J. J. Tabasco's Do-It-Yourself Detective Agency - by Carl Martin Johnson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For fans of Carl Hiaasen and Richard Osman, a rollicking mystery about a private detective who has managed to avoid actually working on his own cases--until now.

J. J. Tabasco is not the worst detective on the North American continent, but he's close. An American expat in Cancun, J. J. can't become a licensed private investigator. So he figured out a way to skirt the law with a "Do-It-Yourself" method, instructing clients on how to find the information they need.

J. J. is scraping by, until a beautiful woman walks into his office with an envelope stuffed full of hundred-dollar bills. What begins as a simple stalking case becomes much more complicated, though, when he discovers that the beautiful Jayde is trying to find a twenty-five million dollar painting that's gone missing. And there are others sniffing in her tracks, including Kaspar Guzman, who walks his pet iguana on a lead, and Hermione, an octogenarian art thief, who is never without her vicious chihuahua.

While J. J. finds himself tangled in Jayde's quest, Cancun is not short on crime. Members of rival cartel gangs are being targeted by a serial killer and J. J. is conscripted by both cartels to find the culprit.

Review Quotes

"The events of the novel proceed at a lively clip, with JJ's wry, honest tone enlivening the narrative along the way. A fast-paced . . . mystery that will entertain fans of the genre."--Kirkus Reviews

"Don't let the sandals and cargo pants fool you. J. J. Tabasco is one of the most innovative private eyes to come down the pike (or in this case amble up the beach) in a long, long time. Half Raymond Chandler, half Jimmy Buffet, J. J. Tabasco's Do-It-Yourself Detective Agency is 100 percent entertaining."--Steve Hockensmith, New York Times best-selling author of Holmes on the Range

About the Author

Carl Martin Johnson has worked in most Latin American countries. He was briefly arrested in Chile under suspicion of spying for Argentina and was a combat journalist for Soldier of Fortune Magazine. His fiction has been published in Slice magazine. A native Texan, Carl was accepted into the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art Playwright Studio. While in Australia, he had a one-act play produced and wrote for a continuing dramatic series for the Australian Broadcasting Network. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and did graduate study at the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Allen, Texas.