New Releases by Dick Lochte

The third book in the Morning Show Murders series by bestselling author and iconic news personality Al Roker, The Talk Show Murders finds Billy Blessing with a plate full of danger as secrets from his past threaten to make a comeback. Before Billy Blessing was a five-star celebrity chef from New York City, before he was ever on TV, he lived another life under another name: Billy Blanchard, wily con man of the Windy City. Billy did time for his crimes, reinventing himself when he got out and leaving that part of his life far behind—or so he thought. But when he and Eddie Patton, a nosy ex-cop, are both guests on a popular Chicago talk show, the off-camera banter turns to blackmail. But this is Chicago, and secrets have a way of getting out—and getting people killed. When Patton is found dead in his apartment hours after trying to shake Billy down, America’s beloved TV host finds himself scrambling to prove his innocence, before he becomes the next poster child for celebrity scandal. Throw in a bit of romance, and Billy may have found himself in one sticky situation not even he can talk his way out of. Fast-paced, funny, and bubbling with the inside scoop on a business they call show, The Talk Show Murders is Al Roker at his best.

From bestselling author and iconic news personality Al Roker comes The Midnight Show Murders, the second book in the delightful Morning Show Murders series. Celebrity chef and Wake Up, America! cohost Billy Blessing heads to Los Angeles in order to help launch O’Day at Night, a new late-night show hosted by Irish comedian Desmond O’Day. LA brings up bad—and bloody—memories for Billy, but a special request from the head of the network sends him flying across the country. Twenty years ago, before becoming a famous New York chef, Billy worked in LA at Chez Anisette. One unfortunate evening, the young hostess, Tiffany Arden, was murdered with a meat tenderizer. While Billy always suspected the head chef, Roger Charbonnet, to be the murderer, the case was never solved. Now, back in a city he never thought he’d return to, Billy is confronted by Roger, who is still determined to exact vengeance. After a horrifying explosion during taping kills more than Desmond O’Day’s chance at high ratings, Billy believes that he was the intended target—and that Roger was somehow involved. But when politics, infidelity, and high finance get sprinkled in, the case turns out to have more ingredients than Billy ever imagined. Filled with the high-style hilarity, insider info, and surefire suspense that are Al Roker’s series trademark, The Midnight Show Murders is a five-star feast for any fan of top-flight mystery fiction.

When the celebrity chef from a popular morning news program becomes a prime suspect in a murder investigation, things start to sizzle in this delightful mystery from bestselling author and legendary news personality Al Roker. Billy Blessing, owner of the popular Manhattan restaurant Blessing’s Bistro, is a regular contributor on the morning news show, Wake Up, America! Now he’s creating a fresh cooking competition show, but finds himself clashing with Rudy Gallagher, the executive producer. Things get heated in the newsroom, and after exchanging some sharp words, both Billy and Rudy walk away feeling burned. Next thing he knows, Rudy is found dead in his luxury apartment, and Billy is the prime suspect. Determined to clear his name, Billy begins his own investigation, only to discover things are much more complicated than he ever imagined. Unsavory characters start coming out of the woodwork, and before long he stumbles into the crosshairs of an international assassin. The first in a delicious series, The Morning Show Murders combines the magic of morning show television with the charm of your favorite mysteries, including exciting behind-the-scenes intrigue that can only come from a veteran of network television.

Discover the new Penguin Crime and Espionage series For the unlikely crime-busting duo Leo and Serendipity, a missing dog is only the start of their troubles... Leo Bloodworth, ''the Bloodhound'', is a world-weary L.A. gumshoe with a reputation for finding anything - and a low tolerance of precocious teenagers. Serendipity Dahlquist is a precocious teenager. When the headstrong, roller-skating fourteen-year-old asks Bloodworth to help track down her lost dog Groucho, it leads this oddest of odd couples into the dark criminal underworld of the Mexican mafia, and into more trouble than they''d bargained for.

An irreverent, tricky whodunit by Dick Lochte, the award-winning, Los Angeles Times bestselling author whose work Publisher''s Weekly says "outclasses, in many ways, the tales of Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald and other renowned California mystery writers." It''s the Swinging Sixties and Harry Trauble is ready for some California Dreamin''. He''s young, single, living at a cool beach-side pad and working in Hollywood at Ogle, the nation''s second most popular magazine for men. So what if the Vietnam Conflict is heating up and Watts is a racial powder key about to blow? At Ogle, with its beautiful people, amusing eccentrics and sexual freedom, it''s nothing but fun and games. Unless you''re worried about a company executive being crushed by agiant statue of the magazine'' s jaunty frog logo . . . or the strangled corpse left in the back seat of Harry''s car . . . or the dark and sinister plan that''s placed the employees of Ogle on the hit list of a very efficient assassin. This book was previously published under the title Croaked! PRAISE FOR THE BODY IN THE BACK SEAT "A splashy, sexy, swingin'' adventure. Lochte delivers plenty of surprises and a lot of laughs along the way." Booklist "A giddy romp." Kirkus Reviews "Tongue-in-cheek, the 6Os social satire rolls out in a smooth, droll fashion that would make the late, great Richard S. Prather proud." Mystery Scene "Memorable, quirky characters that are fun and entertaining." CrimeSpree Magazine

