In this audio fiction presentation of the novel The Dead Beat Scroll, private investigator August Riordan returns to San Francisco to avenge the death of his friend and one-time partner, Chris Duckworth. Duckworth has taken over Riordan’s old business, his old office, and even his old apartment, and Riordan suspects Duckworth’s death is linked to the missing-person case he was working when he died.

An alluring young woman named Angelina hired Duckworth to look for her half-sister, but what Riordan finds instead is a murderous polyamorous family intent on claiming a previously unknown manuscript from Beat writer Jack Kerouac.

Following clues from Duckworth and a trail of mutilated bodies left by the family, Riordan soon realizes that avenging his partner will first involve recovering the manuscript—then saving Angelina and himself from kidnap, torture, and death. As the bodies pile up, Riordan must work with old allies and enemies to untangle Duckworth’s last case before time runs out.

In Chapter 1, Riordan makes a late-night visit to a massage parlor.

Riordan goes back to his old San Francisco office to compare notes with his ex, Gretchen Sabatini.

Riordan goes to Berkeley to talk to Ivy, the sugar baby who hired Duckworth.

Riordan visits Ivy's sugar daddy.

Riordan meets Angelina, Duckworth's actual last client.

Riordan makes another late night visit to Golden Fingers.

Riordan makes an unsettling discovery.

Riordan updates Angelina on developments in the case.

Riordan gets his hair cut--and makes an important discovery as a result.

Riordan has a literary experience.

Riordan visits a rare book dealer.

Riordan gains important insight into the origin of the mysterious scroll thanks to research by Gretchen

Riordan gets schooled on Beat Generation writers.

Riordan meets with Kittredge to compare notes.

Riordan meets Kim and learns a thing or two more about the birds and the bees.

Riordan goes to see Kim's friend Tuyen.

Riordan learns more about what happened to Tuyen and goes to see Angelina.

Riordan meets the leader of Wo Hop To.

Riordan receives an unexpected visitor from Palm Springs.

Riordan gets an important message from an old friend.

Riordan goes to see the son of Mrs. Kongsangchai.

Riordan goes to a special sort of party.

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Riordan has a conversation with Jeff.

Riordan and Kittredge watch a video.

Riordan has a confrontation with number one son.

Riordan has a sit down with big daddy. 

Riordan, Gretchen and Ray meet to strategize.

Riordan and Ray spring their trap.

Riordan reaches out to Wong.

Riordan, Gretchen, Ray and Kim attend Chris's wake.

Links mentioned in the episode: 

• DBS on GoodReads
• DBS on Amazon
• DBS on iTunes
• Taste of Honey Performance on Youtube

Randal Brandt, Curator of the California Detective Fiction Collection at the Bancroft Library, interviews Mark about THE DEAD BEAT SCROLL.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Golden Gate Mysteries
• A David Dodge Companion
• Joe Gores on The Maltese Falcon
• First Edition of The Immortal Game
• Chapter Photographs for The Dead Beat Scroll

Meet Winnie, the female protagonist of No Hard Feelings.

Winnie doesn’t remember the last time she felt anything below her neck. Her spine is severed at the seventh vertebrae, but thanks to implants from a sabotaged biomedical start-up, she has regained mobility. She is a prototype: a living, breathing—walking—demonstration of revolutionary technology that never made it to market.

Her disability has become her armor. Because she doesn’t register fatigue, she has trained relentlessly. Her hand, arm, and leg strength are off the scales for a woman, and she has honed self-defense techniques to channel that strength. She’s a modern-day Amazon who feels no pain.

When the sociopath who torpedoed the start-up sends killers to harvest the implants from her body, Winnie must team up with broken-down private investigator August Riordan to save both their lives—and derail sinister plans for perverse military applications of the technology.

In Chapter 1, Winnie makes an important decision while standing on the walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Winnie finds Riordan in Palm Springs.

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Riordan and Winnie get reacquainted. 

Winnie and Riordan get a windfall.

Winnie meets Ray, who lends her a hand.

Ray thinks fast to deal with a threat from an unexpected source.

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Winnie, Ray and Riordan share a pancake breakfast.

Ray has a brainwave.

The Winemaker reflects on his stay in prison. 

Winnie and Riordan attempt to ensnare The Winemaker's men.

Winnie and Riordan search the motel rooms of The Winemaker's men.

The Winemaker muses on the history of his involvement with NeuroStimix.

Winnie and Riordan visit the Bridle Bit Ranch.

Winnie has a chat with a techie named Oz.

Winnie makes a Skype call.

Winnie and Riordan question Starlet.

And, by the way, Riordan's Desk was selected for the list of Top 30 Thriller Book Podcasts by Feedspot. See the full list here: 

https://blog.feedspot.com/thriller_book_podcasts/.

Riordan does a little doctoring on Winnie.

Winnie and Riordan share a moment.

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Winnie and Riordan face off with the men who set Destiny and Jasmine in motion.

Riordan and Winnie make a getaway in a new vehicle.

The Winemaker reacts to receipt of a package from Winnie.

Winne and Riordan go wine tasting.

Winnie and Riordan go on a reconnaissance mission.

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Winnie and Riordan reunite with Ray.

Ray, Winnie and Riordan attempt to recover some of The Winemaker's equipment.

