Flea Flicker (Burnside, Book 9) by David Chill
Release date: July 22, 2018
Subgenre: Hardboiled mystery, Noir
About Flea Flicker:
It should have been just another missing persons case. But a clever killer has other ideas...
When a young football coach doesn’t come home one night, his beautiful young wife turns to Private Investigator Burnside to locate him. But things are not the way they seem in this riveting page-turner, and a simple missing persons case evolves into a shocking murder. There are no shortage of suspects in this intricately woven story, and P.I. Burnside must overcome the many obstacles in his path to get to the truth that no one seems eager to learn.
The 9th Burnside novel is a treat to read, as the story brings back some fascinating characters from Burnside’s past – as well as adding a host of new ones. And it wouldn’t be a Burnside novel without the wise cracking gumshoe engaging in the sharp and cutting banter that has come to define this award-winning series.
When a young football coach doesn’t come home one night, his beautiful young wife turns to Private Investigator Burnside to locate him. But things are not the way they seem in this riveting page-turner, and a simple missing persons case evolves into a shocking murder. There are no shortage of suspects in this intricately woven story, and P.I. Burnside must overcome the many obstacles in his path to get to the truth that no one seems eager to learn.
The 9th Burnside novel is a treat to read, as the story brings back some fascinating characters from Burnside’s past – as well as adding a host of new ones. And it wouldn’t be a Burnside novel without the wise cracking gumshoe engaging in the sharp and cutting banter that has come to define this award-winning series.
Excerpt:
A wayward drunk can cause a lot of harm, but he normally inflicts
most of it upon himself. This was largely true in the case of Tyler
Briggs, although being accused of cold-blooded murder was an
unusual way to wrap up a weekend.
Tyler Briggs was an unemployed former football coach with a nasty
drinking problem. And a womanizing problem. So, when he failed to
arrive home one night, it’s normally not a cause for alarm, except
perhaps for the man’s long-suffering wife. The police will pacify
her by checking the drunk tanks, the local ERs, and then the county
morgue. The cops will then say she has to wait 24 hours before
filing a missing persons report. Some wives rail at the
narrow-minded rules. Some just shrug and go along. And then there
are the ones, be they peeved or petrified, that get the innate
sense that something is very wrong. That’s when they talk to
someone like me.
Today was overcast, and there was even some fog rolling in. It was
typical of L.A. weather in December, a phenomenon that happened
like clockwork. I waited a minute before ringing the doorbell,
taking time to step back and admire the home, an elegant structure
you might see featured in architectural magazines, owned by people
who earned or inherited fortunes. In the case of Tyler Briggs, it
was a combination of the two. His father had been an NFL head coach
for years and had been very well compensated.
Other young men in Tyler’s situation had drifted into becoming
trust fund babies, enjoying the fruits of their fathers’ labor. But
Sid Briggs was old school, and he wasn’t keen on his offspring
becoming an idle layabout. He pushed Tyler into playing football,
but he wasn’t able to go far; his talent earned him a college
scholarship, and a seat on the Miami Hurricanes bench for four
years. Tyler did take an interest in coaching though, and soon
found himself rising quickly through the ranks. Too quickly
perhaps.
“So Gail told me a little about your situation,” I started. “Tyler
didn’t come home last night. Ever happen before?”
“No, never,” she said, shaking her head briskly. “I mean, Ty would
go out drinking plenty of times. Too many. But I’m used to that. I
just go to sleep and when I wake up, there he is, always next to
me.”
“And that’s what led you to me,” I mused. I knew the routine. The
police would look the name up in the system, but that was about it.
The reality was that people who didn’t come home one night often
came home the next day, and usually with a lame excuse, a sheepish
expression, and the enduring scent of alcohol and infidelity oozing
out of them. But my 13 years with the LAPD also taught me something
else. If they didn’t come home the next day, the chances that
they’d never come home increased exponentially.
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About David Chill:
David Chill was born and raised in New York City. After receiving
his undergraduate degree from SUNY-Oswego, he moved to Los Angeles
where he earned a Masters degree from the University of Southern
California. David Chill is the author of eight novels in the
Burnside Mystery series: Post Pattern, Fade Route, Bubble Screen,
Safety Valve, Corner Blitz, Nickel Package, Double Pass and the
newly released, Tampa Two. Post Pattern was a finalist in the St.
Martin's Press contest for new writers. The Burnside series has
received much critical acclaim. David Chill presently lives in Los
Angeles with his wife and son.
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