Jimmy the Stick (Jimmy Quinn Mysteries) - Tapa dura

"[Mayo] persuasively portrays such real-life mobsters as Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano in a tale sure to appeal to fans of Max Allan Collins's gangster historicals." --Publishers Weekly "Imagine an Agatha Christie country-house murder mystery soaked in booze and violence, with the detective played as a cold, pragmatic street fighter instead of some effete Belgian fop. The expected traditional shenanigans unfold (there's even a hidden room!), albeit in a rather hardboiled and occasionally bloody fashion, but the solution is clever and fair. What really sticks, however, is the film critic and first-time novelist's muscular way with character and plot, and particularly Jimmy's way with words." --Mystery Scene Magazine [Mayo] persuasively portrays such real-life mobsters as Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano in a tale sure to appeal to fans of Max Allan Collins s gangster historicals. Publishers Weekly Imagine an Agatha Christie country-house murder mystery soaked in booze and violence, with the detective played as a cold, pragmatic street fighter instead of some effete Belgian fop. The expected traditional shenanigans unfold (there s even a hidden room!), albeit in a rather hardboiled and occasionally bloody fashion, but the solution is clever and fair. What really sticks, however, is the film critic and first-time novelist s muscular way with character and plot, and particularly Jimmy s way with words. Mystery Scene Magazine"

A gunman comes out of retirement to guard his former partner's family Jimmy Quinn was a gunman, bootlegger, and bagman, running with mobsters the likes of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, until a bullet in the leg and the murder of Arnold Rothstein ended his career. Quinn bought a speakeasy in downtown Manhattan and settled into a quiet retirement--until the day he learns that famous aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby has been kidnapped, and his old friend and partner Walter Spencer wants a word. Spence has left his criminal past behind, marrying into the Pennyweight family--of Pennyweight Petroleum--and settling into a legitimate lifestyle in rural New Jersey. Now Spence has business out of state, and with the Lindbergh kidnapping weighing on his mind, he wants Quinn to stay in his home and protect his family. A few days guarding Spence's beautiful wife should be easy work, but Quinn's old business is about to catch up with him, and he quickly finds that the Garden State can be even more dangerous than the streets of New York City.