In the Hiss of Summer

Murder Mystery! Detective series! Crime-drama! Homicide Detective Lyle Odell returns in a new adventure, and this time around; Odell uncharacteristically enlists the aid of a beautiful woman and her very unusual crime-fighting companion.

After a period of dormancy, and a trail of unsolved murders over a few years in different locations, a brutal serial killer suddenly reappears and horribly murders and targets combat veterans of war and their family members. This time, the killer's murders are in Homicide Detective Lyle Odell's territory of the gritty and determined old upstate New York City of Mohawk City, and it begins a game of cat and mouse between the brilliant and violent mind of the insane killer and the even more brilliant mind of Detective Lyle Odell. The killer had previously pulled off the perfect crimes and there were no leads, no trails, and no clues, and the killer went uncaptured on the first killing spree a few years earlier. The crimes seemed unsolvable, but this time around, the killer matches wits with Odell on his home turf.
Just when it seems the trail is a dead-end once again, the beautiful and brilliant Ms. Marlin Santini appears on the scene and offers her help to Odell along with her highly trained pet Yucatan pig, Doodlesticks. Doodlesticks can track scents and criminals that escape all other detection. Odell senses an opportunity and his plan will include the incredible scent tracking abilities of Doodlesticks, the talents, intelligence, and beauty of Marlin, and this time around, Detective Lyle Odell realizes that to capture this elusive killer, he cannot do it alone. This time, he requires an elite team.

As they work together, Marlin and Odell grow closer and closer; and it seems as if the forever loner and eccentric Detective Lyle Odell has finally found love. Yet, the killer now has Marlin in the crosshairs and the case takes a dangerous twist. Odell realizes that there is only one way to bring the killer out of the shadows, and his plan is full of danger and risk. Risk to a woman that he has fallen in love with.

Odell, Marlin, Doodlesticks, the faithful Patrol Sergeant George Grundy, and the new Mohawk City Police Captain Connor Moore, along with the crime scene investigating genius of Officer Oliver Crump face the killer in a hair-raising showdown that puts Marlin directly in the face of the danger. Who will come out on top this time? Will Odell's plan work and will the elite team capture the ruthless killer? Or will Marlin become just another trophy victim of the insane killer?

Plucked out of the pages of the novel O'Malley by his creator, Homicide Detective Lyle Odell proved to be a hugely popular character with readers. In O'Malley, the good detective helps the principal character solve the mysteries of his past and the brutal homicide of a fellow police officer. The character proved to so popular with readers that Paul John Hausleben created a s...