1998 Minnesota Book Award Winner

The brash and resourceful St. Paul private investigator Holland Taylor takes on an unpromising embezzlement case -- an elderly woman has been cheated out of her life savings. But when Taylor tracks down Levering Field, the unscrupulous businessman who handled her investments, he finds that more is at stake -- Mrs. Gustafson's financial ruin is only one strand in a spider's web of fraud and intrigue.

With the help of his elegant attorney lady love and an eccentric computer-genius friend, Taylor starts probing under cover into Field's activities and soon finds that someone seems anxious to derail his investigation. The game quickly becomes serious when Field is found shot to death and Taylor first is suspected of the crime and then is shot himself.

Frightened at the dangerously widening net but determined to get answers, Taylor follows a trail to computer records that reveal a list of prominent people with large investments in Field's operations. Millions of dollars are at stake, as well as the reputations of the most powerful people in The Cities. As a hired killer pursues him, Taylor races to put together the last pieces of the puzzle, find the money, and catch the people who are willing to do anything to stop him.

REVIEWS

Housewright follows up his Edgar-winning debut (Penance, 1995) with a greased-lightning tale of scam and counterscam that's still bubbling merrily when the fat lady sings.
--Kirkus Reviews

Finely drawn locations, intriguing plot, and exciting action... Taylor is complex, funny, brave, and flawed. David Housewright has done it again.
--Nevada Barr

The story moves swiftly, thanks to constantly changing venues and vigorous dialogue . . . The characters are colorful.... For readers who appreciate a fast-paced, event-packed story line, Housewright delivers.
--St. Paul Pioneer Press

Housewright tells a good story in a setting he makes his own.... Housewright's wit should earn him acclaim....
--Publisher's Weekly