Books in the Eddie Collins Mystery series

Hollywood PI, sometime actor Eddie Collins is doing a bit on a sitcom when he receives an SOS from an A-list friend. Mike Ford's Oscar has been stolen during a home invasion and Ford's girlfriend has drowned in the swimming pool. Did she surprise the burglar? Whoever it was left behind threatening letters, and Eddie is hired to see if he can unearth their source.All the dots connect around a movie Ford directed and acted in several years earlier: Red Desert. More than a few people associated with that shoot recall it less than fondly. Is one of them harboring a deadly grudge? Eddie has hired Reggie, an old Army buddy, to do surveillance. Soon Reggie, Eddie's secretary Mavis, and everyone associated with Eddie Collins and Mike Ford seem to be targets. And smoke from the foothills is encroaching on Eddie's Hollywood home/office. Is Eddie's world about to go up in flames?Originally published in 2015, Red Desert was a finalist for the Shamus Award. Book 2 in the Eddie Collins Mystery series. 

Eddie Collins' part-time actor pursuits take on a new dimension when his ex-wife, Elaine Weddington, turns up dead while filming her latest movie Flames of Desire. The production's insurance company hires Eddie to represent their interests in the Americana Pictures film. Private eye is his main gig now, although he doesn't turn his back on acting jobs when they come his way.Elaine was a star of sorts, though her pictures were B-movies and never up for major awards. Encroaching middle age meant her leading-lady days were numbered, and she worked with a lot of jealous wannabes. Did one of them off her? What about her personal assistant or live-in boyfriend?While searching through Elaine's trailer, Eddie finds a list of initials with corresponding phone numbers. As he gradually ticks off the entries, he begins to form an unwelcome, less idealized version of Elaine. Then an assistant director is killed as she is about to share a damning revelation. The quest to identify one set of initials almost puts him in the hospital. Can Eddie handle the truth? Will it set him free, or kill him?Originally published in 2012, Murder Unscripted was a finalist for the Shamus Award. Book 1 in the Eddie Collins Mystery series. 

For PI Eddie Collins, the moment Carla Rizzoli sashays into his office casts him deliciously into a scene from a classic noir. Only this femme fatale is a sweet ghost from his past, a time when he made his living exclusively as an actor. Then she was a full-time actress too, and they'd dated briefly before an old flame came back into her life. Now she's known as Velvet La Rose and making a steady living as an exotic dancer at the Feline Follies. She needs Eddie's services to find her missing brother Frankie Rizzoli, who sent her a cryptic message warning her to watch her back.Eddie falls hard for Carla, who hasn't given up on acting. In fact, she's about to start work on a B-movie, Festival of Death. Now motivated by more than a paycheck, Eddie searches for Frankie, last seen hiding out among the homeless. Frankie was once a member of the military police, and an old photo identifies an old Army buddy, James Curran, who starts to cross paths with both Eddie and Carla with increasing frequency.What is Frankie mixed up in and why doesn't he want to be found? How does James Curran figure in? As Eddie questions the residents of Skid Row and works undercover as an extra in Festival of Death, he searches in vain for the links between Frankie and James and Carla. He needs answers soon, or Carla may slip through his fingers again, this time into oblivion.Book 3 in the Eddie Collins Mystery series, which began with Murder Unscripted and Red Desert.