Mar Preston

No Dice: a Detective Dave Mason Mystery Book I Mar Preston

A gaming goliath is steamrolling local opposition to build a glitzy high-rise casino on Santa Monica's shoreline. Billions of dollars in potential casino profits can turn even the nicest people ugly.

A real whodunit confronts Santa Monica Police Department homicide detective Dave Mason when a crucial city councilwoman is murdered on the eve of the crucial vote.

The dance between politics, money, and big ideas that change the landscape, take Mason away from doing something about his daughter's bullying, and his impending divorce. He struggles against his attraction toward the witness to the murder, the attractive leader of the anti-casino campaign.

She must prove her innocence in a murder she didn't commit. She must also live with the knowledge that the real killer--probably someone she knows--is hunting her. Is it one of the money people, the real estate developers, PR flacks, the hotels, the politicians? 

Mason struggles to keep his mind on this baffling case with too many suspects with no alibis, while his own life unravels, and the activist he's trying to protect keeps interfering, embarrassing him by turning up legitimate leads of her own.

An explosive secret boils up from Santa Monica's seamy past that sets in motion a hunt through the quiet, dark streets of upscale neighborhoods, the downtown filled with movie types, the homeless, and the million dollar shoreline. 

But will Mason make it in time?