The Storm Drain Murder

Who's dead? Who did it? Where's the money?

The village of Sea Cliff sleeps under a blanket of fog. A shadowy figure dumps a body down a storm drain. Someone hiding in the fog watches.

Jason Brinkman's career at a big Los Angeles law firm is over because he refused to sleep with his senior partner. His marriage ended along with his career. He's moved to sleepy Sea Cliff on California's central coast to begin anew. He has a struggling solo law practice, a rocky romance, and is almost broke.

When Jason's best-paying client is found dead in the storm drain his new life begins to unravel. He gets dragged into the murder investigation. The dead client's daughter arrives in town looking for her father's money. She tearfully confides to Jason that the client abused and abandoned her as a young teen. Jason falls for her, and she seems to fall for him, but he knows he can't trust her because her true purpose is finding the money. She and Jason become suspects along with several others who are revealed one-by-one as the story unfolds and suspicion focuses on them.

As the mystery deepens Jason figures out the money is hidden at the client's house. He goes there, only to be beaten unconscious by the client's girlfriend, who claims the money belongs to her. She hides his body thinking he'll die. The police show up and arrest the girlfriend for the murder, leaving Jason alone in the house. He comes to and stumbles upon the stash.

Jason's vindictive ex-wife and other events have pushed him to the edge. He decides his need for the money prevails over the daughter's heart-wrenching moral claim but is haunted by her pain and his feelings for her. The killer turns out to be the least likely of the several suspects and is revealed near the end of the book.

While The Storm Drain Murder is about solving the murder and finding the money it's also about quirky characters, dysfunctional relationships and romance, and Jason's gradual loss of his moral footing. The story is told with dark humor and suspense. Kirkus Reviews says The Storm Drain Murder is "a strong tale of conscience and crime" with "an abundance of intriguing characters doing bad things" and "first rate" writing.