Pete Stone Series Now Available for Purchase at Urban Interiors in Wichita

The office was empty, but I knew where Agnes would be so I locked up and walked down the street. I found her sitting in the lobby of the Eaton Hotel reading the morning edition of the Wichita Eagle.

-Detective Pete Stone

 

The Eaton Hotel, built in 1886, is a location frequented by our favorite 1930s detective, Pete Stone. Fun fact: you can still visit the Eaton today. It is home to Urban Interiors, a delightful store featuring unique gift items, local artisan products, and designer furniture. You can also purchase your very own copies of the books set in 1930s Wichita: To Leave a Shadow, Shadow of Death, and All Hallow's Shadows.  

Check out their beautiful display!

Excerpt from Shadow of Death, by Michael D. Graves

Shadow of Death is the second title in the Pete Stone, Private Investigator series, published December 2017.

Saturday, June 5

The first time I met the cop we had words. You might’ve called it an altercation. Maybe even a fight. It was night, late at night, going into the wee hours of the morning, and I’d been drinking, again. I’d been drinking a lot lately. The cop braced me on the sidewalk down the street from Tom’s Inn, planting a fleshy paw on my chest with a stiff arm. He flashed a grin that bore not a trace of good humor. He leaned in and sniffed my breath and snapped his head back.

“Ugh, man. You smell like a drunken bum. You’re stink-o, you are. Who are you, buddy? What’s your name?”

I fumbled through my pockets and pulled out a card.

“Pete Stone, Private Investigations,” he said. “So, you’re a gumshoe. Well, you’re drunk, gumshoe. I hope you don’t think you’re going to drive your fancy automobile over my city streets in your condition. Cause if you do, you’ve got another think coming.”

I stood under a yellow streetlight. My Jones Six Roadster, top down, was parked at the curb three steps away. My keys dangled from my fingertips. I glanced at my car. I glanced at my keys. I looked at the cop.

“Wise deduction, Sherlock,” I said. I may have slurred. “How’d you figure that?”

Tom and I had spent the better part of the evening perched on barstools, swapping stories and lies, and lowering the level of a bottle of rye whiskey. We’d discussed our lives, what we’d done, what we hadn’t done, what we wished we hadn’t done. We’d bounced around the country’s problems and agreed the solution to halting the current Depression was to boot out the politicians and replace them each year with whichever team won the World Series. We’d proclaimed that the humblest barbeque in Jerkwater, Kansas tasted better than the finest steak in Delmonico’s Restaurant, never mind that neither of us had

Best-selling books at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore for the week ending March 17, 2018

Head on over to Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore, 1122 Commercial, Emporia, KS, to get your own copy of Shadow of Death, by Michael D. Graves, and all the other Meadowlark titles!

Coming in at #4!

Shadow of Death, by Mike Graves. Paperback, $15.00
When a cop killer strikes Wichita, Pete Stone, Private Investigator, is on the case. He has to be. He wakes up in jail, battered and bruised and accused of a murder he’s almost certain he didn’t commit. He must prove his innocence before he’s abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady. When Stone is not getting knocked around by cops, he’s getting roughed up by love. Second book in series.

Michael Graves at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore with Second Second Pete Stone Mystery Noir

Author Michael D. Graves will be at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday, March 14, for a book signing and short talk (starting at 5:15) about Shadow of Death, his second book featuring the 1930s private investigator, Pete Stone. Mystery lovers and those who enjoy books incorporating Kansas history are encouraged to attend. Both Pete Stone novels will be available for purchase.

The first Pete Stone novel, To Leave a Shadow, was selected for the 2016 Kansas notable list. Inspired by memories Graves has of his grandfather, Pete Graves, the fictional private investigator, Pete Stone, is an earnest gumshoe who finds himself, in this second novel, the subject of a police investigation rather than the investigator.

Your favorite 1930s gumshoe, Pete Stone, is back!

Saturday, June 5

The first time I met the cop we had words. You might’ve called it an altercation. Maybe even a fight. It was night, late at night, going into the wee hours of the morning, and I’d been drinking, again. I’d been drinking a lot lately. The cop braced me on the sidewalk down the street from Tom’s Inn, planting a fleshy paw on my chest with a stiff arm. He flashed a grin that bore not a trace of good humor. He leaned in and sniffed my breath and snapped his head back.

“Ugh, man. You smell like a drunken bum. You’re stink-o, you are. Who are you, buddy? What’s your name?”

I fumbled through my pockets and pulled out a card.

“Pete Stone, Private Investigations,” he said. “So, you’re a gumshoe. Well, you’re drunk, gumshoe. I hope you don’t think you’re going to drive your fancy automobile over my city streets in your condition. Cause if you do, you’ve got another think coming.”

I stood under a yellow streetlight. My Jones Six Roadster, top down, was parked at the curb three steps away. My keys dangled from my fingertips. I glanced at my car. I glanced at my keys. I looked at the cop.

“Wise deduction, Sherlock,” I said. I may have slurred. “How’d you figure that?” 

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When a cop killer strikes Wichita, Pete Stone, Private Investigator, is on the case. He has to be. He wakes up in jail, battered and bruised and accused of a murder he's almost certain he didn't commit. He must prove his innocence before he's abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady. When Stone is not getting knocked around by cops, he's getting roughed up by love.

_______________________________

To Leave a Shadow, the first Pete Stone novel,

was a 2016 Kansas Notable Book.

Pete Stone returns in Shadow of Death, published December 2017 by Meadowlark Books.

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Both books are available at your favorite local bookstore (just ask them to order a copy if they do not already carry it), at any online book retailer, and as ebooks on Amazon Kindle.

Purchase signed copies from the Meadowlark Bookstore!

Click to be directed to the Meadowlark Bookstore

Click to be directed to the Meadowlark Bookstore