Go Go Gato: 1 (Eli Sharpe)

When Almario Go Go Gato a handsome young Cuban baseball player goes missing mid-season his agent Veronica Craven hires a private investigator to track down her best client. No police. No press. Enter Eli Sharpe an Asheville North Carolina-based ex-ballplayer turned private detective who specializes in investigating professional athletes. Eli begins by questioning Maria Gato Almarios roommate and fraternal twin. Maria watched while both her parents drowned on the boat ride from Cuba to America so she is naturally desperate to get her only brother back. She tells Eli a secret: Almario may have a problem with drugs and alcohol. Eli tracks down Almarios supposed girlfriend a rich sorority girl but is soon led to another woman in his life Sheri Stuckey his cocaine supplier and fiancée who works in tandem with a gay bartender named Dantonio Rushing. Stuckey a drug abuser and single mother claims Almario split because she wanted the two of them to check into rehab. But Rushing dazzled by Almarios boyish good looks tells a different tale: Almario has taken out a $500000 life insurance policy on himself and named Stuckey as the primary beneficiary. With the help of his mentor--a former homicide detective--and five ex fiancées who still care about him Eli follows Go Gos trail determined to locate the elusive ballplayer before one of the nasty people in his life--or his own bad habits--do him in. Praise for GO GO GATO: From its hero to its milieu to its eccentric three-dimensional characters Max Everharts Go Go Gato is a terrific read. The North Carolina minor-league baseball scene feels authentic and beloved and I was always rooting for protagonist Eli Sharpe. The best news is that this excellent mystery is first in a series. Fans of Harlan Coben will want to check out Max Everhart a major new talent! --Steve Ulfelder Edgar Award-finalist author of Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage Go Go Gato is the debut entry in a promising new series by Max Everhart and its a fast-paced entertaining tale. Eli Sharpe is a very appealing character who combines just the right amounts of wit humor intelligence and courage and it will be fun to watch him in action as the series continues to grow and develop. --James L. Thane author of Until Death and No Place To Die Max Everhart scores a homerun with this first novel in his new Eli Sharpe mystery series. Eli finds much more than he bargained for in his search for a missing baseball player in this fast read best enjoyed with a glass of George Dickel in hand since thats Elis favorite poison. Like a good curveball you wont see the twist ending coming at you. --Paul D. Marks author of the Shamus Award-winning novel White Heat This is an excellent read and the authors characters are very real; in particular Eli Sharpe and his friend Ernest Carpenter. Readers will enjoy the plot and root for Eli to discover the criminal before a more serious crime occurs. --Suspense Magazine