Hard Exit: A Jack Drake Private-Eye Mystery, Book 1
Private investigator Jack Drake has everything a man is supposed to want.
A Malibu beach mansion
A glamorous movie star girlfriend
A lucrative career and supportive friends
But he hates his life.
Jack still loves his dead wife, Jami—and can’t free himself from the relationship that feels like an anchor dragging him under. He worries too much, sleeps too little, and pines for his gorgeous neighbor who has quietly loved him for years.
Then a wounded sixteen-year-old enters his life.
As a favor to an old friend, Jack sequesters Game—a street-smart kid caught in the crossfire of an inner-city shooting—inside the mansion Jack shares with his famous girlfriend. What begins as an act of obligation becomes something deeper: a fragile alliance between two damaged people who recognize each other’s grief.
When that shooting leads to a series of murders stretching from the streets of Oakville to the sunlit ostentation of Malibu, Jack dives into the dangerous case and confronts the demons he’s held at bay. Going to battle for others has always come easily to him, but the prospect of new love inspires him finally to fight for himself.
Hard Exit is a romantic mystery about love after loss, emotional courage, and a man torn between the life he has and the life he can’t let go of.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:
- Character-driven mysteries
- Emotionally complex male protagonists
- Stories where love matters as much as the crime
“This is a smart, edgy, state-of-the-art L.A. noir with heart. Jack Drake is a private eye with grit, a few demons and a semi-glamorous life on the beach in Malibu. This series is a terrific addition to the modern hard-boiled genre.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz