{"product_id":"9781940469010","title":"Slayer In A Gray Toupee","description":"Rumpled 1950's sleuth, Axel Hatchett, is summoned to the Flinders Manor to prevent the crime of a millionaire's murder. After a fierce blizzard knocks out the power and closes the roads, Hatchett is trapped in the cozy but deadly candle-lit mansion with an eccentric and sometimes comic array of terrified guests and servants. \u003cp\u003eAxe is determined to solve the mystery, but his only clue is a sinister gray toupee. After spending a couple of nights dodging arrows, finding threatening notes delivered by dagger-point, and hearing disembodied banshee screams, he decides he's up against a well-armed lunatic, or two in this humorous noir novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e__________\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRumpled 1950's shamus Axel Hatchett still gets nightmares over his case of the Slayer In A Gray Toupee, the third novel in his Axel Hatchett Mystery series. Here's what he says about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I've been afraid of bald guys and snowstorms ever since I worked this case. Think of it, I was trapped in an old mansion in the middle of a storm that knocked out the electricity and froze the water pipes. My fellow inmates were a bunch of scared servants and eccentric guests, one of whom I had reason to believe was set on murder. The only clue to the impending crime I feared would take place was a cheap toupee sent with a threatening note sent to the Flinders Manor's owner.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Even though the old cook working in Flinders Mansion was as good as they get-she had a cozy little kitchen about twice the size of the former motel cottage I live in--being trapped in the dark with a crazed killer kind of took away my appetite. Good thing I still liked my cigars. My host kept his humidor stocked with swell Cubans. They burned like a dream and helped light my way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"After passing a couple of nights dodging arrows, finding death notes with daggers stuck to them, and listening to disembodied banshee screams, my naturally sweet nature began to fray at the edges. I needed to find whoever it was who was wanting to kill my host before the murder could occur. And I was beginning to worry about my own neck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I had plenty of suspects, including a smooth-talking butler, an ex-cop who'd been thrown off the force, and a none-too-humorous guy who went around dressed in a court jester's costume. Talk about creepy company! I was able to track down my client's would-be assassin, but not before somebody else became a corpse. Boy was I glad when the snowstorm ended and I could go home.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKeep warm, Axe, and keep the lights on.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blood \u0026 Thunder Tales of the West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033437585648,"sku":"9781940469010","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781940469010_p0.jpg?v=1763668839","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781940469010","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}