Wine, Cheese, and Daggers (Are Back in Style)

It's a chilly March evening in 1979 inside the affluent little hamlet known as Southampton, New York; but somewhere along the tree-lined lane of this Long Island suburb is a mansion that holds a secret. There is a dead body lying in the spacious

foyer with an emerald-handled dagger protruding from the chest of the wealthy homeowner.

But how is this possible?

The dead man was not a victim of theft or home invasion. There is no one in the house when the killing occurs. The members of the household can account for their whereabouts at the exact time of the murder; there are airtight alibis and solid physical evidence to support the accuracy for every minute they are away from the mansion. But someone committed this murder. Does the key to this mystery lie in the significance of the dagger; an archaic weapon that may be back in style? If so, what and why.

The homicide detective on loan to the local Hampton police from his Manhattan precinct is attempting to answer that very question. The handsome investigator with a love of film noir and stray animals is now charged with finding that killer.

And he is stumped.

Welcome to the world of Detective Nick Tracy and five short stories filled with intrigue and murder, including: a mind-numbing case of murderous mistaken identity, a kidnapping with an unforeseen surprise ending, a riddle where a murdered man names his own killer, a bank robbery with a twist. . .and concluding with the dead man in the

foyer of the Hampton mansion with a dagger in his chest, who will prove to be the toughest case of Detective Nick Tracy's career. En garde.

Is Detective Tracy as good as his cartoon counterpart: the man in the comic books with the yellow raincoat, the creased fedora and the two-way wrist radio?

Maybe.

Or maybe, he is better.