The latest in the beloved Stanley Hastings series―the unlikeliest private eye in New York City, who doesn’t even carry a gun. Poor Stanley Hastings. After getting hired by a hitman and nearly getting shot, the put-upon PI needed some fun, so when a gorgeous damsel in distress walked through his office door she seemed just what the doctor ordered. Wrong again. The fair maiden turned out to be a married mom who wanted Stanley to find out why her teenage daughter was skipping school. Playing truant officer wasn't exactly Stanley's idea of fun, but at least it should be easy. Fat chance. Stanley being Stanley, nothing goes right, nothing is as it seems, bodies start to pile up, and faster than you can say 'fall guy', guess who's left holding the bag? Before the case is resolved, Stanley will be nostalgic for the good old days, when all he had to worry about was a hitman. New York private investigator Stanley Hastings needs a change of pace. The only jobs his boss, personal-injury lawyer Richard Rosenberg, gives him are routine trip-and-fall cases. So when a beautiful woman comes to Stanley and asks him to rescue her teenage daughter, Stanley’s knight-errant genes kick into overdrive. Mom thinks daughter may be turning tricks. OMG! Stanley first tries the “scared straight” technique he remembers from an old movie. It doesn’t go well. Then he slips the kid a Mickey to spirit her away from the man who seems to be her lover-client—and he gets hauled in on a kidnapping charge. Then a congressman involved with the girl ends up dead, and Stanley is tapped for the murder. No good deed goes unpunished in Stanley’s world. The latest Hastings mystery is typical of the series: charming, funny, and cleverly plotted. Stanley is the living embodiment of the old Rodney Dangerfield punch line: “I don’t get no respect.” His boss thinks he’s a goof, his wife disregards him, and his NYPD connection addresses him as “moron.” Readers just root for him. Engaging reading. --Wes Lukowsky “The charm in Stanley Hastings lies in his chummy, loquacious, self-deprecating commentary as the narrator of his adventures.” - The Washington Post Book World “Parnell Hall succeeds in making Stanley Hastings one of a kind. . . . Pleasantly reminiscent of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.” - Wall Street Journal Parnell Hall is an Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty nominee, and is the author of the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mystery series, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. An actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator, Hall lives in New York City.