Sleuth is a likeable everyman, thrust into an uncomfortable new role by events beyond his control Sleuth is a diplomat and ideally placed to get caught up with intriguing people and situations With a globe-trotting diplomat main character, each book in the series will be set in a different foreign locale (first three books set in Havana, Moscow, and Tokyo) As well as the usual challenge of trying to unravel a mystery, Charlie is always faced with the burden of doing so in a foreign jurisdiction with unfamiliar laws, bureaucracies and customs. Author's legal training informs his plots, while his expertise regarding consular officers, diplomatic postings, and embassy politics mean he is the perfect author for this series.
Hockey is a dangerous game, but it’s what happens off the ice that can get you killed … Curtis Ritchie is the only news in town when Ottawa takes the young hockey sensation first overall in the annual spring draft. But on the eve of Ritchie’s rookie season, the media frenzy over the signing and the controversial trades that secured the young star are eclipsed by news of his murder. As Ottawa Major Crimes Unit investigator Jack Smith reassembles Ritchie’s life, he is surprised by how much it differs from the fledgling star’s clean-cut image. A long list of suspects soon emerges, any one of whom had good reasons to want Ritchie dead. But there’s something else about the young phenom – a secret so profound that its revelation to the wrong person could only have meant Ritchie’s end.