THE JAKE CARD MYSTERIES The series where freedom of speech makes its last stand against the forces of political correctness, which is government-controlled speech and government-controlled behavior. Jake Card had enough to worry about even before a crazy old writer hires him to find one of his "book characters," a very real-looking girl who promptly steals the only decent car he has owned in years. He soon finds the car at a used car lot owned by a dangerous giant of a man who turns out to be the girl's bedmate when she's not too busy stealing cars and hiding from the angry owners. Calling the cops does no good. The one who finally arrives sides with the girl and tells Card he hopes he never gets his car back. He also tells Card that he and his cop buddies will make his life miserable if he causes them any trouble. Card decides to get even with everybody by getting a war started between the cops, the car thieves, and the crazy old writer and his "book characters," who shoot real bullets but usually at the wrong people. If you are tired of hearing your friends tell about the time they drove hundreds of miles just so they could stand in the snow outside the glass walls of a morning show and wave at that girl who later got fired, let Card and Van Holt's other tough private detectives entertain you.