Free (Kindle/iTunes) Fifth Script by Ross H. Spencer [Hard-Boiled Chicago PI Mystery]

[ATDrake]

The Fifth Script by the late Ross H. Spencer (Wikipedia), apparently known for his satirical comedic mysteries, is the 1st in his possibly-satiric Lacey Lockington series of old-school hard-boiled PI mysteries starring the eponymous Chicago ex-cop turned private detective, this installment setting up the premise of Lacey's dismissal from the force and subsequent ending up protecting the cause of said dismissal from determined murder attempts, free courtesy of publisher Diversion Books, who are e-printing it from its 1989 edition originally out from Dutton's Donald I. Fine imprint.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK) & iTunes (available to Canadians and many places worldwide, as Diversion freebies often are).

Should you happen to enjoy this one and want to continue with the other two books in the series, Diversion titles are generally reasonably low-priced to begin with, as well as couponable @ Kobo and otherwise eligible for discounts/rebates at participating retailers which offer them.

If something even niftier hadn't just popped up in the slushpile, this would have been my feature pick for the day because retro genre (maybe) satire from a noted author is usually

Description
Detective Lacey Lockington always gets the job done, but making the omelets of solved cases usually involves breaking a lot of eggs. So when Lacey gets suspended after tabloid columnist Stella Starbright names him as a “kill-crazy cop,” he has to find new work as a private investigator. It’s a step down, for sure, and one of his first cases is an unlikely one: former “Stella Starbrights” are turning up dead on the streets of Chicago, and the current one, the reputation ruiner herself, turns to an unlikely source for protection.

Going against his gut, Lacey agrees to keep tabs on Stella to keep her from sharing the grisly fate of her former namesakes. In the midst of all the madness, Lacey hunts the real killer, someone looking to silence gossip columnists for good. But can Lacey crack the case before another victim makes a different section of the newspapers?

Sex…violence…booze! This deadly mix will keep you on the edge of your seat in Ross Spencer’s jaded-but-jaunty tale about a hardened cop with nothing but his reputation to lose.