A TIGHT LIE

A golf pro’s adventures off the course put his life at risk.

Huck Doyle, a middling PGA golfer, also has a law degree and a p.i. license. When his acquaintance, Joniel Baker, is accused of murder, Huck reluctantly agrees to help. The superstar baseball player is placed under arrest for the rape and murder of a girlfriend he’d grown bored with. The forensic evidence surrounding the murder of a second girl leaves Joniel looking even more guilty and Huck about to bail. This second victim worked at a strip club with Huck’s high-school flame, a born-again straight arrow who Huck is sure would never do the drugs he finds in her apartment. Not until his old flame disappears and he’s threatened by thugs does Huck start to buy Joniel’s story that he’s been framed. Both Huck’s father Pete, a disgraced L.A. cop, and Huck’s older brother, a paraplegic ex-FBI agent, have a lot of connections. That’s nice for Huck, who’ll need all the help he can get when he finds out an East Coast Mafia family may be behind the murders. Torn between his father’s success-at-any-cost mentality and his brother’s high ethical standards, Huck has a difficult time coming up with a solution that will get him back to Pebble Beach alive.

A promising debut whose hero, tough and literate as Spenser and cool as Freddie Couples, will appeal to golfers and hard-boiled fans alike.