How much do you owe a past love? Ever wonder about it? Private Detective Ron Shade does when he bumps into his former lover, Paula Kittermann, late one lonely December night in a hotel bar. Paula had once been a major factor in Shade s life, but that was a very long time ago. Against his better judgement, he lets her back in, but when she s gone, without so much as a goodbye kiss, leaving him once with only bittersweet memories of what might have been. Then Paula turns up dead, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run accident. Though shocked, Shade moves on with his life until Paula s young cousin, Laurie, shows up in Chicago, asking him to look into the matter. Shade s investigation takes a walk on the seedy side, and begins to attract the attention of some very powerful enemies. But whenever Shade gets close to the truth, somebody seems to end up dead, and he suddenly finds himself the prime suspect in a homicide investigation. Working to clear himself and find out who killed Paula, Shade goes up against some redoubtable foes who will stop at nothing to ensure his search for the truth won t be completed.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Michael A. Black graduated from Columbia College, Chicago in 2000 with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fiction Writing. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northern Illinois University. Despite his literary leanings, he has often said that police work has been his life. A former Army Military Policeman, he entered civilian law enforcement after his discharge, and for the past twenty-eight years has been a police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago.
The author of over forty articles on subjects ranging from police work to popular fiction, he has also had over thirty short stories published in various anthologies and magazines, including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His first novel, A KILLING FROST, featuring private investigator Ron Shade, was published by Five Star in September 2002 with endorsements from such respected authors as Sara Paretsky and Andrew Vachss. The novel received universally excellent reviews, and was subsequently released in trade paperback.
WINDY CITY KNIGHTS, the second novel in the Ron Shade series, came out in March of 2004. His third novel, THE HEIST, a stand-alone thriller set during the freak Chicago flood of 1992, came out in June, 2005. He has also written two nonfiction books, THE M1A1 ABRAMS (tank), and VOLUNTEERING TO HELP KIDS, which were published by Rosen Press.
He has worked in various capacities in police work including patrol supervisor, tactical squad, investigations, raid team member, and SWAT team leader. He is currently a sergeant on the Matteson, Illinois Police Department. His hobbies include weightlifting, running, and the martial arts. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. It is rumored he has five cats.
Mike's newest novel, FREEZE ME, TENDER (think: Frozen Elvis) is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com now.
