Fred Carver mysteries

Forced into early retirement by a bullet to the knee, ex-cop Fred Carver undertakes a missing persons case that quickly places him in mortal danger   When the criminal's bullet shattered his knee, Fred Carver's colleagues called him lucky. Between his pension and the insurance check, they said, he had a nice, easy retirement to look forward to. But Fred Carver would rather have his knee. His career finished, his marriage over, he takes a halfhearted...

When a client dies in a car explosion, Orlando detective Fred Carver learns the man may not have been who he said he was   For Bert Renway, it starts out as a simple proposition: a fat bundle of money to spend a few weeks impersonating Frank Wesley, a local tycoon. But after a while Bert grows suspicious of the easy money, and seeks help in the shape of Fred Carver, an ex–Orlando policeman turned private investigator. Like Bert, Carver smells trouble,...

When a nervous husband asks him to track down his heroin addict wife, Fred Carver learns that not every client can be trusted   When he meets Bob Ghostly, it's hardly the first time that Fred Carver has been asked to find a missing spouse. But Ghostly's tale about a beautiful woman who fled for no apparent reason doesn't quite convince Carver, who presses for more detail. Finally Ghostly admits it. His wife was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, but...

Fred Carver investigates a series of suspicious deaths in a stately Florida retirement community   Hattie Evans, a retired schoolteacher, isn't one to fuss. When her husband drops dead of a heart attack, she does her best to move on without too many tears. After all, Jerome was seventy years old. But an anonymous note, asserting that her husband was murdered, shakes her resolve, and she seeks out help. The police are useless, save that they send...

When he is accused of stalking a woman he swears he's never met, a local businessman asks Fred Carver for help clearing his name   Joel Brandt swears he's never met the woman before. His wife dead six months before, the small-time businessman is perplexed when Del Moray police inform him that a local woman, Marla Cloy, has accused him of harassing her. According to her, Joel has been lurking outside of her house, following her car, even assaulting...