Hard Exit - Bruce Leonard

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Résumé :
Private investigator Jack Drake has everything a man is supposed to want. A Malibu beach mansion A glamorous movie star girlfriend A lucrative career and supportive friends But he hates his life. Jack still loves his dead wife, Jami-and can't free himself from the relationship that feels like an anchor dragging him under. He worries too much, sleeps too little, and pines for his gorgeous neighbor who has quietly loved him for years. Then a wounded sixteen-year-old enters his life. As a favor to an old friend, Jack sequesters Game-a street-smart kid caught in the crossfire of an inner-city shooting-inside the mansion Jack shares with his famous girlfriend. What begins as an act of obligation becomes something deeper: a fragile alliance between two damaged people who recognize each other's grief. When that shooting leads to a series of murders stretching from the streets of Oakville to the sunlit ostentation of Malibu, Jack dives into the dangerous case and confronts the demons he's held at bay. Going to battle for others has always come easily to him, but the prospect of new love inspires him finally to fight for himself. Hard Exit is a romantic mystery about love after loss, emotional courage, and a man torn between the life he has and the life he can't let go of. Perfect for readers who enjoy: Character-driven mysteries Emotionally complex male protagonists Stories where love matters as much as the crime This is a smart, edgy, state-of-the-art L.A. noir with heart. Jack Drake is a private eye with grit, a few demons and a semi-glamorous life on the beach in Malibu. This series is a terrific addition to the modern hard-boiled genre. -New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz...

Biographie:
Bruce Leonard is the author of the Hadley Carroll Mysteries, a character-driven mystery series set in Paducah, Kentucky-known as Quilt City-and the award-winning private-eye novel Hard Exit.He earned a B.A. in English with a creative writing emphasis from UCLA and has spent more than four decades working as a professional writer and editor. Over the years, he has been a travel writer, an editor, a bakery owner, and-briefly-a guinea pig for the U.S. government.Bruce frequently visits Paducah, where he created Hadley Carroll: a smart, resilient journalist whose humor and determination help her navigate murder, grief, civic responsibility, and complicated relationships. The series explores real-world challenges with emotional honesty while keeping violence off the page and community at the center.Hard Exit, his hardboiled mystery set primarily in Malibu, is narrated by grieving private investigator Jack Drake and has won multiple awards. The novel pays homage to classic private-eye fiction while telling a deeply personal story about love, loss, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.Bruce is grateful for the thousands of readers who have welcomed his characters into their lives. He lives and writes with the support of his wife, Sedonia, who believes in his work-especially during those early-morning hours when the plot refuses to cooperate....

Sommaire:
Jack Drake shares a Malibu beach mansion with a gorgeous movie star but hates his life. The depressed private eye can't shake the death of his wife and can't end his toxic relationship with Hollywood heartthrob Amanda Bigelow. But an at-risk sixteen-year-old who is injured in an inner-city shooting gets Jack unstuck. As a favor to a friend, Jack sequesters Game in the mansion, keeping him safe. Their worldviews differ, but they draw from their histories of loss and grief while investigating the shooting and three seemingly unrelated murders, tying Game's world in downtrodden Oakville to Jack's in idyllic Malibu. Fans of wisecracking investigators such as Spenser, Kinsey Milhone, and Stephanie Plum will cheer for Jack Drake, a man in love with two women-one of them dead. This is a smart, edgy, state-of-the-art L.A. noir with heart. Jack Drake is a private eye with grit, a few demons and a semi-glamorous life on the beach in Malibu. This series is a terrific addition to the modern hard-boiled genre. -New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz...