The Collection

by Lance Charnes

Overview

He's always been good at being bad. When he decides to match wits with the mob on their turf, will he push his luck a shade past survival?

Matt Friedrich figures there's no way out. Half a million in debt after doing time for fraud, the former art dealer would do anything to ditch his post-prison barista job for something that pays actual money. So when a shady contact from his past offers him a trial gig at her semi-legal, highly profitable agency, he can't say no... even if it risks his parole and his life.

Handcuffed to a brusque new partner who doesn't appreciate his people skills, Matt finds himself in Milan on the trail of a man he tried to put away with his plea deal. But when the paintings they're pursuing catch them in a crossfire with the Italian mafia, the experienced swindler may find his second chance comes at a fatal price.

Will the payoff for Matt's long con be delivered in cash or corpses?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780988690363
Publisher:	Wombat Group Media
Publication date:	11/14/2016
Series:	DeWitt Agency Files , #1
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Lance Charnes has been an Air Force intelligence officer, information technology manager, computer-game artist, set designer, and Jeopardy! contestant, and is now an emergency management specialist. He's had training in architectural rendering, terrorist incident response, and maritime archaeology, but not all at the same time. His Facebook author page features spies, archaeology, and art crime.

Editorial Reviews

"The Collection is a breezy read in the way the very early Leslie Charteris' Saint novels were breezy: entertaining with an underlining of grit below the surface..." -- Criminal Element

"Add a gritty blend of international atmosphere, street savvy, art world politics and processes, and criminal interests to the action-packed saga of a ticking time bomb and you have a multi-faceted, well-detailed story that's hard to put down and highly recommended for detective story and intrigue readers looking for something refreshingly original..." -- Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review Bookwatch

"The mystery has enough twists and turns -- with the characters keeping plenty of secrets -- to keep the reader guessing until the very end... A charming start to what promises to be an intriguing series." -- The BookLife Prize

"Author Charnes has developed a meticulously complex, rapid-paced plot, and some of the ways the scam works are briefly difficult to follow, but you never believe for a moment that he hasn't thought the whole thing through... More excitement to come!" -- Crime Fiction Lovers

From the Publisher