""Kiely of the Dispatch, Liddell. A reporter of mine, Larry Jansen, had been murdered. I want you to find the killer." "Okay," Liddell sighed into the phone, replacing the receiver. He stared into the slanted green eyes of the girl, patter her on the knee, and sighed again, "Don't go away. I'll be right back." But several murders—a trip to Vegas—assorted racketeers—and a couple of dolls—kept Johnny a little longer than he expected. It started with murder—but that was only the beginning ... "

The moment Johnny Liddell laid eyes on the redhead, he knew the voice belonged. She was sprawled out, her hair a coppery tangle on the beige rug, her arm crooked over her head. The eyes that stared up at him were slightly slanted, half closed; her lips were parted, showing the perfection of her teeth. A loosely tied dressing gown gave ample evidence that the magnificence of her façade had needed no artificial assist.She was redheaded, she was luscious, she was stacked.She was also dead.

She was a gorgeous—and mysterious—girl from New York, who had taken a low-paying job in a small-town night club. When they fished her out of the local river she had nothing on. It didn't matter. She was past caring. Johnny Liddell cared, though. The girl was his client and it didn't make sense. Why would she strip, pile her clothes neatly on the pier, and then take the plunge? A waste, Liddell thought mournfully. A great waste. Then he cheered up. Any case that began with a killer and a naked woman was bound to produce more of the same . . .

"She called herself Denny Lyons ... and she was everything men dreamed of on long, lonely nights ... She had it all, from the white-gold hair that framed her expensive face to the graceful, slender ankles—and all those pleasant extras in-between ... She had everything—including big ideas. She was headed straight for the top and she thought she knew just how to get there ... But she had made one mistake—and someone thought that was one too many ... "

The First Three Mystery Crime Novels in the Series.Set in mid-20th century USA, Private Investigator Johnny Liddell is faced with solving some of the most complex and perplexing crimes.  The hard-boiled crime stories take you back to a time when the rough and tumble investigator pushes the limits in finding justice for the unfortunate victims.  Liddell uses his keen analytical intellect to expose the perpetrators, and isn't afraid to use brute force to make a point. He is usually the hunter, but sometimes the hunted; and also finds time to romance the women who happen to capture his attention.  You'll enjoy the journey!    DEADLY RANSOM - BOOK 1Private Investigator Johnny Liddell is tasked with sorting out the nefarious connections between the show business industry and organized crime that ultimately lead to money laundering, deceit, and murder. The complex and fast moving mystery crime...

ONE—The redheaded secretary lay crumpled on the office floor, her blouse ripped to the waist. Blood trickled from her mouth.TWO—The redheaded divorcee sprawled across the bed, the black silk sheet baring her lovely body—and her gaping throat.THREE—The black-haired B-girl lay broken across the steering wheel of the bomb-shattered car. Her open eyes stared sightlessly at the tilted floor.AND OUT!Each had walked into a trap meant for private eye Johnny Liddell, set by the crime syndicate out to get him. Each was a score Johnny had to settle—if he could live long enough to see the end of three brutal bouts with murder!

Shakedown - Another Johnny Liddell Mystery Crime ThrillerFollow private investigator, Johnny Liddell, as he picks up the pieces of deceit, extortion and murder in mid-20th century New York City.  See how he uses evidence, logic and intuition to break a major crime ring bubbling beneath the surface of the entertainment industry.  Liddell's strong and persuasive style is put on display in exposing criminal activity as well as attracting the ladies.Download it now!

"A case of corpses. They piled up so fast that private eye Johnny Liddell figured he was ahead if he found them while they were still warm. It started when he was hired as a baby-sitter to a wildcat. She was blonde and beautiful, and stacked better than a deck of marked cards. And she had a cool $200,000 worth of hot diamonds. There was just one hitch. She used bourbon instead of perfume."

A gorgeous gal with an insatiable appetite for love . . .A gossip columnist who scooped the world with his own obituary . . .An innocent young girl forced into a degrading racket . . .Plus other assorted chacters involved in mayhem and murder, in a collection of sizzling stories featuring Johnny Liddell, the wise-cracking, free-wheeling, quick-fisted private detective with the nasty habit the mobsters hate - he keeps on breathing!

It wasn't his case...his girl...or his problem...but Johnny Liddell had a personal interest in this little caper.He didn't ask to be the Feds' "receiver" on a pass of inside info on the smuggling racket, but he was. He didn't ask to have a couple of hoods beat the living daylights out of him to get the info back, but they did. As a matter of fact, for the first time in his life, Johnny Liddell wasn't asking for trouble.But when a lovely doll invited him to see her later, and murder turned later into never again, Johnny asked in—in to the bloody end.

Private Eye Johyyn Liddell had it all figured out. But the way it added up, there was only one possible killer: himself!

The Boys who couldn’t go home ruled the air-conditioned oasis called Las Palmas. They’d built a beautiful new city there on the Nevada desert. It had the latest model of a roulette wheel, double-duty strippers and a modern police force that couldn’t locate a fat man in a phone booth. Las Palmas could also point with pride to the fact that, next to New York and Chicago, it sent the syndicate the biggest take of all.But there was trouble in paradise—a killer was on the loose and he’d neglected to get permission from the syndicate to move in. So the Boys called in Johnny Liddell to teach a murderer manners—for ten thousand dollars a lesson.Money isn’t everything: cold cash won’t keep you warm in the morgue. Johnny Liddell was learning that as he realized he was being set up for the next kill...

Johnny Liddell goes to the races — and finds fast horses, crooked gamblers, and a very suspicious fire.

"Johnny Liddell, private investigator, is not accustomed to a quiet life. But life was never less quiet for him than after he was called in by Celeste Pierce, a redhead who is giving several famous bosomy blondes a run for their money. Everything was going swimmingly for Celeste until she was blackmailed by Bare Facts, a magazine which had some bare facts about Celeste from her girl-in-the-pie period. She is willing to pay for pictures and films, and Johnny sets off to get them back. Unfortunately for Johnny's peace of mind, impetuous Celeste goes off herself to see Murray Carter, the unattractive publisher of the unattractive periodical. Next day she is found dead in his apartment, and someone has obviously lent a helping hand since there is a bullet hole in the back of his skull. Johnny is given forty-eight hours and a free hand by the police to check on other blackmailers of Bare Facts. His search leads him everywhere from a Harlem dope joint to a boxers' hangout, with...

Johnny Liddell was looking forward to his 2:30 a.m. date with Eve Wylie. Eve had thick red hair that fell down over her shoulders like a molten copper cascade, and Eve had a sullen soft-looking mouth that held more than a casual promise for Johnny Liddell.So when he got to her apartment, and found the date was off, it came as an unpleasant shock.Not that it was Eve's fault. There was very little a girl, with her throat cut from ear to ear, could do about a broken date.