The Hood with No Hands — C.S. Boag

Winner of silver in the 2012 Independent Publishers Awards. She's a surgeon, she's beautiful and she desperately wants Mister Rainbow to shed some light on her husband's past. But when he does, she wishes he hadn't. Because what Rainbow discovers is a handless hood - and a whole lot of murders. Rainbow's a retro private eye who keeps himself to himself. He lives (illegally) on a boat in Sydney Harbour, has no identity, and frequents speakeasies. He's also got a nemesis called Pandora ... The Case of the Hood With No Hands, the first novel in the Mister Rainbow heptalogy, is a thoroughly modern story with a wink and a nod to the golden age of pulp fiction. With its memorable characters, witty dialogue and fast-paced plot, it signals the arrival of an arresting new Australian talent. 'Mister Rainbow is that rare creature - a PI with depth. Down at heel, shabby, inept - he's a born loser, at his best when the odds are stacked against him. Somehow, in a taut contest, he wins.' Barry Oakley, writer and former literary editor of The Australian