Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2019/05/foodfic-please-welcome-rick-polad.html

Six months after his parents died in an auto accident, Spencer Manning has turned away from following his father's career in the Chicago police force and become a private investigator, looking for his first case, which comes when the owner of a local diner asks him to find out the biological father of his niece whose mother was murdered months earlier. His investigation brushes up against the stalled police investigation of the murder, riles the activities of a drug operation based at a local racetrack, uncovers dark secrets in the Mayor's mansion and unexpectedly discovers a darker shadow over his parent's accident. This detective mystery has a well-crafted back story that will leave many readers guessing as the pieces are uncovered and put together by our hero. For those like me who see where the path is turning, the journey is still nicely told with strong characterizations. I noted an Amazon review that railed against multiple spelling and grammar errors, but my Kindle copy was very well edited with very few errors. However, I sense that this recently published debut novel has been sitting in a drawer for awhile, waiting for a chance to strut itself, based on clues like Spencer’s ’65 Mustang originally owned by his father, the tape-driven answering machine and pager that are Spencer’s main communication tools, and the Wrigley Field home game Spencer and a lady friend attends with Bill Buckner in the Cubs lineup (1989-1994). ( )