Salvation Lake by G.M. Ford

Consider Leo Waterman as a PI who was (sort of) born with a silver spoon. His father was a Seattle city councilman who managed to enrich his own pocket at the trough of public service. When he died, Leo inherited a whole bunch of money and a fancy bit of property . . . when he turned 45. Daddy wanted to make sure Leo knew something about earning a living before he became pretty well off.

So he's a local PI with a crew of deadbeats and retirees who help him out. And a paraplegic IT guy who can find most anything online. He's with this sorry bunch at a bar when his ex-girl drops in. She's a Seattle medical examiner. Seems she has a couple of bodies who have a bit of a connection with Leo.

Two pretty different guys have been found dead in a car trunk. Naked. And covered with a huge and heavy custom made. With a label sewn on the inside saying it was expressly made and fitted for Big Bill Waterman.

The two victims really are different. One was homeless. The other was far from it. Now Leo has no client to represent. But he is the curious sort and the coat connection starts him checking.

Funny thing about the internet. In the right hands, it can tell one quite a lot. Such as the tale of this young Las Vegas girl whose parents died suddenly. She ends up in foster care and bolts for the streets of Sin City as a teenager. She becomes pretty adept at her new-found occupation, especially the part about reading people. She wants out of the life and starts searching for her ticket out.

How about a car salesman who once dumped goes off the deep end and eventually becomes homeless. Or the fairly well off guy. A step up the proverbial ladder. But, he too can't hold onto the girl. Said girl goes off the grid in SE Asia for a time and returns to Seattle after some pretty effective reconstructive surgery.

And weds a charismatic new wave preacher who has developed a strong following based on his old world beliefs of male domination of the wife. Her name is Teresa Calder. The church is pretty flush, especially in real estate. And our preacher has acquired, much to his own dismay, a pair of nasty body guards who think they are due some family money and suspect the church is hoarding the cash.

Lest you think Leo Waterman is a new PI in the genre, he's not. This is the 9th episode in this series. In Waterman, Ford and created a very smart, snarky, colorful character who stumbles his way through an all too believable set of circumstances. Turns out that this (and the next review I'll post) are long time series that I honestly have a hard time believing I haven't crossed their paths before. Thinking I'm going to start prowling around for more of Leo.

Just published in July 2016

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