The Indian Sign

A Milan Jacovich Mystery

by Les Roberts

  • Format: Softcover, 288 pages, 5.1 x 8 inches
  • ISBN: 978-1-59851-011-9
  • Price: $13.95
Description

#11 in the Milan Jacovich mystery series . . .

Veteran private eye Milan Jacovich (it's pronounced MY-lan YOCK-ovitch) is rarely surprised. But his attention is grabbed one day by a Native American man wearing traditional clothing and waist-length, iron gray braids, sitting across the street from his suburban Cleveland apartment for twelve hours in a driving snowstorm.

When the old man is found murdered and floating in the river the very next day, Milan feels the unsettling urge to do something about it.

He's already working on another case— a simple one, he thinks. The CEO of a local toy company has hired him for a background check on his new accountant, David Ream. Milan quickly learns Ream is not at all what he seems to be, and the case gets very messy, very fast.

Dancing dangerously between the two cases, Milan runs into more murder and a suspense-filled finish including a shoot-out in the fountain plaza at downtown Tower City.

Book Excerpt:
Chapter One

When people speak of Indians in Cleveland, Ohio, they usually mean the kind who wear protective athletic cups, politically incorrect Chief Wahoo caps, and red socks pulled up to the knee, who terrorize American League pitching by batting 311 for the season with 115 runs batted in or win Gold Gloves for fielding prowess.

This particular Indian was the real deal, though— a Native American. He was broad-shouldered and deep-chested, and though he was seated I got the idea that he might be almost as tall as I am; the black high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat atop his head added to the illusion of height. He appeared to be at least sixty years old, and his iron gray hair was done up in two long braids that fell to his waist. He was wearing a hip-length jacket that looked like it was made from a colorful wool tribal blanket, with bone toggle buttons. His work-faded Levi's were tucked into soft-looking leather boots.

It was just before nine o'clock on a morning that was February-bitter, dark and gray. He was on the bench across the street from my apartment building at the crest of Cedar Hill, in the little mini-park in front of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop on Fairmount Boulevard where it forms a triangle with Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. Snow frosted his eyelashes and mini-drifts were collecting in little piles on his hat and shoulders, but if he noticed it . . . [ Read More Free Samples ]

Reviews
Page turner of the week . . . narrative comfort food . . . a nifty spin on a classic P.I. formula. — People Magazine
A solidly paced narrative . . . recommended to readers who enjoy the modern PI knight-errant. — Booklist
About Les Roberts
Les Roberts

Les Roberts is the author of 14 mystery novels featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich, as well as 9 other books of fiction. The past president of both the Private Eye Writers of America and the American Crime Writer's League, he came to mystery writing after a 24-year career in Hollywood. He was the first producer and head writer of the Hollywood Squares and wrote for the Andy Griffith Show, the Jackie Gleason Show, and the Man from U.N.C.L.E., among others. He has been a professional actor, a singer, a jazz musician, and a teacher. In 2003 he received the Sherwood Anderson Literary Award. A native of Chicago, he now lives in Northeast Ohio. More About Les Roberts

Contains References to:

Beachwood, Cedar Hill , Cleveland Author, Cleveland Mysteries, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland Press, Kent State, Milan Jacovich, Nighttown, Pepper Pike, Shaker Heights, Slovenian Americans, Stroh's , Terminal Tower, Tower City

Other books by Les Roberts:
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