Nobody's Odds

The mutilated body of City Councilman Ron Connors is discovered propped up against a statue entitled “Nobody’s Listening”, by the entrance to City Hall in Sarasota, Florida. Detectives Judy Prior and Alexis Kinyara return in this fast-paced novel to find the author of this gruesome message. Could it have been a member of one of the city’s unions, embroiled in negotiations over unsustainable pension commitments, or could it have been the wealthy Canadian developer whose plans to build a casino resort had been rebuffed by Connors? How about the head of the policemen’s union, whose wife had been sleeping with the councilman during the pension negotiations? Perhaps it was the city’s actuary, whose unrealistic budget forecasts were placing the city’s finances in jeopardy.

This mystery novel illustrates the complex relationship Detective Judy Prior has with her Rwandan partner, Alexis Kinyara, that continues to develop as they face obstacles created by their own colleagues, who hated the councilman for his proposed cuts to union pensions. This novel is timely as cities across North America face impossible pension obligations.