The Gift of Murder Anthology, October 2009

"The Seven Dollar Clue"

Pages 1-12

Private Eye Mark Sauer finds himself invited at gunpoint to a "friendly holiday dinner" with the head of the Jade Dragon Triad in New York's Chinatown.

Another story in the ongoing Fifth Precinct series of stories, this one explores the rather complex relationship PI Mark Sauer has with bounty hunter/assassin Joi Li and her Hong Kong-born grandmother, Madame Zhu -- a relationship made all the harder when Joi starts demanding that Mark use his deductive powers to help solve the murder of one of Joi's girlfriends.

The story was written as a donation to the fourth annual Wolfmont Press holiday-themed mystery anthology. The authors chosen for the anthology received no payment whatsoever, and donated their time to publicize the anthology to the public -- because the publisher donated all of the profits to the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, which works to help less fortunate children throughout America experience the joy of Christmas.

The anthology is available directly from the publisher at Wolfmont Press and also from Amazon.com.