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Ray does a fly-over of The Winemaker's property.

Winnie visits a gym in Healdsburg and gets a workout she didn't expect.

The Winemaker muses on further plans for the simulator technology.

Riordan begins the assault on Marionette Vineyards. 

Riordan continues his assault by blasting open the doors to the wine caves of Marionette Vineyards. 

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Ray does his bit for the assault from the top of Mount Saint Helena. 

Winnie knocks on the Winemaker's backdoor.

Riordan finds Winnie's pack and repurposes the contents.

Ray and the motorcyclist face off.

Winnie has a final showdown with the Winemaker.

Candy from Strangers

Caroline Stockwell has a secret: she and her best friend Monica are “cam girls." Soliciting cash donations and gifts via Amazon.com wish lists from anonymous admirers, the young women have put up a web site featuring still photographs, video and a blog to help pay their way through art college. But when Caroline goes missing and her mother Ellen engages jazz bass-playing PI August Riordan to find her, Riordan discovers her secret and it appears to everyone that someone she met through the web site is responsible for her disappearance.

Set against the real-world backdrop of Internet predators using social networking sites to find and ensnare their victims, Candy from Strangers is the first novel to explore the phenomenon of teenagers and young adults displaying themselves online in exchange for material favors—often without their parents’ knowledge—which some are calling the newest form of prostitution.

In Chapter 1,  Riordan and Duckworth's gig at the venerable House of Shields bar in San Francisco doesn't go exactly as planned. 

Riordan discovers a body in the alley where he parked his car for his gig at the House of Shields. 

Chris updates August on his adventures from the night before.

 Riordan is hired by Ellen Stockwell to find her missing daughter Caroline. 

Riordan visits Union City Police HQ.

Riordan visits the Stockwells at their home.

Riordan goes to the Starbucks where Caroline worked in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. 

Riordan talks with Caroline Stockwell's shrink, looking for clues to her disappearance. 

 Riordan visits an ashram in Berkeley.  

Riordan finally interviews Caroline's friend Monica.

Riordan enlists Duckworth's help to look at  Caroline and Monica's website.

(Check out an "inspirational" quote taken from the episode here.)

 Riordan tells Ellen Stockwell of Caroline's website.

Ellen Stockwell tells Riordan of a surprising development in the case.

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Riordan talks to Victor and Helma Lane about a break-in and burglary at their house.

Riordan works to recover the items stolen from  Victor Lane's house.

Riordan gets a visit from Ellen Stockwell, who explains that the situation with her daughter is not as good as she hoped. 

Riordan checks out the art college Caroline was attending. 

 Riordan visits the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to see George Wesson's exhibit.

Riordan  confronts Dr. Levin at his Pacific Heights home.

Riordan finds out the reason Caroline Stockwell tried to commit suicide when he visits her in the hospital. 

Riordan goes to Monica Mapa's apartment after his gig at Bruno's supper club.

Riordan talks to Stockwell and learns more bad news about Caroline. 

Riordan goes to his office, where George Wesson is waiting for him. 

Riordan barges in on Caroline's guru in the middle of a Tantric encounter. 

Riordan meets Odile at the Wild Side West bar to get insights she gained from reviewing Wesson's files on Caroline. 

Duckworth surprises Riordan with some uninvited assistance in the investigation. 

Riordan and Stockwell make a tour of San Francisco tattoo shops, looking for Cricket. 

Riordan and Stockwell question the owner of a tattoo parlor about Cricket. 

Riordan and Stockwell go back to the art college to make a shocking discovery.

Riordan confronts Cricket.

Stockwell, Duckworth and Riordan meet back at the House of Shields to discuss the case. 

Wrap-up for Candy from Strangers, featuring a short interview excerpt from the "Beyond Words" radio program.

As mentioned in the episode, to subscribe to Mark's newsletter, go here:

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Or join the Riordan's Desk community:

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Runoff

How much does it cost to fix an election? August Riordan—private investigator, jazz bass player, smart ass with a foolish heart—is going to find out. He’s been hired by Leonora Lee, the all-powerful “Dragon Lady” of San Francisco’s Chinatown, to investigate the results of the city’s recent mayoral election. It seems the Dragon Lady’s candidate failed to even carry the Chinese precincts, and she’s convinced that someone must have rigged the outcome by hacking the city’s newly installed touch-screen voting machines.

A runoff between the two remaining candidates is days away, but it takes Riordan mere hours to find the Director of Elections dead in his office. A visit to the offices of Columbia Voting Systems—the suppliers of the city’s touch-screen machines—results in another corpse. A wide range of political interests share a stake in the election, so Riordan’s got plenty of suspects.

But when the Dragon Lady’s beautiful daughter is attacked after giving Riordan a goodnight kiss, it starts to get personal. Soon, Riordan is in a race not only against the runoff deadline, but against powerful political movers and shakers, Chinatown gang members, and crazed anarchists, with only his techno-savvy, cross-dressing friend Chris to help.

The cost of fixing an election runs to as many lives as it does dollars, and if Riordan isn’t careful, the price for un-fixing it may be more than he can afford…

"1930s Seedy Street Music" by AstroFreq.

 In Chapter 1,  Riordan stakes out the Bank of Canton in San Francisco’s Chinatown in hopes of catching a thief using heavy equipment to steal bank ATMs.