Dead Ringer

Dead Ringer by Michael A. Black and Julie Hyzy stars kickboxing Private Investigator Ron Shade (from Windy City Knights), and Hyzy's TV reporter/sleuth, Alex St. James (Deadly Blessings). Both authors are based in Chicago and blend their talents nicely in this book which is their first team effort. Ron Shade is working for an insurance company that paid out $12 million in an accidental death case, but now has reason to believe that the insured person is still alive. Alex St. James is working on a story about the homeless that requires going underground equipped with a Taser for protection. Told in roughly alternating chapters, their assignments eventually merge as they separately, then jointly, uncover a massive case of fraud with the unfortunate byproduct of murder. The bad guys, as deadly as they are, are pretty easy to identify, but the way the physically tough Shade and the gutsy St. James deal with them shows the protagonists to be a well-matched pair. The frisson of mutual attraction between St. James and Shade should make readers hope for future joint endeavors. Having two different types of protagonists in this book gives readers the chance to side with one (or both) of the main characters, which should make this book appeal to a wider audience.