Fourth Down and Out: An Andy Hayes Mystery (Andy Hayes Mysteries)
It’s kind of a sleazy job, but with two child-support payments on his plate, Columbus, Ohio, investigator and disgraced former OSU quarterback Andy Hayes can’t be picky. His client was videotaped making advances toward a friend’s 18-year-old daughter, and now he’s being blackmailed. Andy confronts the blackmailer (the teenage boyfriend of the girl), confiscates the laptop, and figures he’ll clear the hard drive in a day or two. The kid’s dad calls and asks for the laptop back. Andy says no. Then someone assaults Andy and steals the laptop. The FBI gets involved when the guy who whacked Andy is found dead. Suddenly, everyone wants that laptop, and Andy tries to minimize the body count. Andy is an agreeable narrator with a dry wit and a bit of a martyr’s complex. His dark past under center for the Buckeyes plays into the satisfying conclusion of this solid debut thriller from an AP legal-affairs reporter based in Columbus. --Wes Lukowsky