Tough. Cynical. An ex-cop, and a man who plays by his own rules.
More Mike Hammer than Spenser, Rafferty isn’t afraid to call a spade a goddamned shovel, and then use the metal end to take out the bad guys.
There’s only one problem. He’s got a soft spot for life’s victims and just can’t help but get involved when the chips are down—even if it’ll cost him big time.
Rule 1: The client is always right.
Rule 2: When the client is wrong, see Rule 1.
When the client wants someone dead, well…
In the middle of a burger-store holdup, the only thing standing between ten-year-old Vivian Mollison and certain death is a police officer named Rafferty. She lives. He gets fired.
Fast-forward fifteen years. Vivian’s parents are wealthy beyond counting while Rafferty spends his days as a private investigator, hustling on the streets of Dallas. So when he gets an out-of-the-blue phonecall from the Mollisons, Rafferty figures his long-awaited payday might have finally arrived.
But things are never that simple and the story they have to tell is like nothing he’s ever heard.
Can Rafferty save Vivian again? Or is it already too late?
RAFFERTY’S RULES is the first book in the Shamus Award-winning Rafferty P.I. series.
Two strangers walk into a bar.
By noon the next day one will be dead, the other in jail.
That ain’t no joke…
Rafferty’s killing time in the Hallston yacht club bar when he meets Cindy Lawson. Next morning he’s in jail for killing her.
The cops got it wrong. It happens. But that leaves the question: if Rafferty didn’t kill Cindy, who did?
Hallston is bucolic; a lakeside hamlet a long way from the big city. Peaceful streets, friendly neighbors, and family values. Just how the locals like it. But first impressions never tell the whole story. Everyone has something to hide in this small town where dark secrets surge and twist and intertwine underneath the picture-perfect surface.
Rafferty will drag them all into view as he searches for a violent killer hiding in plain sight. It won’t all be smooth sailing. Because some people will do anything to keep their secrets in the dark …
Radiation leaks. Missing plutonium.
And a company that will stop at nothing to contain its secrets.
Being a corporate whistleblower can be murder…
Sandra ‘Cricket’ Dawes had undeniable proof of dangerous leaks and missing radioactive material at the nuclear facility run by Dormac-Chaffee. She was all set to deliver the incriminating documents to a reporter, then sit back and watch the company get shut down for good. Getting killed was never part of the plan.
The Green Army environmental group wants Rafferty to recover the missing files and prove Dormac-Chaffee was behind Sandra’s murder. Simple, right?
Rafferty may not know much about nuclear physics but he can tell which direction the wind is blowing. And, in a case where no-one is who they seem, he’ll need to be on high alert for every step.
Because as Rafferty closes in on Sandra’s killer, deadly fallout is headed his way…
It should have been the easiest cash he’d ever make.
But Rafferty forgot the golden rule.
If it looks too good to be true…
When bounty hunter Toby Wells offered Rafferty two hundred bucks for fifteen minutes work the answer was obvious. There was no way he could know Wells would murder an innocent man and use Rafferty as cover for his getaway.
Payback will taste sweet. And would be a whole lot easier to come by if Rafferty wasn’t already spending his days protecting Thorney—the octogenarian uncle of a good friend. But a deal is a deal. He’s not about to cut the old guy loose just because things got complicated.
Then Wells is back in town. Still trigger-happy and showing no signs of slowing his murderous rampage. Rafferty has to stop Wells. And he has to do it now.
Because Uncle Thorney is walking right into the crossfire…
Who will die.
When it will happen. What it’s worth.
The things you learn when you’re mistaken for a hitman…
Rafferty knows everything about Max Krandorff’s death. The specific time, the exact location, and how the body should look once the killing is done. But Rafferty will turn informer instead of executioner, leaving the guy who paid fifteen large for Max’s demise to swing in the wind.
Rafferty’s soon being yanked between the cops, the Feds, the out-of-pocket money man, and the real assassin who demands only one thing.
“My money. Or else…”
The chase is on. Max’s would-be killer has studied Rafferty. Knows where he lives and works; who he shares a bed with. Rafferty doesn’t have the first clue to the identity of the voice behind the threats.
Only that if he doesn’t stop the assassin now, his whole world will go up in flames…
The Mob.
A bunch of missing money.
Rock and a hard place…
Patty Akister wants Rafferty to find her husband, Sherm. She says he’s a secret agent. He’s on a mission. Sure he is.
Rafferty has a fair idea where Sherm actually spends his weekends but decides there’s no harm in letting Patty hold on to her fantasy. She’s paying the bill; it’s the least he can do. Rafferty will find Sherm. Tell him what’s what. Convince him to go home and stop lying to his devoted wife.
