Scammed — Morgan St. James

Life in the upscale Los Angeles area community of the Venice Canals takes an ominous turn when retired doctor Al Shady and his wife Barbara Shady, Vice President and Treasurer of the Venice Canals HOA, disappear after a meeting. The cops are on it, but looking in all the wrong places. What appeared to be home invasion and kidnapping turns out to be so much more including murder. Get ready for characters from different books in this series to come together to dig the dirt. As fate would have it, advertising agency owner Cameron Harson from GETTING EVEN and RIPOFF-- the first and second book in this series--and former FBI agent turned author Danny Garrett from BUMPING OFF FAT VINNY, the fourth book, are neighbors who didn't know each other. A mutual friend and neighbor--89-year-old retired Colonel Michael Thompson introduces them at an HOA meeting where the main focus was to celebrate the settlement of a multi-million dollar suit for construction default against developers who built mini-mansions and polluted the canals in the process. When the trio walks home together along Grand Canal, accompanied by the Colonel's aged Afghan Hound Clarence, something looks suspicious at the Shady home on the other side of the canal. They cross over the bridge to investigate and find the house door ajar, the house is in a shambles and the Shadys are missing. With their backgrounds in investigating crimes, they are tempted to see what they can uncover, but should they? With Cameron's friend Kate Steele, CEO of FraudBusters, who is visiting from San Francisco and Danny's friend, co-author and fellow sleuth Margaret Stanton, how can they resist? They delve into things that the cops won't, and they find plenty but in the process risk getting in the way of Federal agencies! Twists and turns make this a fun meeting of the minds with a surprise ending.