The Dyeing Process

"Murder is visceral and viscous. It sticks to you and won't let you go." Private investigator Neil Ames is a haunted man. The murder of his fiancé still clings to his soul and PTSD flashbacks of his imprisonment in Afghanistan are his unwelcome companions. To fill his days, Neil immerses himself in sketching, drinking copious cups of coffee, and the timeless wisdom of Sherlock Holmes. But his true calling lies in exposing corporate corruption, tracing dark secrets hidden within the labyrinth of government conspiracies and the murky depths of the dark web. When investigative reporter Katherine Sterling, a woman from his past, is murdered, Neil's fragile equilibrium is shattered, reopening old wounds. Reluctantly, he agrees to consult on the case, a decision that teams him up with Octavia Clarke, a beautiful, savvy, and cane wielding nightclub owner, with a gift for extracting the truth from even the most reticent of suspects. When another brutal murder occurs, the two discover a link to a set of extraordinary handcrafted sneakers, propelling them from the lush backdrop of the Pacific Northwest to Japan, where they stumble upon a sinister world of sneaker obsession and a global corporation's well-guarded secrets. But as Neil and Octavia step closer to unraveling the chilling truth, danger lurks ever nearer. They find themselves in the crosshairs, and the line between the past and the present blurs, threatening to unravel their own pasts and forcing Neil's quest for justice to become a quest for redemption. THE DYEING PROCESS is the first book of the Neil Ames PI Mystery series.