Hidden Graves: A Del Elstrom Mystery

Del Elstrom uncovers ancient crimes and sordid secrets in Fredrickson’s well-paced sixth mystery to feature the witty, junk food–dependent PI (after 2015’s The Confessors’ Club). In need of a job to help pay for the renovation of his eccentric home in Rivertown, Ill. (“the greasiest of the Cook County suburbs”), Elstrom accepts a case from a mysterious client. All he has to do is check on the whereabouts of three men, whose last known addresses were in Arizona, California, and Oregon. He pockets his cashier’s check for $2,000 and sets off on his quest. But his trip out west brings up more questions than it answers. He returns to Rivertown to find that someone is setting him up to take the rap for murder. It takes all his skill and luck, plus the help of a beautiful journalist, a rich and politically connected ex-wife, a loyal friend, and a posse of game old dames for Elstrom to make it through the thicket of deceit in this satisfying hard-boiled crime novel. [em]Agent: John Silbersack, Trident Media Group. (Feb.) [/em]