A retirement home hides a surprising amount of intrigue and danger in this novel by a two-time finalist for the Lefty Award for Humorous Mystery. A failing retirement home needs to be turned around—and unfortunately, the job has been given to a financial hatchet man who dislikes old people. But his foray into the world of geezers and geezerettes will turn out to be a life-transforming experience. He must deal with a suspicious death, a scam, a hit man, an unexpected romance—and retired magician Jerry Rhine and his five wacky sidekicks known as the Jerry-atrics. And he will face the most important decision of his life when he uncovers the secret behind an unusual murder… Praise for Mike Befeler’s mysteries: “Witty, clever, and wholly entertaining.”—Margaret Coel, New York Times-bestselling author of the Wind River Mysteries “Delightful.”—Maggie Sefton, New York Times-bestselling author of the Knitting Mysteries

The undisputed king of the confidence men of the Old West, Jefferson Randolph Smith II (Soapy Smith) ruled criminal gangs in Colorado and Alaska. No other scoundrel could match Soapy Smith’s utter audacity and unrelenting pursuit of skinning a sucker. He was a genius at running a scam, at organizing a gang of confederates, and at paying off authorities. He had the inherent ability to look a man in the eye and lie like every word was etched in stone.  But, on July 8 1898, Soapy was killed in a shootout in Skagway, Alaska. At the time, newspapers attributed a man, Frank Reid, with putting the fatal bullet through Soapy’s heart. Now, 100 years later, historical research has shown that was not the case. Death of a Con Man is a concise, accurate account of the truth behind the myth. Entertaining, as well as informative, the story of the most notorious con man is told with many vintage photographs

Like no event in history, the real estate appraisal industry has been slandered, steered, and stomped into submission. Charged and convicted of a crime they did not commit. Big banking is leading a new revolution, taking real estate appraisers out of the mortgage lending process. Enter computerized home valuation services, being promoted as the "technology-based" saviors to the home buying public. The greatest sales job ever, sold to a real estate weary public who just wants to know they are paying a fair price. Discover the misinformation that is killing an entire industry that consumers need now more than ever before. Caveat Emptor!

-- The main target for scams are those 50 years of age or older. -- This book will expose all the latest scams, frauds, and cons -- and can be updated yearly, if necessary, to expose all the latest schemes. Fraud -- credit card fraud, telemarketing scares, Internet scares, identity theft and hundreds of other items that are geared to separate you from your money -- is a multi-billion dollar business, both in the U.S. and worldwide. From a simple three-card monte game on a street corner to sophisticated banking and Wall Street swindles, cons, frauds and scams are destined to strike one in ten Americans this year. Check kiting, ATM scares, bankruptcy fraud, real estate scams, Nigerian money offers, and even slave reparation scams -- there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to get suckered by telemarketers or just plain fast-talking swindlers. Scary stuff, right? This book identifies the myriad of scams, cons, and frauds perpetrated every minute of every day in this country, and gives cutting-edge, up-to-date advice on how you can protect yourself from unscrupulous cons of every conceivable stripe. There will also be an entertaining section on con artists through history, from the infamous grifters of the Great Depression to the masterminds of the recent Enron collapse -- perhaps one of the greatest scams in America's history.

An homage to Dashell Hammet’s Thin Man movies with a modern day spin on Nick and Nora Charles. When her career is outsourced to Asia, fledgling romance author and empty-nester Gracie Elliott wants a job that will allow her time to write. So she opens Relatively Speaking, becoming a wing woman to the senior set. Since her clients need several hours each morning to find their teeth, lube their creaky joints, and deal with lower GI necessities, and they always turn in after the early bird specials, she has plenty of time to pen her future bestsellers. Gracie deliberately avoids mentioning her new business venture to husband Blake until after she signs her first client. Blake joins the company as a not-so-silent partner, tagging along to make sure Gracie doesn’t cause a septuagenarian uprising. When Client #13 is found murdered in the parking lot behind the Moose Lodge, Gracie knows, no matter how much Blake protests otherwise, she can’t wait around for the police to find the killer if she wants to save her livelihood. Keywords: murder mystery, amateur sleuth, female protagonist, humorous, contemporary, romance, dating, comedy

The Sunshine Shenanigan By: John M. Whiddon It’s the early ‘90s, and Florida’s Medicaid program is growing fast. Webb Espy, the well-loved and spirited leader of Florida’s Medicaid Regulatory Office, has inadvertently discovered that large amounts of money are being siphoned from the state’s Medicaid coffers. Those responsible are doing so for reasons far more complicated and nefarious than greed. The resulting investigation leads him and his unconventional staff into the path of a mysterious and dangerous adversary, determined to keep them off his employers’ trail at any cost. Drawing on his personal resources and connections, Espy enters into a chess match of wits and wills, leading to several unanticipated consequences for himself, his team, and the world. Reflecting on the Florida Medicaid program’s uncontrolled expansion and the unknown extent of Medicaid fraud and abuse in America’s history, this story could be all too true.