Namaste Mart Confidential - by Andrew Miller (Paperback)

About the Book

When Shayla Ramsey, a young woman with a mysterious past, goes missing, unlicensed private detectives Adam and Richie take the case, encountering the Armenian mob, high-society Pasadena, and fundamentalist Mormon polygamists.

Book Synopsis

Los Angeles, 2013:

Adam Minor and Richie Walsh work at Namaste Mart, a hippie grocery store in West Hollywood frequented by celebrities, cult members, and every variety of absurd character L.A. has to offer.

They're best friends, but couldn't be more different. Brooding and analytical, Adam dreams of one day becoming a famous novelist. Richie is an unpredictable navy veteran with a weakness for booze, women, and fighting who's just begun his stand-up comedy career.

Adam and Richie also have a special talent: They're good at finding people. On top of their gig as Hollywood grocery clerks, they supplement their income as unlicensed private detectives on the streets of L.A.

A new case arrives: Joan Goldman is a veteran Hollywood actress of 1980s action blockbusters turned entrepreneur, now running a chain of high-end lingerie stores. Shayla Ramsey, one of her top employees, has mysteriously vanished. Joan hires the Grocery Clerk P.I.s to find out what happened.

On the trail of the missing Shayla, Adam and Richie encounter the Armenian mob, high-society Pasadena lawyers, Hollywood gangsters, and a family of fundamentalist Mormon polygamists led by a devout, wealthy and violent patriarch...

Review Quotes

"Namaste Mart Confidential heralds the arrival of a distinctive new voice in crime fiction. It's a wild tale of wannabe private dicks, twisted religious nuts, psychopathic Armenian gangsters and crazed celebrity-chasers. And those are just the likeable characters! Andrew Miller is a talent to watch." -Steven Powell, author of Love Me Fierce in Danger, The Life of James Ellroy

"Namaste Mart Confidential zips through the seamy sides of LA with panache and entertaining PI heroes-and a cool ending that I've never seen before in a missing-person novel. From godforsaken religious cults to aging Hollywood stars to thistle milk drinkers, this has everything you might want in a Hollywood crime yarn." -Matt Witten, bestselling author of Killer Story

"Andrew Miller's debut novel evokes the boozy spirit and black humor of James Crumley and early Joe Lansdale but stands apart because of Miller's distinct, winning voice and attitude. It's 2013: In their day jobs as grocery clerks, Adam Minor and Richie Walsh brush shoulders with midlist movie stars and Sopranos' supporting players. But the duo also prowl the streets of L.A. as part-time private detectives. Their latest missing person's case ranges the duo against religious cliques, a particular thinly disguised Armenian reality TV star, and brutal mobsters who are angling to kidnap her. I can't wait to see what Andrew Miller's sophomore novel brings." -Craig McDonald, Edgar & Anthony Awards Finalist