Amateur private investigator and new dad Charlie Shaw gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a young girl’s missing father in Rob Phillips’ humorous and fast-paced Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Award-winning debut.
Charlie Shaw is low on sleep. And cash. Otherwise, life is going pretty well for the ex-crime reporter: he’s happily married to his college sweetheart, he’s a first-time dad to the most adorable baby girl in existence, and he’s making ends meet as a rookie PI. But when Charlie meets Friday Finley, a frightened
sixteen-year-old runaway on a stakeout-gone-wrong, his world gets a little more complicated.
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Friday is looking for her estranged father Shawn, an unreliable alcoholic who left when she was young—and who also happens to be her only shot at avoiding the foster care system since her mother’s death a few weeks earlier. The more Charlie investigates, the more unsettling—and dangerous—Shawn’s disappearance becomes. When his own family is threatened, Charlie realizes he’s in over his head, but can he back out
now that he’s begun to care for Friday as his own?
More Praise for Stakeouts and Strollers
"Rob Phillips is a talented new voice in mystery fiction. You're sure to have fun tagging along with brand new San Francisco private investigator Charlie Shaw, who's in over his head but bringing us along for an entertaining ride."
-Gigi Pandian, USA Today bestselling author of A Midnight Puzzle
“A fast-paced page-turner with equal amounts of dry wit and heart fueling PI Charlie Shaw and his determination to get to the truth, Stakeouts and Strollers reads like a twenty-first century Rockford Files, with a side of new-dad exhaustion increasing the humor and tension. Phillips’s debut does not disappoint, and I’m already looking forward to more!”
-​Celeste Connally, USA Today bestselling author of All’s Fair in Love and Treachery
"The exhaustion of new parenthood, the worry over a new job, wry dialogue reminiscent of Robert B. Parker, a propulsive mystery—all in balance and constantly spinning. A spot-on debut.”
-Scott Lyerly, author of The Last Line
“Debut author Rob Phillips has broken the hardened private investigator mold with new-dad energy. ... A gritty page-turner that will charm its way into readers’ hearts and leave them begging for more Charlie Shaw adventures.”
-Kristin Kisska, Agatha Award-nominated author of
The Hint of Light
"A wonderful debut, Stakeouts and Strollers blends page-turning action, witty dialogue, and endearing characters into the perfect traditional mystery cocktail. ...
Highly recommended for all mystery fans!"
-Victoria Gilbert, author of the Blue Ridge Library, Campus Sleuth, Booklover’s B&B, and
Hunter and Clewe mystery series
"A pacy and entertaining read, often funny, definitely twisty, with characters and dialogue that sparkle. ... I can't wait to read the next one!"
-Mara Timon, author of
The Dog Park Detectives series
“A suspenseful read bursting with humor and heart… More than a fast-paced whodunit, Stakeouts and Strollers is a story about love, loss, and family.”
-Christina Estes, author of The Story That Wouldn't Die and Off the Air
"Debut author Rob Phillips has triumphantly landed on the mystery scene with a brand new kind of private investigator in his clever, creative, satisfying new novel. ... Suspenseful, heartwarming, and laugh-out-loud funny, Stakeouts and Strollers is exactly the sort of mystery that the cozy genre needs right now, and I can't wait to see what Phillips comes up with next.”
-Katherine Schellman, author of the Nightingale and Lily Adler series
“A sparkling debut ... Humorous, heartwarming, highly entertaining.
Send this one straight to the top of your to-be-read pile!”
-Alan Orloff, Anthony, Agatha, Derringer, and Thriller award-winning author of Late Checkout