Steve Goble

A moment of violence—a snap judgement—a life changed to the core Ed Runyon bolted from the NYPD after a runaway teen case fell through the cracks and turned into a nightmarish murder. Now, he's learned to bury the rage that consumed him, cope with depression, and enjoy life as a Mifflin County sheriff's detective in rural Ohio. Ed is trying to relax on his day off when Columbus PD Detective Shelly Beckworth comes to Mifflin County in search of a girl who vanished after a pop-up party. The clues are scarce—a few license plates, a phone shattered on the roadside—but the trail leads to Ed's neck of the woods. He tries to shove everything else aside to keep this case from ending in another tragedy, but a cop can't pick and choose which calls to duty he'll answer. Frustrated, Ed watches a happy ending slip beyond sight—this one he cannot run away from. Charging forward, Ed breaks rules and takes risks leading to a bloody confrontation where everything he believes as a cop and every ghost in his head clash—a moment of avenging violence that will ultimately change his life to the core. Perfect for fans of Robert Crais and John Sanford

City Problems

A man on the run—can Ed Runyon find him and tell him about his dying daughter? When a cop is murdered in rural Ohio on Donny Blackmon's property, the case seems open and shut. Donny must've done it—he's a known cop-hater, and he's already fled. Believing her husband is innocent, Donny's wife calls Whiskey River Investigations, the new one-man PI agency run by former sheriff's deputy Ed Runyon, to see if Ed can find her husband. Ed isn't sure he'll take the case until he visits the Blackmon family home and meets Donny's daughter, who has just been diagnosed with cancer—and Donny doesn't know. When Donny's daughter asks Ed to "go find Daddy," Ed knows he has to find Donny before the police do, whether or not he's innocent. Ed soon realizes finding Donny won't be an easy job: Donny trusts no one, and he's gone completely off the grid. But Ed finds something the police have missed and begins piecing the puzzle together. The closer he gets to the truth, the more danger he finds. But he took the job, so Ed is going to find Donny Blackmon—or die trying. Perfect for fans of Robert Crais and John Sandford While all the novels in the Ed Runyon Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: City Problems Wayward Son Go Find Daddy

Go Find Daddy

"A historical mystery that blends nautical adventure in pirate waters with a locked-room murder mystery, featuring a pirate sleuth whose wits are as sharp as his blade. Spider John, longing to escape the pirate life he never wanted, has an honest seafaring job at last and a chance to return to his beloved Em and their child. But when Captain Brentwood is murdered in his cabin, Spider's plans are tossed overboard. Who killed Redemption's captain? The mysterious pirate with a sadistic past? The beautiful redhead who hides guns beneath her skirt? One of the men pining for the captain's daughter? There are plenty of suspects. But how could anyone kill the captain in his locked quarters while the entire crew was gathered together on the deck? Before he can solve the puzzle, Spider John and his ex-pirate friends Hob and Odin will have to cope with violence, schemes, nosy Royal Navy officers, and a deadly trap set by the ruthless pirate Ned Low"--

"A historical mystery that blends nautical adventure in pirate waters with a locked-room murder mystery, featuring a pirate sleuth whose wits are as sharp as his blade"--

a Spider John mystery

The devil's wind

Agatha Christie meets Patrick O'Brian in the first book in a new series of swashbuckling historical mysteries featuring Spider John Rush, a most reluctant pirate. 1722--aboard a pirate ship off the American Colonial Coast. Spider John Rush never wanted to be a pirate, but it had happened and he'd learned to survive in the world of cut and thrust, fight or die. He and his friend Ezra knew that death could come at any moment, from grapeshot or storm winds or the end of a noose. But when Ezra is murdered in cold blood by a shipmate, Spider vows revenge. On a ship where every man is a killer many times over, how can Spider find the man who killed his friend? There is no law here, so if justice is to be done, he must do it. He will have to solve the crime and exact revenge himself. One wrong step will lead to certain death, but Spider is determined to look into the dying eyes of the man who killed his friend, even if it means his own death.

A Spider John Mystery

The Bloody Black Flag

A historical mystery that blends nautical adventure in pirate waters with a locked-room murder mystery, featuring a pirate sleuth whose wits are as sharp as his blade. 1723--Spider John, longing to escape the pirate life he never wanted, has an honest seafaring job at last, aboard a sailing vessel, and is returning to his beloved Em and their child. But when Captain Brentwood is murdered in his cabin, Spider's plans are tossed overboard. Who killed Redemption's captain? The mysterious pirate with a sadistic past? The beautiful redhead who hides guns beneath her skirt? One of the men pining for the captain's daughter? There are plenty of suspects. But how could anyone kill the captain in his locked quarters while the entire crew was gathered together on the deck? Before he can solve the puzzle, Spider John and his ex-pirate friends Hob and Odin will have to cope with violence, schemes, nosy Royal Navy officers, and a deadly trap set by the ruthless pirate Ned Low.

