Gary Showalter

When Terry Rankin launches Rankin Personal Security Services in Orlando, Florida, it’s not his first fresh start. Not by a long shot. After serving as an investigator for the MPs in the U.S. Army, Rankin spent several years on the Pennsylvania State Police force before packing up and heading south. In Tampa, bad business decisions and a penchant for gambling—and losing, badly—sank Rankin’s security business and his marriage. Starting over in Orlando as a middle-aged divorcee certainly wasn’t easy, but he managed to redeem his reputation by choosing his clients carefully and doing whatever was necessary to get the job done.

So when Sheila Adamson comes to him for protection from her abusive husband, Rankin recognizes immediately that hers is not a situation he wants to meddle in. He turns her down, and moments later, when Mrs. Adamson climbs into her car to leave, a violent explosion blows her to bits and knocks down the wall of Rankin’s house. When he wakes in the hospital, his first accusation is pointed at her sleaze ball husband. But then he learns that her attorney, a man with whom he has clashed on a number of occasions, has also turned up dead, leading Rankin to suspect there’s more to this domestic dispute than meets the eye.

He teams up with Orlando cop Cathy Diamond for what quickly unfolds into a tense and exciting race for the truth through the streets of Orlando, the marshes of western Florida, and the labyrinthine waterways of the Everglades. Fans of contemporary murder mysteries are certain to take a shine to Rankin’s sardonic, hardboiled bodyguard-turned investigator, whose dogged pursuit of a calculating murderer makes for a riveting read.