Author: Douglas Roff

Publisher: Douglas Roff

Published: 2019-11-21

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13:

Central and Van Buren is a classic murder mystery novel set against the backdrop of Phoenix, Arizona in the late 1980's. It was a time of slow, expensive computers, floppy disks, no cell phones and no internet. The novel opens up with the fresh discovery on a normal Saturday morning of the homicide of Jack Peterson, a high-power attorney with the prestigious law firm of Casey and Bennett. He has been murdered in his office early, three telltale shots having done their lethal work strategically piercing his head, heart and groin. ​Jack's best friend and former law partner, Will Scott, is summoned by Jack's wife Marla Peterson to visit with the police, then look into the mysterious death of her husband. Both Marla Peterson and Will Scott fear that the police, headed by Miles Kilgore and James 'Jimmy' Ramos, have prejudged the case suggesting that Jack was involved in Mafia criminality gone wrong. ​Will jostles with the police while trying to balance his personal life now made even more complicated by his sometime girlfriend Teresa Garcia, who also is dating Det. Ramos. Past seeps into the present, making relationships complex and family issues more complicated. The Phoenix PD, the FBI and the Peterson family all have secrets to hide and confidences to keep. Just as one lead becomes promising, it dries up into dust just as quickly. After months of investigation, with the police and Will Scott crossing paths during separate investigations, the stakes only grow larger with the list of suspects. As time goes by, few changes and no new clues have been found. Then things explode as Will discovers a connection to mobster Frank Scarlatti and a mysterious young woman who appears out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly. Does she hold the key to solving this mystery? If so, why does she not wish to cooperate? Follow the story as Will Scott slowly and methodically unravels the shocking clues to his best friend's murder.