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When his client turns up dead and naked, Shell Scott focuses on the widow Everyone at the party is naked. It's just that kind of scene. Even the corpse seems to have forgotten his clothes. Private detective Shell Scott has tangled with the toughest'hoods in Los Angeles—and has the scars to show for it—but even he isn't prepared for a gathering of Southern California's most murderous nudists. He's been summoned to the party by the host, George Halstead, on a matter of “peculiar delicacy,” but he'll soon discover there's much more to this mystery than a single unclothed stiff. As it turns out, it's Halstead who's both naked and dead, and his widow is eager for Scott to crack the case. Before he knows what hit him, this PI will be neck-deep in blackmail, murder, and enough bare bodies to fill the grotto at the Playboy Mansion. Gat Heat is the 33rd book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

An Arizona attorney has a client with a problem. It's no ordinary problem and this is no ordinary client. Luckily this legal eagle happens to be friends with the hawkish private eye, Shell Scott. Scott is a sure-fire shamus with no shame and a pocket full of bullets. But he will need more than a pocketful of miracles to make this missing persons case go away. A father desperately wants to see his daughter before he dies. But she's disappeared. Scott must find her. But he can't use her name. The father is a rich asset. But his affiliation with the crime world is making the case too dangerous for our prowling P.I. All Scott has to go on is a birthmark in a strategic place. But the client won't be so happy if Scott sees it. Shell Scott is back sending ripples of rancor through the criminal underworld but this case threatens to hit our gun-toting gumshoe like a tidal wave of terror. Will Shell Scott get swamped amid the Arizona desert? Or will he shock everyone by riding this crime wave all the way to the bank? Shellshock is the 41st book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

I wasn't too happy to be looking down the barrel of the pistol of every gunman in California and when I heard them humming murder music on their lips, the melody was sour and I knew it was being dedicated to only one man--me. That gangdom had it all planned out. They'd even measured me for a grave I was supposed to share with a fiery redhead, Coral. There isn't much I wouldn't share with a spicy beauty, but this time I was willing to pass that up to save my life. Slab Happy is the 17th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

'As far as I'm concerned, Richard S. Prather was the King of the paperback P.I writers of the 60s. Shell Scott should be in the Top Ten of any readers list of favorite private eyes.'--Robert J. Randisi For four decades, Richard S. Prather published over 40 works of detective fiction, most featuring his clever, cad-about-town hero, Shell Scott. Known for their arched humor, punchy dialogue, and sunny Southern California locale, the Shell Scott books represent one of the greatest private eye collections ever produced. HAVE GAT--WILL TRAVEL A Shell Scott Mystery Shell Scott'll slay you...with leers, tears and pistol packin'dears. Meet Shell Scott and his entourage of hoodlums, beauties, and dangerous killers. It doesn't take much for this ferocious fireball to pack a punch to all corners of the underworld, but he sure does it. Even if it means sacrificing a pretty little love interest along the way. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...and if he run's out of bullets doing it, Shell will just scare them to death! Honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America!'(Shell Scott is) as amusingly blithe a figure as the field has seen since the Saint.'--Anthony Boucher Have Gat—Will Travel is the 15th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Wilfred Jefferson Jellicoe is nowhere to be found. And the person missing him most, his ex-wife, hires Shell Scott to find him. Though alimony payments may be her motive to pursue his trail, Hollywood producer, Gideon Cheim, has another reason for calling on Scott to track this man down. For Cheim has entrusted Jellicoe with his autobiography, only to be published post-mortem. Is it coincidental that the Cheim manuscript has disappeared with the man responsible for it while Cheim lies in his hospital bed nearing death? Scott doubts that--and is determined to discover what it is that his clients are really in search of--the man, or... The Cheim Manuscript is the 34th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Shell Scott. He's a guy with a pistol in his pocket and murder on his mind. The crime world's public enemy number one, this Casanova is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When a pair of lovely legs saunters into his office, he can't help but take the job, even when the case is a killer. Shell has finally met someone who may be his match. She's got a killer body and legs that seem to never end, but where is she hiding her pistol in that painted-on dress? It's tough to keep his mind on the current case, but he's used to distraction and knows all he needs is a stiff drink and a cold shower. He's the man for any case and he welcomes the attractive distractions. The Scrambled Yeggs is the 8th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The mystery series with more than 40 million copies in print continues with pulp fiction's favorite PI on the hunt for a missing harem. A petroleum magnate--a snake oil salesman at heart--finds himself in a gusher of a business deal with a shifty-eyed Sheik. The businessman needs some leverage but how do you get at a guy who has everything? You could kidnap his wife but he has six! Sure enough the girls are gone and the Sheik is freaked. The friction between the two sides is setting off sparks and the plot threatens to explode. For our trigger-happy gumshoe it's another case of burning ambition, white-hot action, bounty in the billions and beauties in the backroom. Shell Scott is used to flexing his grip on both con men and dangerous broads but this case is just getting out of hand. Our peerless P.I. must find the girls before the greedy goons find him. Leave it to Shell Scott to find a sure thing when all the bets are against him. The Sure Thing is the 39th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.