Jazz Doesn't Resolve

This is the sixteenth of a series of novels that revolve around JP Parker a 100 year old retired New York City private detective from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. The novels are his first person recollections as told to a young writer who is compiling them into book form. They deal with his most notable cases and the famous people who crossed his path.

In JAZZ DOESN'T RESOLVE, Parker is hired by a musician friend to find his missing girlfriend. Things soon go off the rails when the detective finds that several shady groups, as well as the FBI, are also looking for her. The investigation is further complicated when the private investigator's wife, Doris, is forced to reveal a desperate decision from her past. How does her 10 year old indiscretion surprisingly fit with the case? What is the secret scientific project involving the musician's girlfriend that is ultimately putting many lives, including Parker's and Doris', in danger? Why are people from all over the world searching for a valuable missing item? What are the two interrelated mysteries? In a case that veers from sleazy businesses to spies to murder, what are the final three twists that aren't revealed until the last chapters?

The author, Bob Stanhope, is a singer, songwriter, and sometimes humorist who has performed for over 50 years in coffeehouses and clubs all over the northeast. Recently he's been featured at the City Center Danbury Summer Concert Series, First Night Danbury in CT, The Barn at Quaker Hill in Pawling, The Bushnell Pavilion in Hartford, and The Putnam County 4-H Fair in NY. His more serious material might be compared to Billy Joel, Harry Chapin, and Paul Simon, while his comic / satirical songs might be likened to Weird Al Yankovic or Tom Lehrer. This humorous side was nurtured when he was the morning personality on a variety of suburban NYC radio stations. Bob also has local theater experience with lead roles in "Sugar", "1776", "A Christmas Carol: The Musical", "It's A Wonderful Life: The Musical", "Born Yesterday", and "Mr. Roberts".