored one damaging secret from his past. Someone learned about this indiscretion and used it to systematically bleed the family dry. The extortionist threatens to destroy not just Geis but everyone connected to him. McGee digs deeper into the doctor's history and the family's dynamics. He finds himself genuinely caring about several family members, people he cannot bear to see destroyed by scandal. The investigation forces McGee to navigate Chicago's power structures while racing against time and a dying man's deteriorating condition. What started as a favor becomes personal when McGee realizes how much the family means to him.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, race-against-time
Setting: Chicago
376 pages · Hardcover · G K Hall & Co