Gerald Elias proudly performs on violins made by his son, Jacob

A New Feature in Behold, A New Hero!

First there was Hercule Poirot. Then came Sam Spade. Now, get ready for…Maury Gross.

You heard right. Maury Gross, a retired, Jewish NYPD police chief: part cop, part philosopher, and if one is totally honest, part nebbish who could stand to lose a few pounds and who would like nothing better to do than lie on his couch in Queens with a nice sandwich and watch the Mets on TV.

In MURDER ON VACATION, a collection of 16 delectable short crime stories, Maury's wife, Bobbi, takes (i.e. drags) the two of them to many of America's favorite holiday destinations, from headlands of the California coast to the headstones of Boston's historic burial grounds and all points in between. Unfortunately for Maury, his stellar reputation precedes him everywhere he tries to go for a little R&R and, when a baffling heist or murder is committed, the local constabulary imposes upon him to solve it. Sometimes, for Maury, that means looking the other way when he has greater sympathy for the perp than the victim, but let's leave it at that for the moment.

Like Nick and Nora Charles in Dashiell Hammett's classic The Thin Man series, Maury and Bobbi are a loveable and inseparable crime-solving team, providing plentiful laughs as they inevitably bring every ne'er-do-well to justice.

MURDER ON VACATION, a perfect choice for your summer reading list, is now available for preorder from White City Press!

Preorder from White City Press before May 19 and you'll receive the paperback for only $16. After the 19th it will be $18, still a lower price than at any retail outlet. Plus, White City Press provides FREE SHIPPING, ANYWHERE!

If you preorder the ebook version for only $4.99, it will be delivered to the email address on the order.

Wry, twisty, laced with humor and well-executed.

-- Gary Phillips, Anthony Award-winning author of Ash Dark as Night