The Man in the Blizzard

If Marlowe lived in Minnesota . . .

If Spade spouted poetry . . .

If the Big Lebowski were a small-time private eye . . .

Meet Augie Boyer, private detective

“Once upon a time, Sam Spade, Miles Roby, and Bill Maher all went to Bart ­Schneiders laboratory. There was an accidenta spill, a flash of lightningand only one character came out. Schneider named him Augie Boyer. Youll love the big lug.”

Sean Doolittle, author of The Cleanup

Private eye Augie Boyer is out of sorts. Hes been smoking too much Pontchartrain Pootie, his favorite varietal herb, and scarfing down an excess of fried food. He cant stop thinking of his ­therapist wife, who left him for another therapist, and despite his new girlfriends best efforts, Augies testosterone levels have sunk lower than the winter temperatures of Minneapolis.

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, a beautiful, blond violinist with multiple personalities walks into Augies office. She draws him into a complex case that involves neo-Nazi violin collectors, mind-control specialists, and thousands of antiabortion activists whove come to the Twin Cities for a rally that will bring new meaning to Labor Day. But when Augie uncovers an assassination plot, he must scramble to prevent a deranged act of political violence that strikes dangerously close to home.

With wit, compassion, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, Bart Schneider creates a lovable yet flawed character and delivers a thrilling contemporary tale.

"At the start of this offbeat crime thriller from Schneider (Secret Love), concert violinist Elizabeth Odegard hires eccentric Twin Cities PI Augie Boyer, who enjoys poetry and smoking pot, to investigate her husband, Perry, a dealer in rare musical instruments. Elizabeth has become suspicious of Perry's unusual business practices, especially after discovering a gun inside a violin case. When Boyer visits the Odegards' apartment, he finds a cache of German Lugers and a slim book cataloguing valuable violins seized by the Nazis. The trail leads Boyer to a possible link with a major antiabortion rally at the 2008 Republican National Convention, where a fictional Minnesota governor is angling to become John McCain's running mate. While some readers will enjoy the name-dropping (from Garrison Keillor and Al Franken to Geraldo and Anderson Cooper), others may feel the predictable story line undercuts the suspense." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In the dog days of summer, just as the Republican National Convention comes to town, private investigator Augie Boyer learns how far a fringe political group will go to force their agenda, in this rollicking topical novel.

BART SCHNEIDER is the author of the novels Blue Bossa, a finalist for the Los ­Angeles Times Book Prize; Secret Love, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; and Beautiful Inez.