'The Last Case' awaits you on Amazon.com

My name was Stanford Bell, but everybody called me Taco. Taco Bell. Get it? That’s me over there on the floor behind my desk, deader than the eight-track tape. I used to be a private investigator before I became dead. Now, as you might suspect, I have handled my last case.

The guy in the trench coat looking down at me is my best friend, Lieutenant Hanrahan. I called him Han, or sometimes Han Squared. He’s not surprised to find me dead. He always told me I’d go young, but we both figured I’d die from the three packs a day of Marlboro Reds I smoked, the Jack Daniel’s I drank for breakfast or the garbage I ate in my car while tracking down deadbeat dads or staking out cheating husbands for hours at a time.

The baseball legend Mickey Mantle used to say, “If I had known I’d live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” Me? If I had known I’d die this early, I’d have had some real fun. Know what I mean? (wink, wink.)

Well, it doesn’t matter now, because it wasn’t hard living that put me away. It was definitely those three slugs from a .38 special. Two in the chest and one through the forehead, just for good measure. Yeah, I’m dead, alright, and now it’s up to Lieutenant Hanrahan to find out who pulled the trigger. I’d tell him myself if I could, but you know how it is, being dead and all. I can, however, tell my story to you.

Read it all in "The Last Case" available now on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735448451

News release about 'The Last Case'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 16, 2021

Fairmont author publishes third mystery novel

    Fairmont author and former journalist Marshall Scott Shields has published his third novel, a fiction mystery involving a dead detective, a beautiful woman and a mysterious clue to the whereabouts of a missing object.

    “The Last Case” tells the story of Stanford Bell, a murdered private detective known to the world as "Taco." Through his own narrative, Taco introduces readers to a tall, beautiful former athlete with amber eyes who hires him to find a missing object stolen from her apartment. With help from a very “friendly” newspaper reporter, Taco and his client follow a seemingly random string of numbers and letters they believe will lead them to the stolen property. Along the way, Taco is hired by three other clients who need his help with some bizarre cases of their own.

    “‘The Last Case’ was actually the second book I wrote and the third to be published,” Shields said. “My other books are part of the Covington Mystery Series that feature husband and wife reporters Rob and Jennie Covington, but ‘The Last Case’ is a stand-alone mystery written in the noir style of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett that will leave readers guessing until the end. It’s a compelling, fast-moving story that will be difficult to put down.”

     Shields’s first two books are “Time Capsule,” which introduces the Covingtons by way of a mysterious box they find buried in their back yard, and its sequel, “An Empty Seat on the Ferry,” which finds them investigating a pair of missing persons cases that happened nearly 20 years apart.

     Shields describes his novels as “character-driven stories that are strong on dialogue and human interaction with compelling narratives and enough plot twists to keep readers engaged all the way to the end.”

    All three books were published by High Peaks Publishing through Kindle Direct and can be purchased in paperback or e-Book format by searching Amazon for “Books by Marshall Scott Shields.” 

    Shields is a graduate of Fairmont Senior High School and Fairmont State University, where he studied English and journalism. Information about his books is available at https://marshallscottshieldsbooks.blogspot.com or by following “Books by M. Scott Shields” on Facebook.

 -30-

Second written, third published

“The Last Case” was the second book I wrote, following “Time Capsule.” It took me 15 years to complete the first one, but after digging up three pages I had written earlier, I wrote a finished draft of “The Last Case” in only three weeks.

I can’t explain how that happened, except that after I typed the words “It all started…,” the story just kinda came to me. I placed my main character, a drunken detective, at the end of a bar and asked myself what would happen next. I brought in a beautiful woman with a mysterious problem and from there the story just flowed.

During those three weeks in February 2019, I woke up every morning, made a cup of coffee and sat at the computer to write. Some days I woke up with ideas bouncing around in my head and ran to the keyboard to get them down on paper before they flew away. Other days, certain story lines came to me while I was walking my little dog. I could be driving down the street in my car and think of ways to fill gaps in my narrative.

Writing this book was, dare I say it, pretty easy, all things considered.

Of course, since I submitted my original draft to High Peaks Publishing, a fair amount of editing has taken place. My publishers added thoughts and suggestions and I came up with several on my own. My good friend Mitch, who reads my manuscripts before I submit them, added his thoughts as well.

It all came together and last week, “The Last Case” was published on Amazon.com. It’s a quick and easy read with fascinating characters, a puzzling mystery and another of my surprise endings. I think you’d enjoy reading it, so here is a link to the paperback and eBook versions. I hope you’ll give “The Last Case” a try.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735448451

For a signed copy, email your name and mailing address to ShieldsBooks2018@gmail.com.

What to do when you're spending time at home

Staying home a lot these days? It's a good time to read good books. Below are three I think you would enjoy. Just click a link to order.

Time Capsule:

https://www.amazon.com/Time-Capsule.../dp/0998871834/

An Empty Seat on the Ferry:

https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Seat-Ferry-Covington-Mystery/dp/0998871885/

The Last Case

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735448451

For a signed copy of any or all books, message me or send your name and a mailing address to ShieldsBooks2018@gmail.com.

'The Last Case' eBook now available for sale

To Kindle readers -- The eBook version of "The Last Case" is now live and available for sale on Amazon.com. To buy a copy, click the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0921BTXZY

The eBook is $8.99 or, if you prefer, you can order a paperback version for $12.95. Thanks for supporting my writing career.

'The Last Case' goes on sale at Amazon

Great news! The paperback version of "The Last Case" is now available for sale on Amazon, and the eBook should be uploaded very soon. To order a copy, just click the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0921BTXZY

For a signed copy, send an email to ShieldsBooks2018@gmail.com. Be sure to include a mailing address if I don't already have it.

Thanks so much.

Excerpt #7: ‘The Last Case’

“Should I answer it, Lourdes?” I asked the bartender.

“Why ask me?” Lourdes said. “I’m not your minister, your mother or your wife. You want to answer it, knock yourself out. Do it before you actually do knock yourself out.”

“You may not be my minister but you’re the closest thing I’ve got,” I said. “Pray with me?” She gave me the stink eye so I went ahead and answered the phone. “Taco Bell,” I said. “Will this be eat-in or carry-out?”

“Taco, it’s Cat,” the phone said to me. Cat was bordering on breathless. “I need you right away. I know where the object is and I have an idea how to get it. Can you come to the gym and talk?”

“I can come to the gym,” I slurred, “but I can barely talk. Why don’t you come down to Chapel and watch me fall off this barstool. You’d better hurry, though. It could happen any minute now.”

“You’re drunk!” Cat said.

“Bingo!” I replied. “A direct hit! Pick out a kewpie doll for yourself and take one for the little woman.”

“What?”

“I’m drunk, sweetie, and I’m not going anywhere. I think that just going outside in this condition would constitute a misdemeanor, and driving would most certainly be a capital offense.”