Flynt and Steele

When Rusty Steele's troubled college roommate disappeared during Christmas break her freshman year, no one but Rusty even noticed. Years later, in 1987, divorced from her wealthy lawyer husband and needing a job, she partners with Mike Flynt in a struggling private detective agency. When her now homeless and helpless friend is charged with murder on an island off the Maine coast, Rusty and Mike discover there is much more to an "open-and-shut case" than anyone anticipated. Will they acknowledge their mutual attraction? Can they navigate deadly waters, survive unseen dangers and, with the help of the eccentric islanders, bring justice to the victims of a long-buried evil conspiracy?

"This expertly-plotted, twisty, character-driven novel is one you'll remember long after you've turned the last page."

Kait Carson, author of the Hayden Kent mysteries

"[Sanford Emerson is] a fine writer . . . as entertaining as all get out. [Flynt and Steele is] leavened with humor and insight into life in rural Maine."

Brenda Buchanan, author of the Joe Gale mysteries

Retired after a thirty-five year career in law enforcement and corrections in the mountains of western Maine, Sanford (Sandy) Emerson lives reasonably peacefully on a small fortified gentleman's farm with his award-winning writer wife, an occasionally reliable orange tractor, a barn full of languishing woodworking tools and the latest in a long string of cats. He is the author of Well, Hell, the Yarns of Constable Bobby Wing of Skedaddle Gore, Maine (2022) and Flynt and Steele (2026). His short stories have been featured in several New England mystery anthologies and he has been published in Down East Magazine. He enjoys dubbin' around, skiing, listening to music, the Red Sox and sitting on his porch reading while watching what's left of the world stumble by.