Back Bay Blues
Theft, greed, and corruption collide in Peter Colt’s hard-edged mystery featuring Vietnam veteran turned Boston P.I. Andy Roark.
1985, Boston. In Vietnam, Andy Roark witnessed death and horrifying destruction. But for the soldiers who made it back alive, there are other casualties of war—the loss of tenderness, trust, and connection. Still feeling adrift, Andy has struck up a welcome friendship with Nguyen, a Vietnamese restaurant owner. Sipping beer and trading memories after the restaurant shutters, Andy gradually learns of the extraordinary lengths Nguyen took to flee Saigon shortly after its fall.
Andy’s latest case, too, has ties to Vietnam. His new client, a young Vietnamese woman, hires him to investigate her uncle’s murder. Andy discovers a connection to a group of refugees determined to overthrow the communist government—and extorting local business owners to raise funds. The search for more answers takes Andy to D.C. and San Francisco, and into a web of political and personal betrayal. For near the heart of this mystery is a link to Nguyen’s daring escape. Decades have passed, but sometimes the price of freedom twists allies into enemies, loyalties into betrayals, and truth into lies . . .
“Excellent. . . . Colt makes his wounded lead sympathetic, and balances a gripping plot with further development of Roark’s character. Jeremiah Healy fans looking for a new Beantown hero will be eager for more.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
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Peter Colt
Peter Colt writes mysteries that feel lived-in because, in many ways, they are. Born in Boston in 1973 and raised on Nantucket, he grew up surrounded by New England landscapes that now provide the backdrop for his fiction. His novels are steeped in the atmosphere of Boston’s back alleys, island harbors, and small-town secrets, giving readers not just a puzzle to solve but a place they can step into.
Before turning to fiction, Colt spent twenty-four years in the Army Reserve, including deployments to Kosovo and Iraq. Later, he built a career in law enforcement in Rhode Island, where he also trained as an FBI-certified crisis negotiator. These experiences sharpened his understanding of conflict, trauma, and the gray areas of morality, elements that echo through his characters’ choices and the dangers they face.
An Andy Roark Mystery
An Andy Roark Mystery consists of six books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
