Hot Dog Detective

Mark MacFarland, former Denver Police Detective, lost everything-his job, his home, his hope for the future--after the man who killed MacFarland's wife was acquitted of the crime. Now, after three years living homeless and drunk on the streets of Denver, he sells hot dogs from a cart located a block from where he used to work. He's putting his life back together, until he is asked to solve a murder that pits him against the man who had wronged him years earlier. In Avid Angler, MacFarland defends a woman wrongly accused of murdering her husband. MacFarland discovers his nemesis, Norris Peterson, may be involved in the murder. In Busty Ballbreaker, MacFarland suspects that an industrial accident was anything but an accident. Is it just a coincidence that the company he is investigating is one of Norris Petersons? Finally, in Crying Camper, MacFarland rescues missing and exploited homeless children only to learn that Peterson is involved in the exploitation ring. In three successive novels, MacFarland's confrontation with Norris Peterson, a man of wealth, influence, and power, takes him closer and closer to losing all he has regained from his time on the streets. Each mystery can be read as a standalone novel, but are best enjoyed when read in order.

Hot dog vendor Mark MacFarland — "Mac" to his friends — is suspicious when a young construction worker, Wanda Warren, approaches him with a tale of conspiracy, fraud, and murder. A friend of hers died in a tragic work accident, but she thinks that there is more to the story than workplace tragedy. She thinks he was killed to keep him quiet. MacFarland is not so sure. He is initially convinced that the woman is part of an elaborate April Fool's joke, being played on him by his former co-workers in the Denver Police Department. However, when the man supposedly responsible for the accident is seriously hurt in a hit and run auto accident, MacFarland becomes convinced that Wanda is right. Something is not right at the construction site just down the block from him. The question for MacFarland is, how many more people are going to get killed before he finds the person behind the conspiracy that Wanda has uncovered? This is a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth. This is a 70,000 words novel.

MacFarland knows what it's like to live on the streets. Although he now has a place to live, he still keeps an eye out for the homeless community. He's overjoyed when he learns that one of the "invisible people" he's helped, Teena, a runaway teenager, has gotten a job in a mountain camp for homeless youth. But when one of her friends goes missing, she turns to MacFarland for help. MacFarland soon discovers that the girl's friend has been killed and that several other children are missing. Clearly something bad is going on at that camp. While he has his suspicions about the people behind the "adoptions," it is when he discovers that man who killed his wife, Norris Peterson, might be behind the missing children, that the case becomes personal. Can MacFarland find out what is happening to the homeless children before another child goes missing…or turns up dead? MacFarland's quest for justice-and revenge-takes him on a journey to the far corners of Colorado as he attempts to rescue Teena and the other homeless children. This is a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth. This is a 70,000 word novel.

MacFarland is off to Mexico! MacFarland is old school when it comes to legalized marijuana. But when it comes to the daughter of the owner of legalized pot stores getting kidnapped, he is ready to run off to Mexico to rescue her. Unfortunately, rescuing the young woman does not prove to be easy. First, someone has followed him to Mexico and is trying to kill him. Second, he has to confront one of the most powerful cartel leaders in Mexico. And third, he has to deal with Calida Delgado, a beautiful and fiercely independent woman he once had an affair with. Will MacFarland be able to rescue the pot dealer's daughter or will he fall victim to one or more of the three obstacles he encounters in sunny Mexico?

A dose of religion! MacFarland's sister-in-law wants to improve MacFarland's life, and what better way to do that than to get him involved with a church? Not just any church...the Church of Blessed Grace which promises you not only spiritual happiness but economic success. How could one go wrong with that combination? Being a rather cynical and suspicious person, MacFarland is a bit dubious about this church. When he discovers that the girl he has been seeing is also going to the church, he finds that he can't avoid going. Even MacFarland has to admit that God works in mysterious ways! When he attends the church, his suspicions are heightened when he finds that he simply can't stand the Reverend in charge of the church. Nor can he understand why a church has so darn many cameras spaced around its congregation hall. What are they watching for? When a young woman from the church goes missing, and later turns up dead, MacFarland is convinced, the Church of Blessed Grace isn't a gateway to heaven...it's a doorway to hell. And the next victim might be someone close to him...

