Poverty Bay (The Thomas Black mysteries Book 2)

"Emerson is at the top of his game, and very few are better."
--Mostly Murder
As sole heir to his beloved granddaddy's fortune, noble and naive Lance Tyner wants to use the money for the good of mankind. But some not-so-good specimens of the species--including Lance's conniving father, sleazy brother, and spoiled sister--have much more selfish plans in mind.
Now Lance has vanished. And P.I. Thomas Black must follow his trail into the sad and scary places where the dregs of humanity struggle to stay alive--and where men like Lance and Black too often end up dead. . . .
"Emerson is carving his own special niche among a new generation of private eye writers."
--The Washington Post Book World
Earl Emerson's acclaimed series about Seattle private investigator Thomas Black is much beloved by readers and critics. And with justification. (These novels, running the gamut from THE RAINY CITY to the just-issued CATFISH CAF, are among my all-time favorite detective tales, and I'm not just saying that because I'm Earl's editor.) But I don't know any other crime novelist who amasses such fervent praise from his peers. It would be a crime to call Earl Emerson merely a "writer's writer." But there sure are a lot of talented authors who revere him. To wit . . .
Aaron Elkins: "In every book he tries something new, and he always comes up a winner. In the best tradition of American crime fiction, Emerson is a master of witty dialogue; clever, complex plotting; and lucid, meaty prose."
Robert Crais: "Earl Emerson writes with the richness and grace of a poet, evincing a quality of phrase and nuance that elevates the genre."
Ann Rule: "Earl Emerson and Thomas Black only get better and better! Earl Emerson has taken his place in the rarefied air of the best of the best!"