The Electra File — J.C. Simmons

In this new and moving novel, Jay Leicester, Simmons' celebrated Mississippi Aviation Consultant/Private Investigator, is hired by his friend, Guy Robbins, an attorney on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, to help find his missing sailboat. The boat is found scuttled offshore with two bodies aboard. When identified, it is determined they are associated with the new gaming industry that has reshaped the coastline and boosted the economy, but not without consequences. A backdrop to all this is the mayoral election in Biloxi, Mississippi and the killing of one of the candidates who openly opposed the gambling industry and promised to eliminate it if elected. While the murder points to the people running the casinos, it is not gambling that killed the politician. This angered those involved due to the negative publicity and the millions it could cost them. They help Leicester solve who killed the two people found aboard the sailboat in return for a pipeline to the Chief of Police in Biloxi who is a close friend. One of the victims on the sailboat was a high-ranking casino manager visiting from New Jersey. A must read for any Mystery/Thriller aficionado.