The Unusual Clients

Collects the novellas Doppelgänger's Curse, Up in Smoke, and Death Duel:
A woman stalked by her double. A detective in over his head. In a city where the cops are on a mobster's payroll, private investigator Charlie Madison stands in the gap. When a wealthy young socialite asks him to help her catch a threatening stalker, he takes the case. But things aren't what they seem, and Madison has to act fast before he's framed for murder. A life ended in flames. A detective sorting through the ashes. Madison saw plenty of bloodshed during the war, but he's never seen a billionaire burst into flames in his office. Until now. Searching for answers, Madison uncovers more than he bargained for: a bizarre mystery of human combustion that's smoking with jealousy, revenge, and murder. Add a pair of cops on his tail who are more interested in putting him out of business than seeking justice. It's just another action-packed day for the Charlie Madison Detective Agency. Now accepting...unusual clients. An honest cop impaled through the chest. A detective fighting his way to the truth. Private eye Charlie Madison has never seen anything like this on home soil. The culprit can't be human. A mandroid, then? Cyborg? Madison's investigation takes him deep into the underground world of extreme fighting-duels to the death, showcased beneath the city's biggest casino. Along the way, he discovers a new steroid quietly coming out of Little Tokyo. If rumors are true, it can turn a man into a killing machine. Before vengeful police can find and execute the murderer, another officer is found slain. With rogue yakuza, the Russian mob, and Federal agents in the mix, Madison must put the pieces of this violent mystery together before the city loses another good cop. Problem is, the killer may be one of his own clients.