Vinnie Briggs Mystery

Today's high schools aren't about books. They're about texts, tweets, and social media postings…silly, gossip, and sometimes mean, until the random murder of a well-liked high school teacher. But is it random? Vinnie Briggs can't find any explanation other than the wrong place, wrong time…except he notices links to other accidents among teachers, principals, and high school parents. He recruits a martial arts expert, Rita Light, to help the investigation. Vinnie and Rita learn about online and classroom bullying. Vinnie seeks hard evidence; Rita her invented inventive yoga sex among the widowers. It works, except she falls in love with one of the parents. The investigation stalls until the outlier man appears. Now the focus shifts from identifying the murder to stopping more killings. Can they also get justice? School bullying, beautiful men and women, and martial arts for unconventional sex bring an investigation like no other. Outlier Man is a modern morality tale that challenges school rules intended to protect students that don't always succeed.

A twenty-six-year-old bodybuilder, Gunter Hoffman, with body dysmorphic disorder fears crowds. Weight training compensates his anxiety and keeps at bay his childhood nemesis, the Detour Man-a homeless man that reappears in nightmares during stress. The gargantuan young man's shyness, and uncomely face thwart his chances to have a girlfriend. Midnight solo strolls in a NYC park yield solace until he stumbles onto a mugging yet he did not intervene. PI Vinnie Briggs agrees to advise Gunter and wishes he had not. He doesn't understand the man who spans six feet in all directions. He doubts Gunter's mental acuity. Park mugging? Unlikely. Except its true and more. Along comes Katia, a casual encounter in a coffee shop, inviting Gunter to her party for his kindness-and his body fascinates her. But not the party friends, who mock Gunter's bulging biceps, thick legs, and serpentine veins. Gloom besets a tearful Gunter. Horror with Katia's murder. Shock with his arrest and a double homicide charge-Katia's and the body from the park. Vinnie and Rita Light, and assistant PI, use unusual investigative methods-hacking, breaking-and-entering, sex-to prove Gunter's been framed to counter the district attorney's strong case. The investigation leads to uncovering a terrorist plan by Tajikistan cousins living in Jersey City. Finding them and exposing their plot will exculpate Gunter. Tipping Homeland Security too early loses exonerating evidence. Time is short before Vinnie and Rita must warn the FBI and Homeland. And time runs out. They resign to failing Gunter unless they take a huge gamble-one that endangers the lives of many including children. The consequences are dire. Lives change. Gunter's life changes.