The Devil's Wind

August, 1723 -- Spider John Rush believes he has escaped piracy forever. Enjoying rum and chess in a dark Lymington tavern, he dreams of finding passage to Nantucket to reunite with his beloved Em and to finally get to know the son he remembers only as a babe in arms, though the lad must be dreaming of going to sea himself by now. But when a lazy taverner is stabbed to death, one glance at the victim tells Spider the pirate life has followed him ashore and he cannot possibly ignore this bloody crime. The wise maneuver would be to run before authorities arrive, but Spider is denied that choice because he’s already deeply, connected to the crime—he fashioned the murder weapon with his own hands. The knife was a gift to a young man, one who ran off with the notorious Anne Bonny before Spider could drag him into a respectable life. Soon, Spider John and his ancient shipmate Odin are dodging accusations and battling smugglers on a trail that leads to a madhouse where patients are dying one by one. Spider finds himself tangling with a horribly maimed former shipmate, vengeful pirates, a gun-wielding brunette, a death-obsessed young woman, a sneaky farmhand and a philosopher engaged in frightening experiments. But death seems to be winning at Pryor Pond, and the next life lost may be the one Spider desperately wants to save. Spider must brave sharp steel, musket balls, gunpowder bombs, dangerous women and gruesome surgery if he is to find his foolish young friend alive and try once again to put piracy in their past.

A Bottle of Rum

A PI goes hunting for a missing boy—and ends up being prey Ed Runyon, a former sheriff's deputy haunted by past missing child cases that went horribly wrong, is struggling to launch a PI agency and still live in the Ohio farm country he loves. His love life is in shambles, too, as his partner turns to someone else. His best friend got roughed up by a rogue cop, so Ed is in a fighting mood. Ed finds a new focus when he is hired to find a runaway chess aficionado who is keeping secrets from his homophobic, religious parents. Finding kids is the reason he became a PI, so Ed is determined to succeed and put the demons and other problems behind him. But Jimmy Zachman made a bad move and ran into far more trouble than he was already in, and the hunt for him leads Ed to a deadly and desperate confrontation. Everything comes down to determination—and one very risky move. Ed must find Jimmy at all costs. Perfect for fans of John Sandford and Robert Crais While the novels in the Ed Runyon Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: City Problems Wayward Son Go Find Daddy (coming 2023)

Wayward Son

1723—Spider John is almost home, free of the horrors of the pirate life, free of the violence, free of the death. The wife and baby he left behind almost a decade ago are almost within reach. But then a murder aboard Minuet uncovers a deeper conspiracy, and soon Spider and his friends—curmudgeonly Odin, swashbuckling young Hob and alluring Ruth Copper— find themselves in the midst of flintlock smoke and bloodshed. The violence follows Spider ashore to Nantucket, where the loving reception he’d dreamed of turns out to be something utterly unexpected. Soon, Spider is running for his life and confronting cutthroats and thieves — while hiding from islanders who think he left a man dead on a widow’s front step. The solution? Find the killer. The consequences? Those could change Spider John’s life forever.

Pieces of Eight

A moment of violence--a snap judgement--vindication Ed Runyon bolted from the NYPD after a runaway teen case fell through the cracks and turned into a nightmarish murder. Now, he's learned to bury the rage that consumed him, cope with depression, and enjoy life as a Mifflin County sheriff's detective in rural Ohio. Ed is trying to relax on his day off when Columbus PD Detective Shelly Beckworth comes to Mifflin County in search of a girl who vanished after a pop-up party. The clues are scarce--a few license plates, a phone shattered on the roadside--but the trail leads to Ed's neck of the woods. He tries to shove everything else aside to keep this case from ending in another tragedy, but a cop can't pick and choose which calls to duty he'll answer. Frustrated, Ed watches a happy ending slip beyond sight--this one he cannot run away from. Charging forward, Ed breaks rules and takes risks leading to a bloody confrontation where everything he believes as a cop and every ghost in his head clash--a moment of avenging violence that will ultimately change his life to the core. Perfect for fans of Robert Crais and John Sanford

Steve Goble

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