Written by legal legend Christopher Darden, who gained nationwide fame as one of the prosecuting attorneys during the O.J. Simpson trial, L.A. Justice is a hard-driving thriller, crafted with an insider’s understanding that real justice is always dirty. Randy Bingham wakes in the dark, with his head throbbing, his memory blank, and a body on the floor. It’s Sherri Dietz, his fiancée, and she was killed with Randy’s gun. A spacey romantic with a mile-long streak of Catholic guilt, Randy Bingham is about to become chief suspect in the trial of the century, and he doesn’t remember a thing. The case falls in the lap of Virgil Sykes, a hard-nosed police detective, who works with high-flying District Attorney Nikki Hill to learn what really happened in that darkened, bloody room. With the help of Sherri’s son, a ten-year-old computer whiz who was hiding upstairs when his mother was murdered, Virgil and Nikki stumble onto a wide-ranging conspiracy that threatens to undermine the very foundations of the LAPD.

Ex-con Dave “Mace” Mason’s favor for an old friend could get him killed in this “fast-moving crime novel” from an award-winning author (Publishers Weekly). When ex-con Dave “Mace” Mason is hired by Paulie Lacotta, an old acquaintance and high-rolling crime boss, to watch his ex-girlfriend, Angela, he knows there’s more to the job than he’s being told. Angela has fallen in love with one of Paulie’s competitors, Tiny, and Paulie wants to know if she’s the reason a big deal recently went south. But Mace draws some unwelcomed attention as he investigates, and when Tiny is found dead, Mace wonders if he will live long enough to uncover the truth. “Lochte is just as fast-paced and funny flying solo as when he’s wingman for Al Roker or Christopher Darden, both of whom he’s collaborated with in the past.” —Kirkus Reviews “Lochte is a somewhat underappreciated writer. This solid, well-crafted thriller with a likable protagonist and an engaging cast of supporting players should remind readers that he is a dependable storyteller in his own right.” —Booklist “Tense, fast-moving crime novel from Nero Wolfe Award–winner Lochte.” —Publishers Weekly

A knockout New Orleans mystery novel, written by an Edgar-nominated author. P.I. Terry Manion is fresh out of rehab when he hears his mentor, J.J. Legendre, has been found with his brains blown out. The cops call it suicide, but Manion doesn''t buy it. Finding the truth is deadly business, however.

When TV presenter Maddie Gray''s body is found dumped in gangland LA, the police arrest a young black man found at the scene with Maddie''s ring in his pocket. For Nikki Hill, an ambitious Afro-American attorney, it is a make-or-break case.

Things were different in the 1960s: love was freer, morals were looser, protests were hotter, and America hadn''t yet matured into the cynical, embittered country it is today. But some things were the same: a young man starting at the bottom at a popular magazine (Ogle, "Devoted to the Masculine Pleasure-Principle") could dream of rising through the ranks; greedy corporate bigwigs could conspire to milk their companies dry; and the solution to a problem could be summed up with one word: murder.

A young attorney at a leading law firm, Mercer Early is handed the seemingly routine case of an L.A. cop accused of shooting and killing his wife, a case complicated by two more police officers who kill their spouses.

The "literary dream team" ("Entertainment Weekly") of world-famous prosecutorDarden and award-winning author Lochte returns with this gripping novel abouta troubled lawyer with one chance to defend his career and his life.

Whether Lochte''s characters are walking the mean streets of Los Angeles or strolling along the boulevards of New Orleans, Lochte captures the magic of a place and constantly surprises the reader with his clever plots and wry twists. In the title story, "Lucky Dog," the team of Leo Bloodworth and Serendipity Dahlquist are introduced when they pool their considerable investigative talents to the question of whether Leo''s new girlfriend, romance novelist Missy Lambert, killed herself with sleeping pills or was really murdered. In "Rappin'' Dog," a simple blackmail scam goes deadly wrong and Leo and Serendipity are on the scent to find the killer. "Get the Message introduces the reader to New Orleans detective Terry Manion when he gets called in to question suspects in an old-fashioned Southern murder case. And in 1960s New Orleans, Manion''s predecessor, private eye J.J. Legendre is involved in investigating the murder of a young Asian woman, who is the pregnant wife of an industry baron, in "Murder at the Mardi Gras." Nine stories show off Lochete''s trememdous talent for setting, character and plot.

"INGENIOUSLY STRUCTURED AND PLOTTED . . . [Lochte] returns for the second time to New Orleans and captures it to the last levee-sided beignet at dawn. In fact, Lochte has become one of its prime delineators." --Los Angeles Times A straight-shooting, no-nonsense P.I. like Terry Manion working for the king of ultratacky tabloid TV? Not exactly a match made in heaven. But when Manion gets the chance to reopen a thirty-year-old murder case involving his mentor, J. J. Legendre, he jumps at it. J. J. was still a cop on the New Orleans beat in 1965 when he busted volatile black militant leader Tyrone Pano for murder. Pano called it a frame-up, and Legendre believed him. Legendre finally cracked the case, but three decades later, it falls to Manion to pick up the pieces his teacher missed--and write the shocking ending to the whole sordid scenario. . . . "THE NEON SMILE is Dick Lochte''s magnum opus. . . . I couldn''t put it down." --Jonathan Kellerman "Dick Lochte has a style of his own: giddy and gaudy on the outside, cynical and perverse under the skin." --The New York Times Book Review