Unicorns Can Be Deadly: A Discount Detective Mystery

Stuart’s fifth Seattle-set whodunit featuring PI Cameron Chandler (after Moonlight Can Be Deadly) succeeds as both a mystery and a poignant exploration of homelessness. Cameron works for the scrappy, budget-conscious Penny-wise Investigations, whose office is in a shopping mall. While walking through the mall one afternoon, Cameron spots a young boy fleeing two violent men. She hides the child in her office, feeds him, and asks why he’s in trouble. He tells her his name is Cole White, and that he was being followed because he witnessed his pursuers kidnapping a woman named Bess who lived in the same homeless camp as him. Cameron decides to take Cole into her home and investigate the matter pro bono. As she digs, she learns that Bess is just the latest in a string of victims who have been snatched from homeless encampments across the city, and that most of the crimes haven’t been reported to the police. Stuart makes Cameron’s empathy and anger palpable as she tries to track the kidnappers down, offering a fresh and quietly hopeful spin on noir conventions along the way. This is a winner. (Self-published)