But Sherm’s in over his head with people who use body counts to solve problems. They want their money back, and don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. The closer Rafferty gets to bringing Sherm home the more bodies he has to climb over, and it’s not long before he has to face the truth:
Sometimes there’s nothing but kill or be killed…
Young and in love.
Brian and Kimberly left home on the trip of a lifetime.
Only one returned…
Kimberly’s mother knows her daughter is in trouble.
God told her so. It’ll take more than that to convince Rafferty. He knows in cases like this, it’s typically the boyfriend or the girl’s a runaway.
But this case and typical aren’t even in the same zip code. Rafferty soon discovers what happened to Kimberly is more depraved than anything he’s ever seen. But before he can get to the bottom of this twisted case of charismatic men and missing girls, he’ll find himself caught in the crossfire between opposing forces each convinced of their own righteousness.
There’s no way around it. Rafferty will have to make a choice.
And if he chooses wrong, Kimberly’s life won’t be the only one to slip through his fingers…
He was told to focus on school.
No-one thought he’d do it through a rifle scope…
Bradley Wright and two other high-schoolers opened fire on their classmates. Rafferty watched from his office window as the horror unfolded. Too close to turn away. Too far to do anything about it.
He can’t turn back the clock, but to help Dallas recover from the tragedy, Rafferty will play his part in making sure the full weight of justice lands squarely on Bradley Wright’s shoulders. Nothing less than the shooter deserves.
So, when Bradley’s mother comes looking for help in proving her son’s innocence, why does she want Rafferty? And why can’t he shake the feeling there’s something he’s missing?
There’s right and there’s wrong. Separating the two will push Rafferty farther than ever.
Maybe over the edge…
“Steady now. Focus.
Look down the barrel. Breathe out. Relax.
When I count to three: Start shooting. One… Two…”
London Baines has it all. His ‘real-life’ TV show. All the money he’ll ever need—thanks to his wealthy father, Herbert. And someone hiding in the wings who’d rather see him as a corpse.
In the beginning, Herbert’s fears for his son’s safety seem like parental overreaction. But Rafferty witnesses a visceral new threat to the heart of the Baines family and realizes the only chance at keeping London alive is to take him out of view.
When London disappears from right under Rafferty’s nose, a happy ending seems farther away than ever. Can Rafferty flip the script, bring London home, and reunite father and son? Or will the bad actors succeed in canceling London’s run—permanently?
The first three complete novels in the Shamus Award-winning Rafferty P.I series.
Rafferty’s Rules: As a rookie cop, Rafferty saved ten-year-old Vivian Mollison from a bullet. It cost him his career. Fifteen years later Vivian has been abducted by six outlaw bikers and he’s the only one who can save her. But this time, will they both pay the ultimate price?
Last Seen Alive: Rafferty’s in the Hallston jail, accused of Cindy Lawson’s murder. He’ll drag this small town’s secrets to the surface in his hunt for justice, but the real killer is closer than anyone can guess. And he’s not finished yet…
Poor Dead Cricket: Sandra ‘Cricket’ Dawes had the evidence to blow the whistle on nuclear company Dormac-Chaffee. Getting killed was never part of her plan. As Rafferty’s closes in on Sandra’s killer and her missing files, he better watch every step; deadly fallout is headed straight for him…
Rafferty is back in this second collection of three complete novels from the award-winning Rafferty P.I series.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: With an innocent man’s death on his conscience, and to protect his latest charge, Rafferty has to take down a murderous bounty hunter. But to find him first, he’ll have to walk straight into the crossfire…
Cannon’s Mouth: Rafferty didn’t kill the guy. But that won’t matter much when he’s caught holding the bag full of cash. If he can’t get out from between the cops, the Feds, the out-of-pocket money man, and the real hitman, his whole world could go up in flames real quick…
Fatal Sisters: Sherm Akister is not a secret agent and Rafferty isn’t about to convince his wife, Patty, otherwise. But if he can’t get to Sherm, and the missing money, before the Mob does, the truth is going to a whole lot harder for Patty to swallow…
Rafferty and his friends are up to their old tricks in this third collection of three complete novels from the award-winning Rafferty P.I series.
False Gods: What was a simple case of bringing a missing girl home, has shown Rafferty a depravity he’s never seen before. As he walks into a crossfire between opposing forces, this young girl’s life might not be the only one to slip through his fingers in the darkness…
Wright & Wrong: Rafferty was too far away as the horror unfolded in front of him, and so, with what he saw, he’ll make sure those responsible are served justice. But when the killer’s mother wants him to help prove her son’s innocence, Rafferty’s going to have a hard time telling right from wrong…
Down the Barrel: London Baines has it all. His ‘real-life’ TV show. All the money he’ll ever need—thanks to his wealthy father. All of that will count for nothing if Rafferty can’t stop the unknown players trying to end London’s run… permanently.
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Author photography by the incomparable Neil Thompson Rees. Instagram @monocaptus