This book is a love story, a detective tale. You decide if it's a great American novel.


Joe Freedom is a private investigator who finds lost things. Sometimes they don't want to be found, which makes it all the more interesting. And for the first time since the last time, he's found love or thinks he has, shrinks he has. (You'll see).


The case: Professor Otis Grille's daughter Alex is missing. Her family and friends are clueless as to her whereabouts. Joe and his therapist, Vana Fox, team up to profile Alex, search for her, and learn to love each other. They practice often.


Why is Alexandra Grille hiding out at the Bayview Rehab Center under a cloak of deniability and doctor-patient privilege? She paid cash. She told no one. Is she running away from herself or from someone else? Can Joe find the professor's daughter before something awful befalls her?


Prose, rap, and other poetic pursuits provide the backdrop for clues and blues. How is a part-time PI supposed to find someone so intent on being lost? Does love get in the way? How can it not? Vana's hot.


Those are the questions. You'll find your answers within.