Safety Valve — David Chill

When a man with lots of enemies is killed, how do you pinpoint the culprit?

After shots are fired at a legendary sports agent, the prime suspect is the man's former business partner. But nothing is the way it seems in this gripping mystery, and as the close calls evolve into murder, the drama grows and the tension mounts.

Private Investigator Burnside, the former football star and LAPD officer, enters a confounding world that gets murkier as the probe deepens. From former clients to spurned lovers to angry underworld figures, there are an inordinate number of people who harbor reasons to kill. With many avenues to go down, Burnside doggedly pursues an investigation that mystifies everyone involved, and also leads the police to suspect Burnside himself of a capital crime.

Combining an engaging plot with compelling characters, Burnside goes down yet another treacherous path. Fraught with wry humor, the unexpected climax of the story will take readers by surprise -- in more ways than one.