KILLER VIBES

An indifferent shamus inherits a fortune and a whole lot of trouble in this series debut.

Charming Peter Key introduces himself to the reader right upfront as perhaps “the laziest private investigator in Texas.” Peter, who’s bisexual, doesn’t look for problems, but they have a way of finding him. After his propensity for sexual dalliances and weed earns him threats of physical violence and eviction from the Dallas house where he’d been living, the surprising death of his Uncle Forrest comes as a godsend. Though Peter hadn’t seen Forrest in 11 years, he inherits his house in Austin and a small fortune. Savvy readers will suspect that this inheritance comes with strings—more accurately, as it turns out, with chains or even knives. A shaggy mystery surrounds Uncle Forrest’s death, but the tale is less a whodunit than a comic romp, with delightfully off-center players introduced in nearly every chapter. These include Peter’s gritty Aunt Sylvie, “a tall silver bayonet of a woman”; the faithful German shepherd Brutus; stodgy attorney Arthur Brennance; and scary loan officer Josie Cho—at least some of whom, it’s hoped, will return in later installments of the series. A more serious thread, adding depth and texture, depicts Peter’s relationship with his ailing mother. In a voice reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen and David Handler, the story hurtles from one outrageous development to another on the cushion of Peter’s puckish snark.

A promising and compulsively readable series kickoff—hard-boiled light, and curiously refreshing.