Dick Lochte

Discover the new Penguin Crime and Espionage seriesFor the unlikely crime-busting duo Leo and Serendipity, a missing dog is only the start of their troubles... Leo Bloodworth, 'the Bloodhound', is a world-weary L. A. gumshoe with a reputation for finding anything - and a low tolerance of precocious teenagers. Serendipity Dahlquist is a precocious teenager. When the headstrong, roller-skating fourteen-year-old asks Bloodworth to help track down her lost dog Groucho, it leads this oddest of odd couples into the dark criminal underworld of the Mexican mafia, and into more trouble than they'd bargained for.

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR, NERO WOLFE AWARD WINNER, EDGAR AWARD FINALIST, SHAMUS AWARD FINALIST, ANTHONY AWARD FINALIST, NAMED BY THE INDEPENDENT MYSTERY BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION AS ONE OF THE 100 FAVORITE MYSTERIES OF THE CENTURY; This beloved, comedy-noir thriller teams up Leo Bloodworth, a hard-drinking, middle-aged Los Angeles PI with hypertension and a low tolerance for precious teenagers, with Serendipity Dahlquist, a bright and strong-willed roller-blading 14-year-old searching for her lost dog. But things quickly escalate, plunging the oddest of odd couples into the dark underworld of sunny Southern California and pitting them against one of the biggest, and most brutal, organized crime families in Mexico.