Whipping Boy, a new mystery novel with a touch of romance

 I originally wrote Whipping Boy when I was still living in Los Angeles, and it reflects my love/hate relationship with the city. Most of the action takes place in an apartment building where the female protagonist lives, and I repurposed another apartment building I knew pretty well (friends of my sister lived there) to be the location, right down to the little ornamental pool in the center of the tiny courtyard. I published it in paper first so that I could have a shiny copy on my bookshelf and also to give to friends, including the woman it's dedicated to, a mystery writer in her own right.

It's a short novel (only 42,000 words or so), so what Amazon calls "a short read." I've put it on KU in case someone wants to read it as part of their subscription. I am rather pleased with it. If you'd like to check it out, you can do so here.

Here's the blurb:  

Lark Riordan works long hours as a crime scene investigator. She does not expect to return home to find one of her neighbors murdered.

Max Switek is the decorated homicide detective who catches the case. He is familiar with the victim, as he is with all of Lark’s neighbors.

He spends a lot of time with Lark, and not just in a professional capacity.

This does not go unnoticed by either his father—a cop-turned-judge—or her mother—the ex-wife of a womanizing actor who’s just been nominated for an Oscar®.

Who just happen to be married to each other. Even for L.A., it’s complicated. But so is the case, and there’s no shortage of people who wanted Jimmy Morrissey dead, and the chief suspect out of the way. 

Lark and Max take the case personally, and with help from a surprising source, they’re going to solve it.

Now if they could only do something about their love life.