Broken Down

Collected together here are the first 3 stories in the Detective Jimmy Delaney series:In a FlashJimmy was a good cop, but age and changing times were getting the better of him. If he could only get an edge, take advantage of some of that new-fangled tech - what would be the harm? I mean, everybody cheats a little, don't they? Just be careful not to get caught…Mixed SignalsNothing was going Jimmy's way, lately. Jill had moved to Portland and filed for divorce. Sure, Jimmy should have never gotten that illegal jack, but how was he to know that the Yons would use it to make him kill Eddie? Then the prosecutor thought Jimmy's credibility was shot and wouldn't put him on the stand at their trial. Even if he had been drugged part of the time, the jury would have still believed him. It wasn't like they could prove that he'd been an accessory. They'd busted him down from detective, anyway.Things couldn't get any worse. Or could they?The Right IdeaWhen Jimmy left the force and started "Delaney's Investigation Company", he expected to be living the life of Riley. A few months later, and the dust still hasn't had time to settle from the Preiss and Simms murders, but Jimmy's ongoing divorce has swallowed his imagined riches. What would Jimmy do without the city's thriving blackmail industry? That may go away, as candidate Mathews is promising to clean up Barnstow; but Jimmy isn't sure Mathews has the right idea.If you enjoy a little confused, crime-laden mayhem with a smattering of sci-fi and plenty of human frailty (and some redemption), Detective Jimmy Delaney is for you.(all 3 stories are available separately) William Mangieri is a karaoke junkie, former theater student, and recovered wargamer who spends as much time wondering "what if?" as "why not?". He writes from Texas, where he and his family live at the mercy of the ghost of a nine-pound westie.William writes mostly speculative fiction (that's science fiction, fantasy and horror), although he also has a detective series with a soft sci-fi element (Detective Jimmy Delaney.) He completed writing his first novel (Swordsmaster) in 2019; prior to this, he has honed his skills on short fiction. He has been published in Daily Science Fiction and The Anarchist, and six of his stories have earned Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future contest. Jimmy was a good cop, but age and changing times were getting the better of him. If he could only get an edge, take advantage of some of that new-fangled tech - what would be the harm? I mean, everybody cheats a little, don't they? Just be careful not to get caught… Read "In a Flash" to see how Jimmy gets himself out of trouble."In a Flash" is a sci-fi/crime short story, the first in the Detective Jimmy Delaney series. If you like a little self-deprecation and humor with some sci-fi elements thrown in (think "The Rockford Files" mashed up with the old BBC "The Avengers") this is the series for you.