The Hard Way: Volume 9

A ＂well-plotted＂ mystery about a PI and her canine partner’s search for a murderer among NYC’s homeless has ＂a strong sense of place and social conscience＂ (Publishers Weekly).

Native New Yorker Rachel Alexander has seen a lot on the streets of Manhattan in her years as a private investigator. But when a client hires her to find a murderer among the city’s homeless, Rachel uncovers a whole new layer. Disguised as a bag lady, her discerning pit bull Dash by her side, Rachel descends into the city’s underbelly to find a deranged man that witnesses claim pushed prominent businessman Gardner Redstone on to the subway tracks. Instead, Rachel discovers the dark disparity between the city’s wealthiest and its poorest--and that sometimes all that glitters is not necessarily gold.

The only thing certain is that someone did murder Redstone. But could that suspect possibly be found within his own well-heeled community? Donning a new cover, Rachel and Dash infiltrate New York City’s elite society, determined to shatter some illusions about criminal behavior.

＂Benjamin mixes an intriguing puzzle with a dollop of introspection.＂ --Library Journal

Praise for the Rachel Alexander and Dash Mysteries

＂One of the best private eye series around.＂ --Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Fool Me Once

＂Her high quality of prose and convincing way with dialogue may surprise and delight new readers.＂ --Chicago Sun-Times

＂Alexander is someone who holds your interest and makes you keep turning the pages.＂ --Nevada Barr, New York Times-bestselling author of Flashback

＂Benjamin’s work [is] first rate.＂ --The Plain Dealer

Carol Lea Benjamin is the author of the Rachel Alexander and Dash mystery novels, which feature a Greenwich Village-based private investigator and her pit bull sidekick. This Dog for Hire, the first book in the series, won the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel. Benjamin has also been a teacher, worked as a private investigator, trained dogs, and written dog-training manuals such as Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog. She lives in New York City with her husband and two dogs.