{"product_id":"9781503529892","title":"DEATH CALLS THE SHOTS: AN OLD-FASHIONED MYSTERY","description":"DEATH CALLS THE SHOTS An old-fashioned mystery, Death Calls the Shots invokes the golden age of pulp mysteries in a way that led Jacques Barzun, one of the ultimate authorities on this genre and its era, to express his admiration of the novel for its mood, plot, pace, and structure. Mack Mackinaw, a federal agent masquerading as a college professor, pits his wits against a prosperous and dangerous adversary, Jack Duquesne, the owner of a popular restaurant, profitable pet stores, and numerous other businesses. Mack’s goal is to compile evidence of Jack’s criminal behavior and eliminate him from the life of Jack’s girlfriend Rita Foley, the granddaughter of a powerful but retired Senator suspecting Jack of one inhuman crime. In the ensuing struggle, Mack falls in love with Rita. Framed for murder, Mack is forced into hiding in the most precarious but logical place for saving Rita and himself.  Although the two sides appear to be arranged as neatly as a set of chessmen at the start, Mack slowly senses that a hidden “mole,” who is even more cut-throat than Jack, is outwitting both of them. Deceived repeatedly by the mole’s ability to twist decisive bits of information, Mack discovers that he was unmasked and sacrificed to Jack from the beginning. Mack’s investigation leads him into logical contradictions as well as danger. Only in the final showdown when the guns are drawn in all directions does Mack know for sure his secret adversary, but the woman that he loves, the queen of coolness through the story, may have grown too furious to play the final game as cleverly as possible. Trapped between a pair of evil characters, Mack and Rita find that Death Calls the Shots until the gun smoke dies away.","brand":"Xlibris US","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47183699509488,"sku":"9781503529892","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781503529892_p0.jpg?v=1763708506","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781503529892","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}