Showing results by author "Neil Plakcy" in All Categories

There’s a new dog in town--a golden retriever named Luke, in training to be a seeing-eye dog. He and Rochester immediately bond, but there’s something odd about Luke’s human, Ben Ji. How can someone so young afford an expensive townhouse on Sarajevo Way? When Ben is shot, Steve begins to discover the lies he has been telling. 

An Alzheimer’s patient slips away from home on his own and tumbles into the Delaware River. And then Steve’s love Lili suffers the crushing loss of her mother in a Miami Beach hospital. Eckhardt Lalor left behind a fortune in real estate, a fractured family, and a bitter legacy as a city slumlord. Does that add up to murder? There’s no question of what killed Benita Weinstock — a dodgy heart — but her death rocks her daughter’s world, and Steve’s. It will be up to Rochester to solve the crime and heal his humans in this new mystery with heart — and fur. 

Mahu Fire begins as openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka attends a local charity event in support of gay marriage. When a bomb disrupts the gala, Kimo, his family, and friends are thrust into a deadly contest between good and evil. A wave of religious fundamentalism sweeps through O’ahu, at the same time as violence against gay and lesbian-owned businesses is on the rise. Coincidence? Kimo doesn’t think so. Working with hunky fire inspector Mike Riccardi, Kimo digs through the ashes to discover a motive for the attacks, as well as who is behind them.

Stop by for some comfortable visits to Stewart's Crossing, where reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan and his crime-sniffing golden retriever Rochester are nose to the ground in this collection of mystery short stories that take place between novels. In the first of these stories, Steve is learning to love the big, goofy golden he has inherited on the death of his neighbor, and Rochester shows him how to open his heart and his home to his sweetheart Lili. 

From the moment he sees handsome Liam McCullough showering naked behind a Tunisian bar, ESL teacher Aidan Greene wants to make love to the sexy bodyguard. At first, though, a dead courier and beefy hired thugs get in the way. But as soon as Liam and Aidan head toward a rendezvous with a Tuareg tribe at a remote oasis, they start getting naked together and exploring all the passion Liam hid from as a closeted Navy SEAL and all the love Aidan missed from a long-term boyfriend who has just kicked him to the curb.

Christmas approaches and reformed hacker Steve Levitan tries to help a fellow ex-con now working at the vet's office in Stewart's Crossing. His curiosity, and the crime-solving instincts of his golden retriever, Rochester, kick in when liquid potassium ampoules are stolen from the vet and Steve's new friend is a suspect. Is this theft connected to a drug-running operation in North Philly? Or to a recent spate of deaths at the local nursing home?

Liam must deal with his emotions once separated from his partner, while Aidan struggles to protect Leila and her father from a deadly villain as Liam has taught him. Both men must examine the depths of their love for each other and satisfy themselves that more than just sexual desire keeps them together.

When his college friend Doug moves to Stewart's Crossing after an ugly divorce, reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan sees a way to pay forward the help he received under similar circumstances. But when Doug dies under mysterious circumstances, Steve and his crime-solving golden retriever Rochester have a new goal; find the truth behind Doug's death, even if Steve has to risk the freedom he has fought so hard for to do it.

Reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan still gets a thrill from snooping into places online where he shouldn't be. When his golden retriever Rochester discovers a human bone at the Friends Meeting during the Harvest Days festival, these two unlikely sleuths are plunged into another investigation.

A murder in Steve Levitan’s gated community is bad enough - but when someone puts out rat poison that innocent dogs could consume, he’s fired up to track down the villain and make his world safe for people and their canine companions. When his golden retriever Rochester discovers a body during one of their nightly walks, reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan must look to his neighbors for suspects. Could a killer be lurking along the oak-lined streets? It’s up to Steve and Rochester to dig up the clues to bring a murderer to justice, and protect the place they call home.

When semi-reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan learns that a girl who was kind to him in high school is accused of three murders, he and his clue-sniffing golden retriever Rochester are on the case. Can he and Rochester dig up the clues that might acquit Peggy, while avoiding the slippery slope of hacking that could cause him to lose everything he cares for? Trust Rochester to keep Steve on the straight and narrow, and bring the real killer to justice.

When a young man suffering from mental illness disrupts the blessing of the animals at Steve Levitan's synagogue, he and his golden retriever Rochester are launched into an investigation that will take Steve back into the past of his family, his congregation, and the Jewish population of the city where he was born. In the 8th book of the golden retriever mysteries, Steve and Rochester nose out suspects and dig up clues to present-day crimes - and ones in the past that still influence the living. 

Genie for Hire: A Biff Andromeda Mystery is a private eye novel - with a paranormal twist. An ancient genie in a modern, buff body, Biff can't use his magical powers for his own benefit, so he opens a detective agency in a Miami suburb. A damsel in distress, photographer Sveta Pshkov, hires him to retrieve a stolen set of boudoir photos she took of a Russian mobster's wife-snapped for her boyfriend's pleasure, not her husband's. Biff's investigation uncovers the spreading tentacles of the Russian mafia.

When his mentor, Joe Dagorian, director of admissions at prestigious Eastern College, is murdered during a fundraising event, Steve Levitan feels obliged to investigate. He and his golden retriever, Rochester, go nose to the ground to dig up clues, including a bloody knife and some curious photographs. But will Steve’s curiosity and Rochester’s savvy save them when the killer comes calling? A cozy mystery for dog lovers!

Forty-two-year-old Steve Levitan has lost everything that matters to him: his marriage, his home, and his career. After finishing a brief prison term for computer hacking, he returns to his home town of Stewart's Crossing, PA, with his tail between his legs. With his parole officer peering over his shoulder, Steve begins a technical writing business and takes a part-time job as an adjunct professor of English at his alma mater Eastern College.

As soon as they're settled in their new home on the French Riviera, bodyguards Aidan and Liam are sent to the island of Corsica to protect a mining executive and his family. Though they're still in love and having lots of sex, the disruption and the discovery that the client's son is gay and in a touchy relationship causes both bodyguards to question their skills and their commitment to each other. 

Pilar is a six-toed Abyssinian cat whose forebears lived with Ernest Hemingway at his house in Key West. When she and her owner, Ryan, move up north, they both have a hard time getting accustomed to the cold weather until Ryan starts to get pointers from his lovely coworker, Lisa.

It's almost time for graduation, and Eastern College is in trouble. A prominent alumna is dead, and a faulty computer program is jeopardizing student records and financial aid. It's up to Steve and Rochester to dig into the situation and retrieve the culprits! Rita Gaines wasn't a nice person-but she did love her dogs, and most of her clients respected her financial acumen and her talent in training dogs for agility trials. 

Aidan Greene and Liam McCullough feel like they’ve aged out of the bodyguard business - but a desperate call from former client Slava Vishinev draws them back. In a story ripped from the headlines, Slava’s gay son Arseny has vanished in Chechnya, where homosexuals are persecuted and imprisoned.

Now that he’s been forced out of the closet and moved to Monaco, retired Russian oligarch Slava Vishinev longs for a sexy, new life. An assassination attempt forces him to hire bodyguards Aidan and Liam to protect him. Who could be after him - his estranged son who has joined an anti-capitalist group? The government official who engineered his fall from grace in Moscow?