Mad Dog Barked -- Rick Ollerman

Rick Ollerman just keeps on getting better.  Mad Dog Barked is a  Florida private-eye novel, but it's not about a lone wolf.  Scott Porter has small agency that employs several operatives, and they all get into the action when a client walks in with a first edition of a book by Edgar Allan Poe.  

I thought immediately that this was going to be a biblio-mystery, but I was wrong.  It becomes clear that the story's not about the book.  It's about the note that's enclosed in the book.  Before long the client's secretary and the client himself are dead and very bad people want that note.  Porter believes that because his client has paid him a huge sum of money, he still has an obligation, so he protects the note and continues to pursue the case, which becomes more and more complex.

Things are further complicated by the fact that Porter is in love with one of his employees, Trudy, who's married to a cop.  Trudy is also in love with Porter.  As I said, it's complicated.

Another famous P.I., Race Williams, once said, "My ethics are my own. I'm not saying they're good and I'm not admitting they're bad, and what's more I'm not interested in the opinions of others on that subject."  I think Scott Porter could say exactly the same thing.  You might not agree with all his choices, but you'll understand them.

Ollerman doesn't neglect the secondary characters, either.  He has plenty of material here if he wants to continue writing about Porter and his agency.  This is going to be a strong contender for a Shamus, I'll bet.  The book's not due until September (but you can order it now), so you heard it here first.