The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

A Stewart Hoag Mystery

By: David Handler

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

HARLAN COBEN calls it ""One of my all-time favorite series! ...David Handler is so good at writing one smart, funny page-turner after another that he makes it look easy.""

Fans of JANET EVANOVICH and CARL HIAASEN, get ready. If you haven't yet discovered wisecracking sleuth Stewart ""Hoagy"" Hoag and his faithful basset hound Lulu, you're in for a sharp, hilarious treat.

Once upon a time, Hoagy had it all: a hugely successful debut novel, a gorgeous celebrity wife, the glamorous world of New York City at his feet. These days, he scrapes by as a celebrity ghostwriter. A celebrity ghostwriter who finds himself investigating murders more often than he'd like.

And once upon a time, Richard Aintree was the most famous writer in America -- high school students across the country read his one and only novel, a modern classic on par with The Catcher in the Rye. But after his wife's death, Richard went into mourning... and then into hiding. No one has heard from him in twenty years.

Until now. Richard Aintree — or someone pretending to be Richard Aintree — has at last reached out to his two estranged daughters. Monette is a lifestyle queen à la Martha Stewart whose empire is crumbling; and once upon a time, Reggie was the love of Hoagy's life. Both sisters have received mysterious typewritten letters from their father.

Hoagy is already on the case, having been hired to ghostwrite a tell-all book about the troubled Aintree family. But no sooner does he set up shop in the pool house of Monette's Los Angeles mansion than murder strikes. With Lulu at his side — or more often cowering in his shadow — it's up to Hoagy to unravel the mystery, catch the killer, and pour himself that perfect single-malt Scotch... before it's too late.

Don't give up

The narrator's style becomes the perfect fit for the noir atmosphere of this book, once you get used to it. (I suggest playing with the speed of his speech in the Audible software until it is right for you.) It is worth listening to until the voice transports you to a dark, smoky, dimly lit bar room in the cheapest, not 100%-lethal, gin joint in L.A.
Then you are in for a treat because behind the voice is a jewel of classic black-and-white noir.

So Glad to have Another Stewart Hoag Mystery

I listened to the first eight books a few years ago. Was very excited when I saw Audible had added two more. Just finished book nine and it was truly comfort food in book form. It's rare to find excellently written books that don't take themselves too serious. Well done (again) Mr. Handler (and Mr. Runnette).