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Missing Persons"A terrific read. Buddy Steel is my kind of Sheriff." —Tom Selleck
A brand new look for Missing Persons, first in the Buddy Steel mystery series by New York Times bestselling author, Michael Brandman. Even in a town called Freedom, justice has its price… LAPD homicide detective Buddy Steel finds himself detoured from his own life when his ailing father, Sheriff Burton Steel, calls him home to Freedom to take over as deputy. Though relations between father and son have always been strained, and Buddy reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. When he begins investigating the possible disappearance of a famous local televangelist's wife, he is met with outright antagonism. While the highly-secured husband insists that his wife is simply visiting a relative, the housekeeper who reported her missing fears she may have been murdered. And no one, from family members to ministry security and staff to the prosecutor's office seems inclined to help Buddy in his investigation. In fact, many go out of their way to stop him. But the more he pokes and prods, the more he realizes that the Bible-thumping family and their television empire may be an elaborate cover for a less-than-holy enterprise. This is far more than a typical missing person case. But how far up does the corruption reach―and will Buddy pay the ultimate price for refusing to look the other way? Missing Persons is an emotionally propulsive thriller perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker, Sue Grafton, and Michael Connelly. Because there are dark secrets buried in this small town, and a missing person threatens to unearth them all—with deadly consequences.
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About the author:MICHAEL BRANDMAN is an acclaimed motion picture and television producer, screenwriter, and the author of three Jesse Stone novels, each based on characters created by Robert B. Parker, all on the New York Times Bestsellers list. With his longtime partner, Tom Selleck, he produced and co-wrote nine Jesse Stone movies and three Westerns. He is the father of two sons and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the Emmy Award-winning actress Joanna Miles.
VISIT MICHAEL ONLINE:
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StealthA FREE Buddy Steel Novella—Available exclusively as an ebook!
Acting Sheriff Buddy Steel finds himself stymied when he is called by his father, the legendary Sheriff Burton Steel, to find the missing daughter of family friends. The 21-year-old honors student has disappeared without a trace, and neither canvassing nor traffic cameras offer any clues. Then an attorney from one firm and a legal assistant from another also vanish over the next couple of days, and Buddy enlists the help of the FBI to search for clues linking the cases. Their investigation turns up a frightening connection that will have Buddy and a highly trained tactical unit racing the clock to find the missing victims before the triple kidnapping turns to triple homicide. |
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One on OneBuddy Steel Thrillers, #2
When legendary Sheriff Burton Steel summoned his son Buddy home from LAPD Homicide, a reluctant Buddy agreed. Burton is debilitated by ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. While Buddy is to cover his back, not an assignment he wants, the clincher is it's his last chance to connect with his proud, overbearing parent. What Buddy didn't expect was to encounter crime in Freedom, a privileged coastal community a hundred miles north of Los Angeles, as vicious and challenging as that of the city. One spring morning, the latest challenge erupts. The brutal murder of a prominent Freedom High School sports coach leads Buddy into a clandestine universe of sexual deception, play parties, unwitting athletes, over-privileged youths, treacherous bullies, and shocking malfeasance. At the same time, a sudden scourge of graffiti is disfiguring both public and private property, despoiling the beauty and serenity of Freedom's unassuming landscape. Outraged, knowing he has few legal weapons to wield, Buddy is forced to find new and challenging ways to thwart the street artist, or artists, responsible. Irreverent and imaginative, not to say manipulative, Buddy is just the man for the job. Buddy's plate is soon full and the stakes are enormous as he sets about bringing resolution to a glut of seemingly irresolute occurrences. "Another great read." —Tom Selleck
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Wild CardBuddy Steel Thrillers, #3
Follow Buddy Steel on his most difficult and dangerous investigation yet as he stumbles upon corruption in his own backyard. When San Remo County Acting Sheriff Buddy Steel is deputized by the California Coastal Commission to investigate a reclusive Russian billionaire who has repeatedly violated state law by obstructing public access to his vast beachfront property, he makes a shocking discovery. And learns that the politicos, some with a history of corruption, some just chicken, will not back up enforcement. This makes Buddy, a former LAPD cop dragged home by his Sheriff father's ALS diagnosis to "temporarily" head the department, dig in his heels and face down the Russian's imported goon squad. It can and will get uglier. At the same time a string of random murders in the county's normally sleepy town of Freedom, a wealthy enclave up the coast from Los Angeles, places the Sheriff's Department on high alert as it seeks to apprehend a serial killer whose crimes are so perfectly executed they leave no forensic evidence. Buddy enlists an old adversary in his war with the Russian. She's a legal shark from L.A., a savvy negotiator—and former lover. He needs to carry this fight to court. And he needs more backup—from the Sheriff's Department staff, not the Sheriff, who resists being sidelined. Nor Freedom's mayor, Buddy's stepmother. Unconventional and meticulously obtuse in his methodology, wild card cynic Buddy Steel barrels his way through the myriad obstacles that defy him. He may not want the job but his quest for serving the law is relentless. "...another irreverent, complex lawman." --Library Journal
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