Book of the day: The Man with the Iron-On Badge by Lee Goldberg

Book of the day: The Man with the Iron-On Badge by Lee Goldberg

One of the most acclaimed private eye novels of the decade, nominated for the Best Novel award by the Private Eye Writers of America, is finally available in a Kindle edition.

Harvey Mapes is a 26-year-old security guard who spends his nights in a guard shack outside a gated community in Southern California, reading detective novels, watching reruns, and waiting for his life to finally start… which happens when Cyril Parkus, one of the wealthy residents, asks Harvey to follow his beautiful wife Lauren.

The lowly security guard jumps at the opportunity to fulfill his private eye fantasies and use everything he’s learned from Spenser, Magnum, and Mannix. But things don’t exactly go according to the books…or the reruns. As Harvey fumbles and stumbles through his first investigation, he discovers that the differences between fiction and reality can be deadly.

With the help of his mortgage broker neighbor and occasional lover Carol, Harvey uncovers a blackmail plot that takes a sudden and unexpectedly tragic turn…plunging him into a world of violence, deception and murder… and forcing him to discover what it really takes to be a private eye.

"As dark and twisted as anything Hammett or Chandler ever dreamed up [...] leaving Travis McGee in the dust." —Kirkus, Starred Review

"Approaching the level of Lawrence Block is no mean feat, but Goldberg succeeds with this engaging PI novel." —Publishers Weekly

"A wonderfully fresh voice in the mystery genre, Goldberg will delight fans of Janet Evanovich and Robert Crais," —Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson & the Olympians

"Lee Goldberg bravely marches into territory already staked out by some fierce competition—Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block, the early Harlan Coben—and comes out virtually unscathed." —The Chicago Tribune

"Goldberg has a knack for combining just the right amount of humor and realism with his obvious love for the PI genre and his own smart ass sensibilities. THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE is a terrific read. Goldberg is the real deal and should be on everyone’s must read list." —Crimespree Magazine

"The Man With The Iron-On Badge is a quick, fun read with a satisfying and unexpected ending. Harvey Mapes is a hero I hope we see in a sequel." —Phillip Margolin, author of Gone But Not Forgotten

"If you're a fan of TV private eyes like Mannix and Rockford, and the heroes of the old Gold Medal paperbacks like Travis McGee and Shell Scott, you'll love Harvey Mapes. He's nothing like them, but he loves them, too, and in an attempt to emulate them and get away from his boring security guard job, Harvey goes on the ride of his life. Lee Goldberg has succeeded in producing a clever, witty and intelligent parody of, and homage to, the PI genre." —Robert Randisi, founder of the Private Eye Writers of America.

"Lee Goldberg is a sly and funny writer, with a warm heart and an ease with words. He never disappoints." —SJ Rozan, Edgar-Award winning author.

"The Man with the Iron-On Badge has snappy dialogue, tight plotting, and near perfect pace. Mapes is laugh-out-loud funny in the way of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, and the plot is surprisingly graceful, keeping the reader guessing to the very end. Harvey's growth as a human being is an added bonus. One can only hope this is the first of many novels about this engaging character." —The Oakland Press