Football is back! For those of us who enjoy seeing twenty-two huge muscular men mash it up on a large field, this time of year is a welcome one. Especially for those of us whose baseball team has not fared as well as we had hoped, the prospect of football, where the agony of a loss comes usually only once a week, is a inspiring. MacFarland, alas, is not a football fan. Several years on the streets, with no access to television or even radio broadcasts, effectively weaned him from enjoyment of the sport. So it is surprising when he is approached by a promising young quarterback to help ensure the Broncos do not have a disastrous season. How can MacFarland help? By discouraging a stalker who might bring embarrassment to the team. Unfortunately, when the stalker turns up dead, MacFarland's work is cut out for him. He has to prove that the young quarterback did not kill the stalker. That shouldn't be too hard, since MacFarland himself is one of the suspects in the young lady's death. The Freaky Fan is the sixth mystery in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently.

Tomas Aleciades has a big handicap. He's nearly blind. That doesn't stop him from doing what he most loves...gardening. What will stop him, though, is being accused of murder. MacFarland is asked by his good friend Jacinto Gomez to prove that Aleciades is innocent. To do that, MacFarland will have to contend with a deceptive thirteen-year old girl, an angry father, crooked cops, and his own doubts and uncertainty.

MacFarland knew in his heart that Scott Porter really was guilty... The problem was, he had promised his sister-in-law that he would find a way to prove the man innocent. All he had to do was find out who really killed the man's wife, Amanda. But as every cop knew, it usually was the husband. Then, when the first of several homeless men were discovered killed in the same way as Amanda had been, MacFarland realized he was dealing with a serial killer. What was the connection between the pretty socialite, Amanda Porter, and a bunch of homeless men? And why couldn't MacFarland shake the feeling that Scott Porter had something to do with all the deaths?

MacFarland doesn't like it when one of the "invisible people" gets accused of a crime. Innocent or guilty, it doesn't matter, the system is weighted against them. MacFarland becomes suspicious that the police have the wrong man when he learns that the suspect-an old man named Isaac Dawes, a man who suffers with a bad skin condition-is accused of killing his best friend. When Lord Bozworth, the leader of the homeless community in Denver, asks for MacFarland's help in freeing Isaac Dawes, how can MacFarland refuse?

Mark MacFarland had no use for politics when he was homeless on the streets of Denver. Now that he is struggling to pull himself back into regular society, he still finds politics a necessary evil he'd rather avoid. But when his friend Jerry Baker asks him to find evidence that a restaurant waitress did not kill her boss, he finds himself right in the middle of political intrigue. It turns out that the restaurateur is running for the U.S. Senate. Was he killed for political reasons...or was he killed by the waitress, the would-be politician's mistress?

When Rufus Headley's high school friend, now living in Los Angeles, is accused of murdering the doctor treating him for cancer, the decision for MacFarland to go to the City of Angels to defend him is easy. What is not easy for MacFarland is solving a case in a city where he is a stranger, and where his only contact with the Los Angeles Police Department is with a detective who can't disguise his distrust of MacFarland and even regards MacFarland as a suspect. While it was clear to MacFarland that Collins is innocent, the local police don't feel quite the same way. As MacFarland gets to know more about the clinic staff and what it is doing, he begins to wonder if Collins conflict with the clinic is actually justified. MacFarland's adventures in LaLa Land are complicated by unwanted traveling companions, financial mismanagement, and a brazen millennial lawyer takes delight when she alone can bail MacFarland and his companions out of jail. The Paranoid Patient is book sixteen in the Hot Dog Detective series. Each book can be read independently, but if you want to read them in order, just follow the alphabet.

The New Caldonia Quartet always had problems getting along with each other. Arguments over what music to play, how to interpret it, who should get the most center stage time, even what costumes to wear plagued them ever since the four members came together to form the group. At an attempt at a friendly meeting of some of the members of the group, Paula Gurley, a friend of the talented viola player Suzanne Cousins, dies. The group finds itself under intense scrutiny. When the police come and arrest Suzanne Cousins, it looks like the group will split up. Detective Cynthia Pierson needs MacFarland's help. She knows Paula Gurley's mother, and wants the case solved. But, she doesn't think the detective assigned to investigate the case will do a good job. At first MacFarland is resistant. But, when he learns that the man who messed up the evidence chain of custody in his wife's death has been assigned to this case, he has all the reason he needs to look into Paula Gurley's death. Besides, it gives him a chance to work with Detective Pierson. The only obstacle is the Quibbling Quartet itself. It's members don't seem to be cooperative. What do they have to hide?

