Fun things to read
Enjoy some recent and not-so-recent Rob Kantner fiction. . .and learn how to get the full versions.
Ben Perkins stories:
Crime/Suspense Novels:
Other Short Suspense Fiction:
a Ben Perkins crime story by Rob Kantner
Just for the record, okay? When I went to Owney's vacant Warrendale house, it was not to meet a total stranger for sex.
I went there because the security company reported an alarm. Turned out to be legit, I found when I got there. Somebody had busted up the rear storm door pretty good, then fled. (Read more)
a novel of suspense by Rob Kantner
This dark, gripping, edgy tale of revenge, murder, and interlocking conspiracies puts the world’s ultimate nice guy at the mercy of a most ruthless and calculating killer. Businessman Frank Bridgman believes he has the finest of lives: great career, nice house, devoted lover, rewarding charity work, loyal friends.
Little aware is he of the dark forces gathering strength around him - and how hard he’ll have to fight to save all he has, up to and including his very life, against these forces. Which are, it develops, led by one Frank has thought of as a friend. Who turns out in fact to be a most deadly and calculating of enemies, armed with a brilliant intellect, boundless energy, a garrote, an automatic pistol, and a triple-tined pitch fork. . . . (Read more)
a 1960s crime tale by Rob Kantner
The constable hero of "Crooked Lake" is back in this sequel about another suspicious death in the back woods. During this, the first season for legal elevated hunting blinds, hunter Matt Miller dies when his blind topples to the ground under suspicious circumstances. To solve the crime the constable must sort out the strands of a love triangle and get to the bottom of a reclusive community outsider--while starting the delicate process of getting to know the adult daughter he never knew he had. (Read more)
the tenth Ben Perkins crime novel by Rob Kantner
Husband of the year? Not Rip Brownlee. Not by a long shot. But no one – not even Bonabell, his long-suffering wife – thinks Rip deserved to end up dead, gutted like a fish in the back of his van. The cops call it the work of a random street crazy. Bonabell's not buying it.
So she calls in Detroit private detective Ben Perkins. Fresh off a year on break from the rough stuff – he hasn't even bothered to replace his .45 automatic – Ben's fighting fires of many flavors: girlfriend, family, job, cop. But he agrees to look into Rip's death.
Working his way through Rip's murky world of shady deals, skanky girls, and secret sins, Ben learns more than he'd care to. But there's even more he does not know. Rip's murder, while certainly crazy, was anything but random. From long ago and far away, Rip's killer draws closer by the day. And sooner rather than later, Ben Perkins will wish he had his old .45 back. . . . (Read more)
a novel of suspense by Rob Kantner
It was meant to be a routine roust. But it got completely out of hand.
For years, Debby Brody has made her living providing discreet personal services to the city's most powerful and best-connected. But lately she's made one of those people nervous. So a high-profile police bust was arranged, to send her the message to get gone and stay there. But the detective in charge of the roust got a little carried away, by taking into police custody records from the madam's office - records that, the madam let it be known, named names.
Which created a media feeding-frenzy, and made certain judges, police commanders, and other officials even more nervous.
Into this explosive situation comes Mac McGladrey, a career parole officer, newly returned to his big-city job from a year-long leave. Hardly recovered from one of the most horrendous losses a person can endure, he wants only to reconnect with his many friends, resume his place in his large and diverse family, create a home, and – above all else – avoid trouble. . . .(Read more)
a tale of matrimony and murder by Rob Kantner
People don't notice Eric sitting in the hotel lobby, casually leafing through magazines.
He's very, very good at not being noticed.
But as people come in and out of the hotel, Eric certainly notices them.
As a matter of fact, he's not reading magazines at all. He's patiently waiting for the right person to come along. . .to be the latest participant in his special [cough] hobby.
Which he pursues during what he and his loving wife Marie refer to as "breather weekends."
An inaccurate term if there ever was one. . .(Read more)