Scar Tissue

Ex-con Ray Rhodes’ claim he was framed on weapons and drug charges is only the beginning when former cop Lucky Lucas is reluctantly dragged into an investigation as a family favor. Lucas quickly finds himself mixing with crooked cops, Chinese assassins, and a broken family with a disturbing and dangerous history that leads to blackmail and murder.Scar Tissue is the first novel in a projected series of detective/mysteries in the spirit of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker. Robert “Lucky” Lucas, a fifty year old retired police Detective and widow from Southern California, has relocated in San Francisco to be near his son’s family. As a favor to his daughter-in-law Kathleen, Lucas reluctantly agrees to speak with Ray Rhodes, a childhood friend with prison record who has been arrested on weapons and drug charges, but adamantly proclaims his innocence. During his investigation, Lucas becomes convinced Rhodes is the victim of jealousy and crooked cops, and is trapped in the middle of a disturbing and dangerous family history, a history that will lead to murder and attempt on Lucas’ life. Mark Gummere lives in San Francisco, teaches classes in Cinema Studies, and is a former San Francisco Private Investigator. The second Lucky Lucas novel, The Damage, has just been released, and is also available on Smashwords as a downloadable ebook. The third Lucky Lucas Novel is underway.