I narrated The Lying Spiral, and the audiobook runs 7 hours 44 minutes. That is a healthy chunk of time to spend inside Eli Gentry, an ex-cop PI with a bad knee, a drinking problem, and a cigarette habit. Lovely company. Bring antacids.

If you want a detective who asks permission, the bookstore has a whole wall of them. Eli solves enough of the case to make enemies and learns that the lesson was billed to someone else.

Some detectives follow procedure. Eli Gentry treats procedure like a suspicious stain on the carpet. He has reasons. None of them are healthy. Most of them limp. Eli looks like trouble before he even opens his mouth. Rules are useful until they become furniture I don’t hate rules. That would be childish. Also inaccurate. Rules can keep people from licking electrical sockets, marrying raccoons, or trusting anyone who says “I’m just asking questions” at a city council meeting.