The Someday File: 1 (Deuce Mora)

Deuce Moras one tough cookie--a female sleuth with a conscience and an attitude--fiery tough athletic a dirty fighter when she has to be. In Jean Hellers first mystery featuring the scrappy newspaper columnist Deuce finds out in short order that if you mess with organized crime you have to be tough--and youd better be as much detective as reporter. When she walks into a seedy neighborhood bar in a suburb of Chicago--all six feet of her topped with auburn curls--shes searching for a human-interest story. What she finds is Vinnie Colangelo an aging mobster living on bad beer cheap bourbon and regret for the life he wasted. Vinnie hints at secrets much bigger than his rap sheet should entitle him to and Deuce immediately discovers that somebodys willing to kill to keep those secrets buried. She uncovers a series of crimes committed over nearly six decades and as her human interest story morphs into a hard-boiled action-packed mystery she finds herself dead center in a storm of threats and reprisals from the mob.Its not enough that the mobs after her and corrupt government is concealing the evidence that would explain why; even her own editors frightened of lawsuits and losing subscribers want her off the story.Fortunately she has many allies: a network of loyal co-workers and contacts even an ardent new admirer. But which ones can she trust? At least one of them she suspects is hiding a secret-- corruption? Murder? The veteran reporter knows: if youre talking Chicago crime scene--its probably both.