Beggar's Choice

Jerry Kennealy

Jan 2013 · Nick Polo Mysteries Book 9 · Speaking Volumes

About this ebook

Volunteering at a local soup kitchen, Polo gets to know Scratchy, a self-described "sidewalk architect." With a Food for Vets sign in hand, Scratchy spends his days at his "office," a freeway off-ramp in downtown San Francisco, where certain drivers are exceptionally generous. Scratchy asks Polo to check the license-plate numbers of the charitably-minded individuals, and Polo comes up with a multimillionaire shipowner and a mysterious ex-CIA agent. But before he can give Scratchy the information, the man is dead, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run.

The police have little interest in the accidental death of a homeless man, so at the urging of the soup kitchen’s operator, Father Tomasello, Polo decides to investigate. What he finds takes him up against the Dragon Head of the Chinese Mafia, whose connections with the shipping magnate and the ex-CIA agent threaten not only Polo, but his friends and family too.

About the author

Jerry Kennealy has worked as a police officer, as well as a licensed private investigator, adding great authenticity to his novels. Besides the Polo mysteries, two of which have been nominated for Shamus Awards, he's written several non-series thrillers lately. He's a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Private Eye Writers of America. Praise for Jerry Kennealy "Kennealy infuses even high-stakes moments with a sense of light-hearted fun, and the plot is trickier to puzzle out than one might expect." —Publishers Weekly on Jigsaw "It's fun to see Carroll squeezed between two cops who like him for two different crimes, and there's lots of trivia for Hitchcock buffs." —Kirkus Reviews on Jigsaw "As always, Kennealy delivers hard-boiled excitement nicely dressed with humor and style." —Booklist on All That Glitters "Kennealy keeps a firm grip on his readers with a smart pace and a light, intelligent tone that's never cute. We're also treated to intriguing lore about investigating procedures in the electronic age, scenic and historic bits, and a lively background romance." —Publishers Weekly on Beggar's Choice "I can't wait 'til Kennealy's next novel hits the bookstores." —San Francisco Examiner "A winner full of gritty policework and international intrigue. Kennealy makes San Francisco one of his main characters. His other characters ring true partly because of the realistic dialogue." —San Francisco Examiner (The Conductor) "Enjoyable... action-filled." —Publishers Weekly (The Conductor) "Kennealy's characters, combined with his seasoned ability to weave several plot elements into a smooth whole... stand out in the thriller genre." —Publishers Weekly (The Suspect) "A crime thriller that has prize winner written all over it. Enthralling." —Harriet Klausner (The Suspect) “GRITTY.” —San Francisco Examiner (The Other Eye) “ACTION-FILLED.” —Publishers Weekly (The Other Eye)