Fans of Shamus Award-winning Libby Cudmore's Negative Girl have much to look forward to in this neo-noir collection of short stories revolving around PI partnerships. Wade & Jacks: When the case--and the blood--run cold, file it under this killer collection, and don't be afraid to wander down its dark alleys.
Ex-punk frontman Martin Wade has traded heroin, tour buses, and tabloid suspicion for thankless cases and a PI office above a vape shop in sleepy upstate New York. Across a series of noir-tinged cases--from missing women and stolen books to murdered heirs and lost dogs--Wade and former journalist, now partner, Valerie Jacks chase small truths that inevitably expose the bigger sins of a corrupt world.
Bullets and addiction, memory and music: can the cost of mercy be too high?

• "Charlie's Medicine"--An exploration of Wade's early sobriety, his departure from Los Angeles, and his slouching toward detective work after investigating a dealer's murder.
  
• "The Lonely Repairman"--The Wade & Jacks partnership deepens as a misdemeanor leads the two to confront racism, suburban paranoia, police minimization, and attempted murder.
  
• "Dr. Bones"--Wade revisits his musical past through former colleague Jason Paris while a stolen skeleton case uncovers an old missing-person murder.
  
• "Alibi in Ice"--When Wade falls ill, Jacks proves her mettle with a complex case of revenge, class privilege, and a past drowning.