Sunscreen Shower - Book Tour and Giveaway

​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.
 
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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​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.

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

Find it on Amazon!

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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Q: Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?
A: I definitely do not want to be another person. It’s tricky enough being me. But, if I were somehow forced to be another person, I would choose Mother Theresa or perhaps Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Or maybe drumming legend Hal Blaine. (Lincoln and Washington were spoken for.)

Q: What motor vehicle did you drive on your last birthday?
A: My new used Prius! To me, driving my Prius on any given day is like having a birthday party. There’s a sense of serenity. Very Zen. Sadly, I had to trade in my 2002 Prius last year as it finally refused to run after nearly 21 years of nonstop partying. The $500 in trade seemed reasonable. But I rebounded with a very nice, low mileage 2015 Prius. Tongues have been wagging over the “May-December” thing, but let them.

Q: What part of the writing process do you dread?
A: There’s nothing worse than creating a plot synopsis. But, not just one, of course, many of them. First, giving away the plot just seems wrong. The reader needs to work the puzzle out no matter who they are. But, when submitting to multiple outlets, you quickly learn that the thousand-word synopsis that you spent days whittling down to, is either too long or too short. Publication X wants a five-hundred-word synopsis. Publication Y wants a “one pager.”  (However, publication Y provided no guidelines with respect to type size. So, why not 5-point type?)

Q: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
A: I haven’t had any sort of writer’s block yet. But at my age, 69, other blockages are more prevalent and troublesome.

Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I learned the alphabet at about the age of four and basic sentence structure at the age of five. I am 69 now. Oh. You mean fiction writing? Well, I had always loved the Edgar Allan Poe Dupin mysteries and, of course, the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. Once I established a fairly predictable law career in my 30’s, I decided to try my hand at writing mysteries. The result was my first novel, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant, written over the course of a decade and self-published in 2013. 

Q: What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?  
A: “Get out while you can. This is not for you.” Such advice reduces competition for good publishers. But seriously, new writers need to stick with it and not let themselves be overwhelmed by the notion of getting published. Ultimately, new writers should ask themselves, “If absolutely no one reads what I am writing, would I continue writing?” Unless the answer is “yes,” the new writer should consider some other means of expression.

Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
A: Probably the quote attributed to Hunter S. Thompson "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Apparently, the actual quote is about the television business and lacked the “negative side” sentence, but the quote was conscripted and embellished to reference the music business. The bleakly cynical quote aligns nicely with Thompson’s public persona.  

Q: Who is your favorite author and why?
A: Edgar Allan Poe. He was the originator of the detective story and his three C. Auguste Dupin tales are masterful. Although not a Dupin story, The Gold Bug is one of the greatest puzzle-solving stories of all time. Of course, Poe took fantasy and horror fiction to new and extraordinary places, too.

Q: What are the most important elements of good writing?
A: It’s the story, whether fiction or nonfiction. Does the story grasp the reader? Does it give the reader the thrill, the ‘a ha’ moment or a good laugh? Will the reader laugh out loud or shed a tear? Can the reader put the book down or is the reader now trapped for the duration?

Q: If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be?
A: This is a tough question. Most fiction I read features a flawed hero. I’ve got that covered already. Perhaps Sherlock Holmes: loyal, brilliant, motivated towards good and not a bad violinist. Pretty good beekeeper, too.

Q: What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A: I’m a huge fan of Charles Willeford, one of the kings of pulp detective fiction. He passed away in the late 1980’s but not before gifting us with his four-book series featuring Miami Police Detective Hoke Mosely. Willeford’s darkly existential humor brings the characters to life. He writes in an unsentimental fashion and always includes a sociopath or two in each novel. His four Hoke Mosely novels are completely gripping and darkly hilarious. I also love Kurt Vonnegut, the Mark Twain of the twentieth century.

Q: How do you come up with the titles to your books?
A: Of late, I’ve tried to use titles that both relate to the storyline and are yet enigmatic. The goal is to grab the potential reader with an unusual title: Clonk!, The Big Comb Over and Sunscreen Shower. I’m hoping a potential reader will be intrigued by these titles and will make an impulse purchase. Much how one buys a candy bar while waiting in the checkout line.

Q: What was the happiest moment of your life?
A: My wedding day! We still talk about it, fifteen years later. Finally, I had found my soulmate! The line dancing and crab balls were good too.

Q: Do you listen to music while writing?
A: I never listen to music while writing. The reason is that I love music and when it is playing, I instinctively place full attention on the music, good or bad. For a lot of people, music playing in the background is pleasant aural wallpaper. For me it is an attention-grabbing distraction.

Q: What group did you hang out with in high school?
A: In my high school there were many cliques: jocks, brains, artists, politicos, musicians and nerds. Our group was the “none of the above” clique.

Q: What are you passionate about these days?
A: I love reading and writing! As I get older, space travel is pretty much out, along with bungee jumping, hang gliding, sky diving and active volcano exploration. These days, I’d much rather hang out with my spouse and read or write.

Q: If you could have one super power, what would it be?
A: I already have one! I can become invisible, at will! Basically, any normally-attired, 69-year-old guy wandering around in a public place is invisible. As long as he doesn’t draw attention to himself, no one notices him or cares one bit about anything he’s doing.  

Q: When writing descriptions of your protagonist, what feature do you start with?
A: I try to avoid describing any of my characters in precise terms. I drop a few details as the story progresses to give the reader a general sense. And then I let the reader’s imagination fill in the gaps.

Q: Do you have any phobias?
A: Yes, I don’t like having open windows without screens. Although I love nature, I believe it needs to stay safely outside, where it belongs. I’m a little phobic about birds and annoying insects blundering their way into the house. Seems to me that an open, screenless, window is as good as an engraved invitation to a bird, bat, bee, mosquito, etc. Pigeons are particularly troubling. Unless these creatures are paying rent, they need to stay outside.
 
Lightning Round:

Q: Do you believe in writer’s block?
A: I don’t know what to say.
 
Q: How to find time to write as a parent?
A: I never find time to write as a parent because I’m not one.
 
Q: Describe yourself in 5 words or less!
A: Okay, where do I start?
 
Q: Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
A: I unwittingly left my book in a damp basement and it got musty.
Q: Have you written any other books that are not published?
A: Yes, the unpublished ones.
 
Q: Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
A: I’ve never had a character come to me. I always have to make them up.
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