Mike Travis

"Enjoyable entertainment . . . a mystery/suspense novel with links to classic rock history and mythology" featuring recovering detective Mike Travis (Foreword).   After twenty years at the LAPD Homicide Bureau, Mike Travis is finally retiring and starting over on Santa Catalina Island. In the small town of Avalon, he lives and works on his yacht, sailing and chartering scuba diving trips. There, among tourists and quirky locals, he tries to banish the residual darkness from his mind. It's not that easy, especially when the one case he never solved comes back to haunt him . . .    A murdered woman on Venice Beach bears all the signs of the serial killer Travis had been tracking before he retired: a single stab wound to the heart, a series of deep cuts on the left hand, and a cryptic message-this time, a grisly computer-generated image of a lizard. To finally finish what the killer has started, all Travis must do is get as far into the madman's head as he can before the next victim is targeted-and then hope he can crawl back out again . . .    "Well crafted and entirely satisfying, a complete success. Another Mike Travis mystery would be most welcome." -Booklist   "Birtcher deserves praise and accolades for what he's produced here. If you love a good mystery, this is it." -Today's Librarian

Former LAPD detective Mike Travis returns in a novel of sex, drugs, rock and roll-and murder-from the award-winning author of Roadhouse Blues.   The mystery has fascinated the music industry since 1977-the year when some tapes went missing from the Stone Blossoms' final recording session for one of the most anticipated rock albums of all time. The band's charismatic leader committed suicide on the same day.   Retired cop Mike Travis learns about the puzzling history in the worst way possible. After sailing from Catalina to his family's old beach house in Kona, Hawaii, he discovers there's been a bloodbath. Five victims have been murdered, including his childhood friend's wife and a former Stone Blossoms guitarist, Danny Webb. And when his friend is suspected of going on a jealous rampage, it's up to Travis to prove his innocence.    Turns out Webb was involved in a multi-million-dollar deal-providing he could produce the lost tapes. Travis knows just how toxic greed can be, but even he's not prepared for the violence to come . . . and just how close to home it will hit.    "A fast-paced look at the dark side of music and greed. I couldn't put it down." -Brad Freeman, K-Hawaii Radio   "The climax is fast-paced, just how a detective needs to work when he finally puts it all together." -Rapport magazine

The case of a missing Hawaiian girl reveals the dark side of paradise for a former cop in this tropical noir crime thriller from the author of Ruby Tuesday.   Retired LAPD detective Mike Travis has put thousands of miles between himself and his former life by sailing to Kona, Hawaii, where he runs a private yacht charter business and co-owns a coffee farm. But once a cop, always a cop-especially when someone he cares about needs his help.   When a local girl goes missing, her fundamentalist parents don't even file a report. She is eighteen, after all, and seems to be rebelling against her strict upbringing. But Travis knows the dangers that lurk for young women. On an island trying to keep its traditions from being eroded by outside forces, a perfect storm of misguided morality, malice, and murder threatens the most innocent among them. And Travis will do everything in his power to turn the tide . . .    "The contrast between the dark and sometimes lurid environment in which Mike finds himself and the nearly idyllic image that many people have of the islands is almost surreal and stylishly accomplished . . . As a suspense thriller with a number of unexpected plot twists, it works well." -Mysterious Reviews

"{A} fast-paced mystery . . . Fans of the prolific Stuart Woods and Randy Wayne White will hope that Birtcher's engaging series has an equally long life." -Booklist A Nero Award Finalist After twenty years in the LAPD, Mike Travis should be enjoying his retirement in Hawaii. Instead, he's become a reluctant PI who can't manage to stay out of trouble-much to the chagrin of his long-suffering girlfriend. This time, the problem is his brother, Valden, head of the family company of Van de Groot Capital. A mover and shaker, he's in Los Angeles for a political fundraiser at the home of a powerful pharmaceutical titan. But first, he's being blackmailed. Someone has a compromising video of him and a young woman who is definitely not his wife-and they want three million dollars for it. That's when he calls Travis. With his longtime connections in Los Angeles-including his former partner on the force-Travis has everything under control, until he doesn't. Now entangled in a web of murder, finance, and politics, only Travis can unravel a conspiracy international in scope-and unparalleled in evil . . . "Birtcher is a solid, fluent writer; the story unfolds with good-humored ease, and Travis is a personable narrator . . . All of the elements are in place for a tense thriller." -Kirkus Reviews "Well-executed . . . Readers will hope they don't have to wait another seven years for the world-weary Travis's next adventure." -Publishers Weekly "A thrilling page turner with a very complicated plot that all comes together in the end . . . Highly recommended." -Detective Mystery Stories