Books

CHECK OUT THE LATEST JOE DAVIS ADVENTURE!

DEATH, YOU JABRONI

When his friend Lars becomes the ring announcer for a small promotion, Joe Davis, Twin Cities humor blogger and low-level celebrity, gets a look inside the wild world of professional wrestling. Joe, a lifelong fan, is thrilled…until one of the promotion’s main event stars turns up dead. And another main event star is the top suspect.

Believing the police are pursuing the wrong person, Joe takes on the investigation himself. It brings him deeper into the world of professional wrestling, where the line between fact and fiction is often blurred. Along the way, he meets a promoter desperate to reach the big time, a couple of aging stars facing the end of their careers, and a young star with a dark secret in her past. Joe must also deal with sneak attacks, break-ins, secret agendas, and frameups. Can he navigate a world in which nothing is quite what it seems? And can he do it without suffering a beatdown of his own?

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on Barnes & Noble | BUY on KOBO| BUY paperback copies from our Square Store

A JOE DAVIS SHORT STORY COLLECTION!

DEATH WILL BE BRIEF, VOLUME ONE

Joe Davis, humor blogger and D-list Twin Cities celebrity, stars in eight tales of mystery, suspense and silliness, including DEATH IS MY LITTLE BROTHER, DEATH PLAYS BROOMBALL, DEATH GOES MISSING, DEATH, YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD, DEATH AND THE GENTLEMAN’S GENTLEMAN, DEATH IS HARD-BOILED, DEATH IS OLD SCHOOL and the brand-new short story, DEATH CAN’T BE TRUSTED. A perfect sampler to introduce you to the world of Joe Davis!

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on Barnes and Noble | BUY on Kobo| BUY paperback copies from our Square Store

ALSO, CHECK OUT THE FIRST SEVEN JOE DAVIS ADVENTURES!

DEATH IS A CLINGY EX
Joe Davis’s comfortable life as a humor blogger and low-level Twin Cities celebrity gets shaken up by his ex-girlfriend, Tess, and her problems at the office. Tess asks Joe for a simple favor: escort her to a swanky corporate party and make sure a jealous co-worker doesn’t fold, spindle or mutilate Tess’ person. Hoping to score karma points for their ugly break-up, Joe agrees. However, the party takes an ugly turn when Tess’ boss does an eight story half-gainer through a buffet table. And Tess winds up as the main suspect.
With no one else to turn to, Tess asks for Joe’s help. Despite being unqualified to take on any investigation more complicated than a search for his car keys, Joe agrees to the job. Armed only with sarcasm and a gaggle of idiot friends, he manages to piece together a conspiracy involving murder, fraud, adultery and, worse, office politics. But as he gets closer to the truth, Joe is left to wonder: is Tess a victim of this conspiracy? Or its mastermind? And just who’s winning this break-up?

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on iBOOKS|BUY on Kobo| BUY at Barnes and Noble

DEATH LIVES ACROSS THE HALL

All that Joe Davis, humor blogger and Twin Cities’ D-List celebrity, wants is a little peace and quiet…oh, and the All-City Touch Football Championship. But murder can get in the way of these things. A feud between Joe’s best friend Mike and Mike’s neighbor across the hall goes nuclear when the neighbor is found dead and Mike is arrested for the crime. Since Joe’s the only one who believes Mike is innocent, it’s up to him to bail his friend out.

The case takes Joe through a winding collection of suspects: a junkie sister, a jealous ex-boyfriend and a self-important lawyer; each with their own agenda, none of them who they seem to be. And how does a low-level thug, a cool co-worker, an internet want ad, a grumpy neighbor and the curious incident of the dog in the morning factor into this whole thing? This is what Joe must fit together if his best friend is ever going to see the outside of a prison cell again. The things we do to win football games…

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on iBooks | BUY on Kobo | BUY on Barnes and Noble

DEATH WEARS A BIG HAT

Joe Davis, Twin Cities humor blogger and low-grade celebrity, is looking forward to a night on the town. He’s accompanying his friend Carol to the grand opening of a store catering to craft beer enthusiasts like Joe. It’s the kind of event guaranteed to warm a snowy night in January.

At least that was the idea.

The evening takes a nasty turn when Carol is found standing over the corpse of one of the store’s owners, holding the murder weapon. Carol claims she’s innocent and Joe’s about the only who believes her. In a flash, Joe and his friends are forced to go on the run, pursued by both the cops and the actual killers.

As they spend the night ducking and dodging, Joe and the gang piece together the story behind the murder. A collection of disparate characters emerge: a jilted fiancée, a comely contract killer, a band of offbeat cops and the victim’s own business partners. But just what was going on? What do the victim’s final words, with its references to a book and a big hat, have to do with it? Will Joe and his friends find the real killer before time runs out? All of this because a guy wanted a beer.

