Graceful Immortality
Casey Holden, Private Investigator
by Robert Downs
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Dec 01 2014 | Archive Date Dec 02 2015
Description
If the Truth Doesn't Kill You, the Tango Might
When your name is Casey Holden, the Virginia Dance Company might just become your new favorite playground. But with the murder of dancer Jessica Mason to investigate, courtesy of an office visit from one Kathryn Gable, he knows he’ll have to stay on point.
Just back from a vacation among sandy beaches and string bikinis, Casey’s broadened his attention to include athletic women and tights. Even the recent strangling and two Virginia Beach cops—both of whom want to pound him into the ground—can’t keep his strong-willed focus on females at bay.
What he discovers, though, is an industry more cutthroat than he imagined and suspects with more than enough motives to drop one dead dancer in the back corner of the nearest parking lot: Lusty lovers past and present, dancers young and old, an owner eager to keep her dance company in the black—and more than one person who would like to feed Casey to the fishes.
To learn who killed Jessica and why, he’ll have to stay ahead of the VBPD, execute an end run around a medical examiner fond of fiddling with more than just medical records, match step for step the dance company’s less than cooperative staff, and deal with an unexpected, unsolved murder from the distant past.
With the help of an old friend and bar entrepreneur Casey calls Dragon Lady, an ex-girlfriend ME who fills out a white coat rather nicely, and the continued support of his pessimistic best friend, VBPD Detective Ian Jackard, Casey once again waltzes too close to the truth.
A Note From the Publisher
The book will also be available in EPUB on December 1.
Advance Praise
“Fans of Travis McGee are in for a treat as Robert Downs’ latest book, Graceful Immortality, delivers every bit of suspense, mystery, and femme fatales in bathing suits one expects from the genre McGee made famous. Casey Holden is a smart, smooth-talking PI who grabs the reader in a stranglehold and doesn’t let go as the twists unfold. Murder might be first on his mind, but sex isn’t far. So slather on the sunscreen, squeeze into those leg warmers, and prepare for a fun, wild mystery reminiscent of the late, great John MacDonald.”
—J.A. Kazimer, author of The Fairyland Murders
“In his rollicking mystery Graceful Immortality, Robert Downs has created a wisecracking protagonist, Casey Holden, on par with Robert B. Parker’s Spenser (though with perhaps an even more active libido). This fine mystery has suspects galore and more interesting women than even Casey can shake a stick at. Graceful Immortality is a well-written and fun-filled ride through the parlors and alleyways of Virginia Beach.”
—D.E. Johnson, author of Detroit Shuffle
Marketing Plan
Review copies, both from NetGalley and print copies, distributed to all prepublication mystery reviewers who have an interest in the hard-boiled detective genre, and to fiction reviewers interested in MANfiction.
Will be a Goodreads giveaway.
Book trailer can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmLYJzwtE-I
Author appearances, signings, speaking engagements ( see http://www.RobertDowns.net )
Firm publication date.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781568251707 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
ellie c, Reviewer
True confession time - I read this book almost as soon as I got it - but forgot to write the review - probably during the period just after my last operation when the drugs and their side effects were still making me very confused.
This is a murder story with a private investigator, the cut-throat world of dance and ballet, and some people with very few scruples.
I am writing this review during the final - the very final session - of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing programme on the TV - which seems so appropriate! I have watched this series almost from the beginning, though confess I find the Sunday programme rather boring and video it and then skip to the actual dance-off. Just as we video the Saturday programme and skip over the telephone numbers and lots of the chat... there is far too much chat and not enough dancing.. we don’t want the professionals to dance either. Aren’t we picky? Just the celebs.
They are dancing their last dance - just the final 3 couples - my husband and I are quite good are scoring - we are right within a point or two and got the celeb who was to leave the semis right too, we have learnt a lot about the art of ballroom and what a ‘frame’ is and how the hands should look and so much else. [pause while I watch a pasa doble with Kevin and Frankie]
I find Robert Downs a consistent author - both his books read well, the characters have character and an amount of wit and the storyline is well paced and well crafted. As a book reviewer himself Robert must know [pause while Caroline and Pasha dance the Charleston] what he likes to read and thus should know also what others would like to read too. This not always being the case with authors who have been known to write for themselves rather than their readers.
Strictly is an interesting programme because it is not really about modern dance but more about classic dances with a twist - but not too much gymnastics please! And I think the audiences think so too.. although the muscles are pretty impressive at times and we do see some tattoos - which seem to be the latest in the way to dress up males [ pause for Simon and Christina to dance the Argentinean Tango]. So the final has finished and Caroline won - she got a straight set of 10s from every judge for every dance - unheard of before and I think she was worth it. Her feet and hands were so beautifully positioned and stretched and she was fearless in the way she allowed Pasha to throw her around.. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30536720 gives all the details and some great photos]. She does have some background in dance though - According to the Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/strictly-come-dancing/11306462/Caroline-Flack-5-claims-to-fame-before-she-won-Strictly.html] Flack played down her pre-Strictly dancing chops, but in fact she won 2010’s Dancing on Wheels competition, during which she was coached in ballroom dancing by Strictly pros Kristina Rihanoff and Brian Fortuna in order to partner wheelchair-user James O’Shea. It’s also emerged that Flack trained from 1996-99 for a musical theatre qualification at BodyWork Company Dance Studios in Cambridge, although Flack says it was more drama and singing than dancing.
Also, can anyone tell me who pays for Darcy Bussell’s dresses - they are stunning and must costs over £2kea -s is she expected to buy them? Surely not..
All a long way from the book of course, but all about dancing and ballet and...
Robert - sorry for the delay in writing this up, but I did enjoy reading the book and hope to read some more by you in the future!
Readers who liked this book also liked:
