Margot

Early summer, '86, sipping whiskey on a Friday night perched in his regular spot at Eddy's Café on New England's South Coast. Finally getting over a spring fling that left him wondering what the hell. He'd met her on a case that winter, and she'd left his life as sudden as she'd entered it. Left it better, maybe, but left it empty. Women, yeah, what the hell. And then Margot walked through the door. "The only time I met Margot Constant was at her father's funeral, a few years back, and I'll tell you right now she was a serious looker. It was the rest that didn't impress me. So when I saw Margot walk through Eddy's open door I felt a sudden sense of déjà vu, the hair-raising kind that pops nerve endings and clangs alarms. She paced quickly toward me, seeming to pick up speed as her slim hips swished snug, faded denim. She wore a Western shirt and cowboy boots. He fiery auburn hair flashed back. I turned and watched. She strode up to me and stopped. 'Malcomb told me you'd be here.' Uh oh." Malcomb Whitney was Peter MacAlister's boss at the Fall River Gazette. Peter did deep dives into the seamier sides of the small coastal city, immersed himself into unknown stories that he turned into page turners for his boss, who had given him a second chance years back based on gut instinct. Malcomb's instinct proved right, and Peter had carved out a unique niche as his favorite reporter. Now he needed Peter's help. It seemed Margot, little sister to Malcomb's wife, Betty, was in a hurt of trouble - a million bucks' worth. And the grande dame of the Constant family, and executor of her considerable Marple Family Trust, Katherine Constant wanted the dough back - and to kick some ass in the process. And what Katherine wants.... Malcomb was aware of some of Peter's sideline activities over the past few years - that is, his and his partner, aging attorney Mory Wilbur's. It was Mory who got Peter involved in helping others who couldn't help themselves. Usually it was about turning a scam on its head. Or recovering a swindled property. In Peter's first published case, 'Edie,' it meant taking on a nouveau mob in Rhode Island that had filched an inheritance to fund their gambling and drug operation. In his second published case, 'Monique', Peter helped an old flame from New Hampshire find her missing hippy brother, who'd disappeared from right under his family's nose. And now it seemed that Margot was the victim of a possible investment scam back home in Vermont. Margot, Malcomb, Betty and Katherine had met as a family to figure out what to do. And as Malcomb said to Peter, who had just wanted to quietly toss back a couple that Friday night at Eddy's, "I'm sorry, but we're at wit's end here. Which made me think of you." Tag along with wise-cracking reporter/sleuth Peter MacAlister as he takes on crisis cases all over New England in this somewhat dark, moody series with a decidedly noir tilt. And take a look at Scott C. Smith's Amazon author page. He is also the author of the farcical, warm action series THE LGBT SUPERHEROES! Books I-III, which celebrates diversity with stories about a fearsome foursome of queer vigilantes who take on the criminal and political chaos that threatens their beloved city. They team up with a hot reporter duo who has been chasing down conspiracies to the point where their paths cross to jointly confront the crises. The lead reporter? Yup, one Peter MacAlister nearly 30 years later, who at 63 finally found the love of his life. Action, drama, humor, romance - all the makings of a warm, entertaining series that reads like a movie on the page.