Sweeney on the Rocks

Ted Sweeney. Affable everyman in small town Montana. Ten minutes ago, his biggest worry had been how to pay for the engagement ring rattling around in his pocket. But that was before he came home to find a corpse tidily arranged in his favorite recliner. Is it a warning or a setup or what?

Sweeney dumps the body into the Yellowstone River without attracting attention. But over the next few days, as the corpse tumbles its way downstream, Sweeney's complicated past starts rolling into

the unflattering light. His is a story that includes the waning days of Italian wise guys in Brooklyn, the rise of the Russian mafia, and his own reluctant retreat into the witness protection program. Throw in

a bag of uncut diamonds ("rocks"), an ex-wife turned country sheriff, a beloved mentor that might or might not be dead and a former mistress cashing in favors, and we have Sweeney on the Rocks, a traditional crime novel with the sensibilities of literature.