Desert Drop

Private investigator and former homicide detective Alice James was just six months old when her father, Leon Stapper, abandoned his family. Forty years later, Alice has convinced herself she's over it—until her half sister, Corina, calls her up and wants to meet. But before Alice and Corina can get acquainted, everything goes terribly, tragically wrong. Determined to uncover the truth behind what happened to her sister, Alice calls in reinforcements: Jim Snow, her partner in Las Vegas's James & James Detective Agency who knows a thing or two about family drama. Their investigation takes them from Sin City to Silicon Valley, where Alice and Corina's father reigns as a high-tech CEO. As Alice and Jim dig for clues, they find that Leon's best friend and attorney Ron Bale took a very personal interest in Corina. Not to mention the fact that he used to be married to Leon's ex-wife—until she vanished without a trace. Alice is convinced that if she and Jim can uncover the truth about the missing wife, they will discover what happened to Corina. But first, they will need a little help from some old friends.

Smart, sharp, and entertaining, Desert Drop is the third installment of Rex Kusler's Las Vegas Mystery series.