Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison are called into private eye duty once again in A-LIST. Jake is an ex-MLB pitcher and Nicole is a screenwriter. Jake and Nicole met in their last escapade as part-time private eyes for Jake's dad Ray, who owns a PI business in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Nicole receives a call from her uncle, Charles Balfour, a big-time movie producer, that his A-List movie star Kirk Ford has been arrested in New Orleans for the death of his latest fling. Kirk found Kristy Guidry dead in his bed after a night of wine and weed.

Nicole talks Ray's dad into taking the case (not a difficult job), and Jake and Nicole head to New Orleans. They learn that Kristy was strangled to death with her bra. They also learn that she is the niece of Tony Guidry, a New Orleans entrepreneur with mob connections, possibly the old Dixie Mafia. Jake and Nicole set out to find Kristy's killer and attempt to clear Kirk. But they run into lots of opposition from Tony and his thugs. Tony seems to have his hands in everything, including law enforcement, the ME's office, and the District Attorney's office. He stays one step ahead of them all along the way. Where will their investigation lead?

A-LIST is the second book in D. P. Lyle's Jake Longly series. Jake and Nicole are strong, intelligent and resourceful characters. There's a quirky mixture of supporting characters, some returning from book one and others new to the scene. Mr. Lyle develops the character of Ray, Jake's dad, quite a bit in A-LIST and discusses more of the dynamics and reason for the strained relationship between father and son. The storyline moves through the streets of New Orleans and into the bayou at warp speed, heading to an unexpected conclusion. You'll also get a good directory of the best restaurants in the Big Easy. Lots of eating and drinking in this novel! This is a dynamic, fun series you do not want to miss!

Book Summary

Nothing is easy in The Big Easy

PI Jake Longly and Nicole Jamison head to New Orleans at the behest of Nicole's uncle, movie producer Charles Balfour, when his megastar, A-list actor Kirk Ford, awakens in his hotel bed with the body of Kristi Guidry, a local college coed. Ford, in the Big Easy for a location shoot, remembers little of the evening and nothing of the murder. And, to make matters worse, Kristi is the niece of a local mafioso-type who will do whatever is necessary to avenge her death. Balfour is losing money every day the filming is stalled—he needs his actor cleared, and quickly.

Surrounded by glitzy Hollywood stars and intimidated by seedy underworld characters, Jake and Nicole encounter nothing but obstacles. Something isn't right. The facts don't fit. Who would want Kristi dead? Why frame Kirk for the murder? Everyone has an opinion, including Kristi's friends and ex-boyfriend, the local homicide detectives, and a fortune-teller. The clock is ticking as Jake and Nicole struggle to decipher who's lying, who's telling the truth, and exactly who schemed to murder Kristi Guidry. Nothing is easy in The Big Easy.