A Dirty Business

by Joe Humphrey

Overview

When Kevin Bailey, a black, jobless twenty-something returns to New York City from a recent hermitage in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, he finds himself both broke and homeless. Armed with a degree in criminal justice, he immediately leans on an associate and former employer for a needed job referral. This leads to a position with the Frank Givens detective agency in Midtown. Bailey is hired for various reasons, three of which are the fact that he comes cheap, he's green enough to be taught, and his boss is swamped with cases. Frank Givens tosses Bailey a case that should have been fairly routine: a New York City socialite requires dirt on her son's fiancée based on her suspicions of gold digging.

After the client, Selena Eldritch, supplies Bailey with a photo of her son Edward Eldritch and his blonde fiancée, Donna Greenwood, the investigation is underway, and Bailey eventually tails Edward Eldritch to a quaint historical village hours outside of Manhattan. There, Edward meets with a brunette, and Bailey soon follows the pair into a local tavern where he then discovers that the brunette's name is in fact Donna Greenwood. Who, then, is the blonde in the photo? And why does Selena Eldritch believe her to be Donna Greenwood? Bailey sets out to uncover the truth behind this mystery, but as he begins to dig deeper, he soon learns a few intriguing facts. The blonde in the photo, Norma Vidon, has actually been missing for quite some time, and the police have even given up their investigation into her disappearance.

Baily continues to dig even further, uncovering weird obsessions, betrayals, and not a little deceit and, of course, dead bodies begin turning up. What started out as an average, relatively simple assignment soon develops into a complex case full of pretzel twists; one difficult enough for Kevin Baily to truly prove himself. But he is up to the task?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935702016
Publisher:	Middleton Publishing
Publication date:	09/27/2010
Series:	A Kevin Bailey Novel , #1
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Joe Humphrey is a retired corrections officer who spends much of his free time writing detective stories and collecting antiques. His influences are Hammett, Chandler, and (Ross) MacDonald, though not necessarily in that order.

Born and raised in Central America, Humphrey's stories are full of interesting and diverse characters that run the gamut from rich socialites to depraved, well-worn individuals who traipse the broken sidewalks and broad, peopled avenues of his stories. A Dirty Business is his first published novel, which features a young novice private detective who will figure in many of his upcoming books. Considered by many to be a literary recluse (perhaps along the lines of J.D. Salinger himself) it took quite a bit of coaxing by publisher Jaime Vendera to convince Mr. Humphrey to publish his first book.

Mr. Humphrey, a decidedly private individual, resides in New York with his wife. He has two sons, and four grandchildren.

Editorial Reviews

A Dirty Business, the new debut crime novel by Joe Humphrey, goes down smooth and easy, like a slug of Chivas Regal on the rocks. . . . What appears to be a straightforward case begins to unravel into a tangled web of intrigue and bizarre obsessions . . . and like a terrier on a bone, [Kevin Bailey] gnaws at it with diligence and purpose, unearthing dead bodies and intriguing red herrings that keep the reader guessing until the end.

Aaron Lazar

A Dirty Business, the new debut crime novel by Joe Humphrey, goes down smooth and easy, like a slug of Chivas Regal on the rocks. . . . What appears to be a straightforward case begins to unravel into a tangled web of intrigue and bizarre obsessions . . . and like a terrier on a bone, [Kevin Bailey] gnaws at it with diligence and purpose, unearthing dead bodies and intriguing red herrings that keep the reader guessing until the end.
Mr. Humphrey writes with a strong sense of place and a consistent voice, with none of the pretentious tools often found in new writers. His style is simple and engaging, and the story moves, whether Bailey is in a fistfight in a parking lot or staking out a suspect and calmly observing the detailed architecture of a building. . . . Mr. Humphrey offers a touch of romance in the appearance of Amelia Helton, a delightful waitress with smooth caramel-colored skin and a ready smile who warms to Bailey and will hopefully play a larger part in the mystery series. This reader will anticipate the second book in the series, and hopes that Mr. Humphrey is writing fast.

Midwest Book Review