The JD Pierson Mystery Series

At a dime a dozen, I’m going broke handing out excuses for my dad. The name on the door says “JD Pierson, Investigator”, but most days the chair behind his desk is empty. It’s 1936 and times are hard for everyone in Tyler, Texas, but it’s all I can do to keep the rent paid since Dad lost his way in a bottle of gin. When JD suddenly shows a moment of sober coherence, I whisk him off to his favorite fishing lake in the hopes I can keep him off the sauce. I wanted Dad back in the investigator game, but having an old friend turn up dead was not part of the plan.

The lights are just about to go out for good in my father's PI office when I get an unexpected call from the state penitentiary. My mother's only brother was sent up for robbery years ago, and now he needs Dad's help to get his daughter out of trouble. It's impossible for me to be sure that the pendant around Cousin Betty's neck is stolen, but one thing's for sure - she doesn't want to talk about where it came from.

Just like the doctors warned, Dad has made lots of promises about staying off the bottle. That doesn't stop me from being disappointed to find him at a local speakeasy one night when he's supposed to be working a case. The leathery, stout man at his table is unmistakable: Templeton Gorham, former Texas Ranger. The governor shut down the Rangers years ago, but before that, Templeton was virtually a legend in his profession. He and JD are laughing over drinks like old friends, but later, when the three of us walk out into the night, gunshots pierce the darkness.