G. D. Baum

Point and Shoot: G. D. Baum Revised Second edition

Point and Shoot is a detective, murder mystery with a twist. Private Investigator, former cop, Lock Tourmaline, is a martial arts expert. He integrates this growing ability into his work as a PI and bodyguard. His personal life is a mess. He continually tries to help both his present wife, Janice, who is dying of cancer, and his ex-wife, Lori, who is on a self-destructive path of drug use and shacking up with the wrong men. Neither woman is impressed with Lock's attempt to help. His wife begins to withdraw from him, while his ex-wife demands his help even though she finds him contemptible. The story is moved along by the assassination of a Korean drug lord during a meeting with a rival. The mystery is in finding who is responsible for the murder ? and the list of suspects is extensive. The plot is often mixed up with Lock's private life struggles. When Lock's investigation into the murder points to people in his personal life, the story becomes explosive. The anchor in his roiling sea of troubles is Lock's mentor, known only as Grandfather. Oddly, his sole means of support is working as a bouncer for a local BDSM dungeon. It is there that he meets a young mistress less than half his age who becomes the love of his life. Grandfather holds the key to smoothing out Lock's messy life and seeks to bring him to a more spiritual use of his martial arts training. The main story line and the numerous subplots work out in the end toward a resolution that is unexpected and yet logical. The murder mystery is solved. As the novel closes, each of the main characters finds him or herself changed in some manner as a result of the experience.