The case of the Antiquities Collector: A Joey Mancuso, Father O'Brian Crime Mystery

THEIR DAUGHTER GOES MISSING AND THEY DON'T CALL THE COPS? THAT’S ONE OF MANY……intriguing mysteries deliciously and intricately layered in these pages. Layer upon layer, twist upon twist, secret upon secret, this is a case tailor-made for a Sherlock Holmes devotee like private investigator Joey Mancuso. From the beginning, there’s just something funny about parents who didn’t report a missing student right away, and days later still want no police.Hold it here! This is their beloved daughter, last seen leaving for a date. Why wouldn’t they want as much firepower as they can get? Because they know too much, that’s why—and Owen Parr’s clever detective senses that. Joey’s first job’s to save the girl, but no way he’s going to stop there. The scrappy PI and ex-cop’s going to get answers if it kills him.Which, of course, it nearly does. The body count soars as his brother and detective partner Father Dom, always the adult in the room, clucks, prays, and begs for caution—to no avail. The ruthless kidnappers have something huge to cover up…an operation involving stolen art that’s being used to finance one of the greatest evils on the planet. Once Joey knows that, he’s a runaway train.A lot of the fun is in the clever Russian doll structure of a puzzle wrapped in a mystery, each discovery leading to a bigger and more surprising twist, but it wouldn't be half as delightful without the loveable series ensemble author Parr has assembled. The usual suspects are here—Marcy, Joey’s new wife and favorite FBI agent; researcher Agnes, who goes to Father Dom’s Mass every morning, presumably to repent for her shameless hacking; and Mr. Pat, gentle giant bartender-turned-detective. There’s also a welcome new addition—a professor who’s as close as you’re ever going to get to Indiana Jones.Full of action and exotic locales, this PI series entry will appeal to action-adventure fans as well as those who can't get enough of hard-boiled New York detective stories, devotees of clerical mysteries, and everybody who loves a tough, competent female sleuth-- Marcy, Agnes, and Joey’s former partner Lucy will satisfy that desire in triplicate.