All The Write Stuff: Sunscreen Shower

Baltimore Police Detective Kev Dixit is being stalked by a psychopath.

He’s also saving lives and solving crimes.

And he’s late for dinner.

Sunscreen Shower

A Detective Kev Dixit Novel 2

by J.P. Rieger

Genre: Crime Mystery, Dark Comedy

Baltimore Police Detective Kev Dixit is being stalked by a psychopath. He’s also saving lives and solving crimes. And he’s late for dinner.

Dixit temporarily heads the Criminal Investigation Division, a real stress inducer. Aided by humorless partners and eccentric high school friends, he investigates two vexing cases. Spouses are found shot to death in their home. Murder-suicide is the obvious call, considering one spouse had just cleaned out the couple’s joint accounts the day before. But all is not as it seems when Forensics takes a closer look at the victims’ DNA. Later, Dixit and his assigned mentee investigate a car bombing. What kind of person would viciously murder a likeable gym rat?

Oh, and that murder-suicide. It reminded Dixit of an earlier investigation, back when he was a mere newbie detective. One where he worked tirelessly to solve a string of increasingly vicious serial attacks on single women. One where he barely escaped with his life.

GUEST POST

What Kind of Writer Am I?

Isn’t there a song, What Kind of Fool Am I? Well as the saying goes, “No fool, no fun.” That’s me. I’m primarily a humor writer and happy to act as your designated fool! I enjoy farce, satire and generally absurd humor. I’m also a mystery and crime writer and love mixing a little dark humor with those genres. The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, Clonk! and my Clonk! sequel, Sunscreen Shower all fall into the mystery/crime fold. My third novel, The Big Comb Over is more of a slipstream comedy of manners about a Baltimore family that winds up attending a Royal Wedding.

I’m a writer influenced by my many literary heroes. One of my favorite writers was Charles Willeford. He was an existential humorist and social satirist. Self-taught, he wrote true ‘pulp’ fiction to survive in the 1950’s but slowly began to refine his craft. His characters were often misfits and sociopaths. His humor was definitely ‘black.’ He once told an interviewer, “Just tell the truth, and they’ll accuse you of writing black humor.” He had a hard time finding publishers and frequently worked with small, niche publishers. He finally found success in 1984 with the publication of Miami Blues, featuring police detective Hoke Mosely. His publisher begged him to do a ‘cop series’ featuring Mosely, but Willeford hated the idea of becoming a ’serial’ novelist. To shut the publisher up, he wrote a sequel featuring Hoke Mosely, where Mosely goes on a demented killing spree, murdering his own family. Obviously, this was not quite what the publisher had in mind. That ‘sequel’ was never published. Ultimately, Mosely did relent and published three other Hoke Mosely novels, all of which are wonderful.

Alexander McCall Smith is another favorite. If you haven’t read the Detective Varg and the Von Igelfeld series, you are missing out. In Varg, Smith gently lampoons Swedish manners and mores and in Von Igelfeld, intellectual German academics. But I doubt that his Swedish or German readers feel offended. He lampoons in a loving, respectful way.

Kurt Vonnegut is also a hero. Vonnegut is the dean of absurd, existential social satire. Whenever I’m feeling a little depressed, I just reread God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and feel better.

Naturally, I love reading the mystery and crime genre, too. I’m sure I’ve read all of Elmore Leonard and Agatha Christies’ novels. More currently, I’ve enjoyed reading British cop mystery novelist Susie Steiner. Her three Manon Bradshaw novels are masterful. (Very sadly though, she passed away in 2022.)

And what mystery fan does not love Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes? And of course, let’s not forget Edgar Allan Poe who invented the “detective mystery” genre featuring his detective C. Auguste Dupin. Poe’s Purloined Letter is a personal favorite. Although not a Dupin story, The Gold Bug is one of the most clever and engaging mysteries ever written. My first novel, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, featuring a young lawyer wannabe with questionable scruples, is something of an homage to those writers. Of course, Poe took fantasy and horror fiction to new and extraordinary places, too.

Well, that’s what kind of writer I am. If you enjoy any of those writers, check out my books, too!

EXCERPT

December 2000

The man circled the block just once, precisely according to his plan. He quietly pulled in behind the parked car. He knew which house. He had watched them enter as he drove past the first time. He clicked off the radio’s switch. It had done the trick, as usual. He had heard the badge number and gotten to the scene nearly as quickly as they did.

He took a deep breath. He felt his heart beat faster and deeper. His nerves jangled, electrically fueled by adrenaline. He was happy. No, better than just happy. He felt thrilled, excited. He had never given up on his mission. He had tracked down his prey, finally, to the nondescript house in Hampden. Here it would end.

He removed the Glock from the glove box and placed it into the outer right pocket of his polar fleece. He exited his parked car and closed the door slowly, so very gently, with just enough force to click the door shut. He moved his body against the cloudy twilight toward the house, breathing deeply. The gun tapped against his gut as he walked, annoying him. He had to hold his jacket pocket against his body to stop the movement. But that discomfort, like the rest of the incessant annoyances he continually suffered, would soon be forgotten. Knowing that gave him solace.