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on iBooks | BUY on Barnes and Noble | BUY on Kobo

DEATH IS SLEEPING WITH MY WIFE

Joe Davis, humor blogger and minor Twin Cities celebrity, is very happy with his new girlfriend. Happy, that is, until a problem rears its ugly head: a call from the husband he didn’t know she had. And the husband is much less happy with Joe’s new relationship, as his many death threats will attest.

The problem goes from bad to worse when the husband turns up dead under mysterious circumstances…and Joe is the prime suspect. Desperate to prove his innocence, Joe begins investigating the murder. As he does, sordid details of the husband’s tangled professional and personal life come to light. And other suspects emerge: the husband’s jealous brother, a pair of suspicious co-workers…and Joe’s own girlfriend. Meantime, the real killer is still on the loose and has begun to come after Joe. With time running out, can Joe find the murderer before either being arrested or killed?

The things we do…or maybe the people we kill…for love.

BUY on AMAZON | BUY for iBook | BUY for the NOOK | BUY on Kobo | PRINT Copies available through SQUARE

DEATH STOLE MY RIDE

When Joe Davis, humor blogger and low-grade Twin Cities celebrity, inherits an old beater car from a senile relative, he entrusts his friend Lars to sell off the unwanted vehicle.

Turns out his trust is misplaced.

Lars loans the car to Joe’s cousin, Micky, who uses it as the getaway vehicle in a botched robbery. Now, Micky’s disappeared with the money (and the car) and both the cops and the crooks are after him. And Joe to boot. When the crooks who attempted the robbery start turning up dead, Joe worries about his safety…and Micky’s. To set things right, Joe has to find the car, the cash and the cousin…before the cops and the crooks find him. It leads Joe and his friends down a rabbit hole of corrupt cops, conniving molls, clueless goons and shady characters. Can Joe save Micky and himself before it all comes crashing down?

So much nonsense for such a sensible vehicle.

BUY on AMAZON| BUY on Barnes and Noble| BUY on Kobo|BUY on iBooks| BUY paperback copies from our Square Store

DEATH AND THE FANBOY

Holy sleuthing! How are they going to solve this one?

Joe Davis, humor blogger and low-grade Twin Cities celebrity, and his friend, Mike, a comic book fanboy, get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the cast of an old superhero TV show. Unfortunately, the experience doesn’t go quite as they hoped. One of the stars of the show dies suddenly in the middle of a performance at a comic book convention. Things get worse when Mike is threatened by an attacker who believes he has evidence it was murder. Since the police don’t believe anything Mike tells them, it’s up to Joe to investigate.

Turns out there is an all-star cast of suspects: an embittered alcoholic co-star, an angry ex-wife, and a combative producer. Joe and Mike must also battle mysterious attackers, nasty blackmailers, sleazy muckrakers and dubious cops. Can Joe discover the murderer before his faithful sidekick becomes the next victim? It may take a little of the old Bang! Pow! to get the job done.

Stay tuned, dear reader. The best is yet to come!

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on Barnes & Noble | BUY on KOBO | BUY print copies at the Ghost Light Press Square Store

DEATH IS A REAL KILLER

“This is the deal, darling: you help me solve this murder…or I kill you.”

A year ago, Joe Davis, humor blogger/low-grade Twin Cities celebrity, found himself and his friends spending a night pursued by cops and criminals (like you do). Among the pursuers was a comely contract killer named Deirdre. Though Deirdre and Joe saved each other’s lives that night, Joe hoped to never see her again.

Looks like that hope has been dashed.

Deirdre turns up on Joe’s doorstep, pursued by the police after apparently murdering the CEO of a prominent Minnesota company. While Deirdre was hired the commit the murder, it appears to be a set up. The murder was committed before Deirdre arrived, leaving her at the mercy of the police. Now Deirdre needs Joe to help clear her name before the cops’ pursuit ends her chosen career. Joe is hesitant, but Deirdre drives a hard bargain: help her or become her next victim. Decisions, decisions.

The investigation leads Joe down a path of corporate intrigue, malfeasance and skullduggery. The suspects include an ignored wife, a jealous friend, and an ambitious coworker. How does a potentially doomed project and the death of a corporate whistleblower tie into it? These are the things Joe must figure out if he is to survive this case. All with a figurative—and sometimes literal—gun to his head. No pressure, right?

BUY on AMAZON | BUY on Barnes & Noble | BUY on KOBO| BUY paperback copies from our Square Store