Synopses & Reviews
When your name is Casey Holden, the Virginia Dance Company might just become your new favorite playground. But with the murder of dancer Jessica Mason to investigate, courtesy of an office visit from one Kathryn Gable, he knows he'll have to stay on point.
Just back from a vacation among sandy beaches and string bikinis, Casey's broadened his attention to include athletic women and tights. Even the recent strangling and two Virginia Beach cops — both of whom want to pound him into the ground — can't keep his strong-willed focus on females at bay.
What he discovers, though, is an industry more cutthroat than he imagined and suspects with more than enough motives to drop one dead dancer in the back corner of the nearest parking lot: Lusty lovers past and present, dancers young and old, an owner eager to keep her dance company in the black — and more than one person who would like to feed Casey to the fishes.
To learn who killed Jessica and why, he'll have to stay ahead of the vbpd, execute an end run around a medical examiner fond of fiddling with more than just medical records, match step for step the dance company's less than cooperative staff, and deal with an unexpected, unsolved murder from the distant past.
With the help of an old friend and bar entrepreneur Casey calls Dragon Lady, an ex-girlfriend me who fills out a white coat rather nicely, and the continued support of his pessimistic best friend, vbpd Detective Ian Jackard, Casey once again waltzes too close to the truth.
Review
"Fans of Travis McGee are in for a treat as Robert Downs' latest book, Graceful Immortality, delivers every bit of suspense, mystery, and femme fatales in bathing suits one expects from the genre McGee made famous. Casey Holden is a smart, smooth-talking PI who grabs the reader in a stranglehold and doesn't let go as the twists unfold. Murder might be first on his mind, but sex isn't far. So slather on the sunscreen, squeeze into those leg warmers, and prepare for a fun, wild mystery reminiscent of the late, great John MacDonald."
J.A. Kazimer, author of The Fairyland Murders
Review
"In his rollicking mystery Graceful Immortality, Robert Downs has created a wisecracking protagonist, Casey Holden, on par with Robert B. Parker's Spenser (though with perhaps an even more active libido). This fine mystery has suspects galore and more interesting women than even Casey can shake a stick at. Graceful Immortality is a well-written and fun-filled ride through the parlors and alleyways of Virginia Beach."
D.E. Johnson, author of Detroit Shuffle
About the Author
Robert aspired to be a writer before he realized how difficult the writing process was. Fortunately, he'd already fallen in love with the craft, otherwise Casey might never have seen print. Originally from West Virginia, Robert has lived in Virginia, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and now resides in California.