He smiled as he approached the home. The dilapidated gray siding of the house smiled back, crookedly. He saw his hand trembling ever so slightly as he grasped the doorknob. He steeled himself and turned the doorknob quietly in the latch, careful to not open the door. Unlocked. He heard muffled sounds. A woman sobbing and a man’s voice speaking loudly. He couldn’t make out the words. Then laughter. He wasn’t sure what was going on inside.

He took the Glock from his fleece pocket, grasping it firmly. He raised his boot-swaddled right foot higher, then yet higher, and kicked forward violently. The wood panel splintered in its frame as the door thrust open, slamming sharply against the living room wall. Instantly, he saw the big older cop standing four yards away in front of a fireplace, grimacing and waving at him like a little child, with his four fingers up by his face. A man in a dark hoodie stood directly behind the big guy, shadowing him, pulling at something, pulling and grunting. The cop continued to hold his hand up by his ear, waving, waving, mutely wriggling his four fingers like a child. The gunman fought the instinct to wave back. Then he heard the muffled sound of a woman sobbing to his left, at the bottom of the staircase. She wore a dark hood over her head. Her wrists were bound behind her. She was curled into the fetal position.

A moment later, in his foreground, he saw his prey, the uniformed cop, back turned, standing over the sofa facing the fireplace. He watched his prey turn toward him looking surprised . . . confused. His prey was holding something in his hand, a round thing with a handle. A frying pan?

He spied the badge number of the man with the frying pan. It was him. The cop was now raising the pan high, about to strike at him. He aimed the Glock point-blank and fired two shots into the cop’s chest. The cop’s body fell backward against the sofa. He watched the cop writhing in agony, trying to right himself against the sofa. He saw the frying pan drop from the cop’s hand and heard the dull metal sound as it hit the floor.

The cop was now doubled over the back of the sofa, moaning but still moving, still trying to right himself. The man spent a quiet moment enjoying the cop’s suffering. And then another moment. Then he took two paces forward and placed the muzzle of the gun against the back of

the cop’s skull and pulled the trigger. Blood and tissue spattered in every direction, some slapping quietly against the shooter’s clothing and face.

The man looked around the room one last time, first toward the sobbing woman and then at the waving man and hooded figure. He wasn’t concerned with any of them. He had carried out his mission. He had avenged his father’s death. He had killed Kev Dixit. There was only one thing left to do. His life was as good as over. He had killed a cop. He sure as hell was not going back to prison. He held the nose of the gun up against his right temple and gently squeezed the trigger.

What readers are saying:

“A smartly plotted murder mystery set in Baltimore and filled with memorable, local characters. Hugely enjoyable!”

The Wishing Shelf - Five Stars

“The author has crafted a masterful mystery novel with a story full of unexpected twists and turns. . . . A great detective story with a clever ending.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Rieger seamlessly weaves together a gritty crime investigation, with a dark, delirious comedy. . . . A clever, funny and wonderfully strange crime detective novel.”

Readers’ Choice Book Awards - Five Stars

“As a police procedural, this patiently crafted thriller is methodical in its investigative storytelling and slow-burn character development . . . With plenty of twists and dramatic reveals to keep readers hooked, but still in the dark about the full story, this tangled mystery is entertaining from the first page.”

Self-Publishing Review

“Rieger ensures that cases are solved through meticulous police investigations rather than fortuitous breaks, adding a layer of authenticity to the story. This attention to detail makes the narrative feel genuine and engaging, particularly for fans of police procedurals. . . . The book offers a unique blend of intense action and emotional introspection, making it a worthwhile addition to the genre.”

Literary Titan

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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sunscreen-Shower-Detective-Dixit-Novel-ebook/dp/B0DHF6XYWG/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/sunscreen-shower-a-detective-kev-dixit-novel-by-j-p-rieger

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220670819-sunscreen-shower

**Don’t miss the first Detective Kev Dixit Novel – Clonk! **

Find it on Amazon

https://a.co/d/1v2xrN8

About the Author

J. Paul (J.P) Rieger is a born and bred Baltimorean and mostly retired Maryland attorney. He’s the author of Clonk!, a police farce set in Baltimore and published in 2023 by Apprentice House Press (Loyola University-Baltimore). Clonk! was a finalist in 2023’s CIBA Mark Twain Award for Humor and Satire. He’s also author of The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, a 2013 mystery novel featuring a wannabe lawyer anti-hero. His third novel, The Big Comb Over, a slipstream fantasy/ comedy of manners, was a finalist in 2023’s Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Sunscreen Shower, a Detective Kev Dixit Novel is Paul’s fourth novel and a sequel to Clonk! Paul and his spouse lives in Towson, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb. Chek out his website: jpaulrieger.net.

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