Killer Vibes: A Peter Key Novel

A lazy bisexual Texas PI uncovers a web of secrets within his family in Friday’s quirky and charming debut. After being evicted from his Dallas home, 29-year-old gumshoe Peter Theodore Key unexpectedly inherits a crumbling Austin house from his late uncle Forrest, whom he barely knew. The windfall is far from simple: the property, worth over a million dollars, is mired in debt. As Peter adjusts to his new life, he meets Eric Lance, a charismatic but unsettling realtor, and Alice L., a tarot-reading property manager, who both are oddly fixated on Peter’s new property. Soon, Peter receives cryptic warnings urging him to vacate the grounds, and a stern loan officer threatens foreclosure. Stubbornly resisting all pressure to leave, Peter befriends Carlos Torres, a sharp-witted Austin local who helps him uncover a secret cousin, a stash of his late uncle’s hidden cash, and his family ties to a secretive fraternity. Friday’s breezy plotting keeps things moving at a steady pace, and his flawed, funny characters call to mind the antiheroes of Carl Hiaasen. Readers will have fun with this one. Agent: Melissa Danaczko, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (July)