Once again Lillian Byrd is down on her luck, strumming her mandolin for spare quarters alongside Blind Lonnie, Detroit's resident blues guitarist. But a chance encounter with her childhood friend Duane is about to completely turn her life upside-down. One summer night when Lillian was twelve, flames ripped through the Polka Dot, her parents' beloved tavern. Three bodies were found in the ashes: those of her mother, her father, and the barmaid, Trix Hawley. Or so Lillian has always thought. But when Lillian and Duane put their stories together, the past erupts into a wild enigma. As the two friends travel-accompanied by the tenacious crime writer Minerva LeBlanc-to the underbelly of Las Vegas to find the truth about their parents, Lillian must face the demons of the past in ways she never dreamed possible. With Lucky Stiff, the author of the best-selling Lillian Byrd Crime Series has crafted yet another white-knuckle thriller. "Whatever you do, mystery readers, do not bypass this compelling series." -Lambda Book Report