Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Chicago private investigators Aberford "Abe" Allard and C. S. "Duff" Duffy are asked by retired Waukesha, WI sheriff Buddy Olson to look into the deaths of Olson's long-time friends Art and Michelle Laskey. The deaths have been ruled a murder-suicide by the local authorities with Michelle as the person pulling the trigger. However, it doesn't take the ultra-observant Duff to determine the police are likely wrong, a determination that ultimately puts the two detectives in a dangerous situation that may require them to use their guns for the first time. Review: I checked Bought the Farm out from my local library last week and finally finished reading it last night. I chose the book because I've enjoyed other Abe & Duff mysteries in the past but, while that was still true about this book, it did leave me with some mixed feelings. The primary attraction to these books, for me at least, are Abe & Duff themselves and this book didn't d...

Synopsis: C.S. "Duff" Duffy doesn't talk a lot about his time in Bensonhurst, the Canadian psychiatric hospital he was sent to as a teenager. His friend and business partner, Aberforth "Abe" Allard learns more about Duff's experience when Duff's former bully, Hank Novak, shows up at their detective agency asking them for help for his daughter, Sarah, who has been arrested for murdering her boyfriend, a division III college quarterback with NFL aspirations. The pair agree to help but Duff's sleuthing skills might be hindered by a pair of distractions - his hatred for Novak and the proximity to the unsolved murder of a friend that resulted in Duff being sent to Bensonhurst to begin with. Review: I came across Fourth and Wrong earlier this year but held off on requesting a copy at my library until after I read the book that came before it, The Single Twin . After reading a couple other books in between, I finally checked it out this week and was not ...

Synopsis: Long-time friends Aberforth Willard Allard and C.S. Duffy, or as they preferred to be called, Abe and Duff, are a pair of average-looking, socially awkward geniuses who run a barely surviving private investigation service and often solve cases (without credit) for the Chicago Police Department in a matter of minutes. They are offered $50,000 with the promise of another $50,000 by former CIA operative Mindy Jefferson, who has been searching for a long-lost twin brother, now feels her life is in danger as a result and wants the pair to continue her investigation if she were to go missing or in hiding. Abe and Duffy accept the case and soon find themselves embroiled in a 35-year-long coverup involving a United States Senator that could get them both killed. Review: I came across another book by Sean Patrick Little a few weeks ago that looked interesting but since it was part of the larger Abe & Duff Mystery series, I decided I should first read the first book in the series...