About The Strident Student Tommy Chow was about to graduate from the University of Denver. His parents and sister waited expectantly for him to appear on the stage to receive the diploma that would allow him to continue on to medical school and a worthy career as a doctor. But when the last student paraded across the stage, the Chow family had a disturbing feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. Where was their son? A month later, the desperate family approached Mark MacFarland. They've heard he is the kind of detective who can do what the police cannot do. While sympathetic to their plight, MacFarland is convinced the young man is just a run away. But as he delves deeper into Tommy Chow's disappearance, he discovers that the young man had many secrets…secrets that could get him killed. About The Truculent Trannie When one of MacFarland's friends asks him to prove that a man accused of murder is innocent, MacFarland reluctantly agrees. He tells her that he will go where the facts take him, but if that means that the man is guilty, so be it. But then MacFarland finds he is smack in the middle of a notorious hate crime. The victim is a transgendered woman who seems to have a lot of enemies. MacFarland suddenly finds himself in the middle of a crime where everyone has a reason to think he's helping to free a guilty man. About The Unselfish Uncle Everyone loved Ned Pendergast. He was personable, friendly, rich…and generous. Need money for a new house? Ask Ned. Need help with outstanding bills? Ned is always there, pen and checkbook in hand. Need someone to watch the kids while you take the little lady out for an anniversary dinner? Uncle Ned is the man to call.Why then, did someone cut off Uncle Ned's head and leave it on the porch of the Pendergast family? And where is the rest of Ned Pendergast's body? Someone is sending a message. But who is sending the message? What is the message? And who is the message intended for? Detective Cynthia Pierson asks her former partner, Mark MacFarland, who now operates a hot dog cart, for help in solving the crime. After all, if anyone can think outside of the box, it's MacFarland. MacFarland is surprised when Pierson asks for his help. Then he finds out that the police already have confessions from the murderers: two sisters, Penelope and Serena both insist that each killed the uncle and the other sister is lying.

Mark MacFarland, former Denver Police Detective, after three years living homeless and drunk on the streets of Denver, has been selling hot dogs from a cart located a block from where he used to work. But that's just his day job. He also solves crimes. His foray back into solving crimes has also earned him a bit of notoriety. He's been on the evening news and has attracted the attention of both friend and foe.And while the publicity does bring more customers to his hot dog business, it also brings danger and intrigue. In Desperate Druggie, MacFarland has to travel to Mexico to rescue the kidnapped daughter of one of Denver's richest marijuana magnates. He teams up with a reckless pothead to battle one of Mexico's infamous drug cartels. In Eager Evangelist, MacFarland finds himself confronting a charismatic preacher who has ensnared MacFarland's new-found girlfriend in its cult-like grip.Can MacFarland uncover the secrets of the fast-growing religious cult before it's too late or will his girlfriend fall victim to its insidious practices? Finally, in Freaky Fan, MacFarland gets involved with the professional football as he tries to prove that the Bronco's backup quarterback is not guilty of murder. In three successive novels, MacFarland discovers that Cynthia Pierson's grandfather had secrets that could prove deadly...Each mystery can be read as a standalone novel, but are best enjoyed when read in order in the DEF Trilogy Combo Pack.

About The Jaded Jezebel Rebellious teenagers, college frats, drug rings and hit and run drivers…MacFarland has to deal with all of it when he is asked by his former Commander to find the man's missing daughter. And of course MacFarland finds a way to antagonize another police department in Colorado. It's a good thing he sells hot dogs, because he won't be getting any job references from the Boulder Police Department any time soon! The Kitchen Khemist When MacFarland entered the dungeon, he expected to find some pretty weird people. What he found exceeded his expectations. While David Von Hoffman, aka The Kitchen Khemist, doesn't mind whipping naked women, he claims that he didn't kill one of them. Can MacFarland find out the truth? Or is he trying to defend a sadistic killer? About The Lazy Lawyer Normally former Denver Detective Mark MacFarland, now a hot dog vendor, helps lawyer Jerry Baker find out the truth of a crime. But when Baker himself is accused of murder, MacFarland has a personal reason for finding the truth. Can he prove that Jerry Baker didn't kill the man Baker derided as a "lazy lawyer"?