UNHOLY ALLIANCE (Alan Stewart and Vera Deward Murder Mysteries Book 4)

"UNHOLY ALLIANCE'S prose bangs with the authenticity of a veteran detective on a blood-soaked ride through the foreboding criminal underworld of a Seattle that time forgot," so writes Author Don Roff.

"Vera Deward and Alan Stewart are reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles in the THIN MAN series. As characters, they are endearing and occupy a comparable class" so writes Author Don Roff. UNHOLY ALLIANCE, an alliance of Low's earlier historical novels, is another dynamic advance in crime fiction," --Author Don Roff.

"Your best novel yet!" --Ed Cunningham.

In 1930's Seattle, the temptations of Prohibition lured many honest people into a life of crime and corruption, including legions of police and public officials who saw their chance to make a quick fortune. Based on a true Seattle story, Police Officer Charles "Hacksaw" Sawyer is lured into a garage in the heart of Jazz Alley, near 12th and South Jackson. He is shot twice in the face with a .38, and evidence supports defensive wounds to his body, but his death is ruled a suicide by the Homicide commander. A regional uproar leads to the firing of the police chief and a turn away from corruption in the mayor's office. The newly appointed chief acts quickly to supress dissension in his troops and orders the case closed permanently. Eight years later, however, Chief of Detectives Mike Ketchum is nearing retirement, and he wants to find out the truth to this cold case before he turns in his badge. He calls in favors and contracts with Private Detectives Alan Stewart and Vera Deward to look into Hacksaw's death confidentially.Unaided by police and thwarted by the underworld, Alan and Vera race to unravel clues that lead them through opium dens, tattoo parlors, and the region's most infamous pleasure palace. Along the way they uncover a long list of suspects who include forty or more police officers, convicted bootleggers put of of business by Sawyer during his tenure on the Dry Squad, and the godfather of Chinatown's largest pleasure emporium, Goon Dip Wong. Can Alan and Vera outwit both sides of the law to solve the mystery that no one wants solved, or will they fall prey to the same treacherous forces that brought down Hacksaw Sawyer?

"My husband has read your books three or four times each. He loves them. We also purchased them for each set of our parents, and they are also fans. Anyway, we can't wait for your next book." --Shari, fan, Federal Way.

"The yarn is made genuine because Author Neil Low uses police tactics that only a real-life cop would know," --Author Don Roff.

The novels in the Alan Stewart/Vera Deward Murder Mystery series in order are:

THICK AS THIEVES (2008, Tigress Publishing); SIGN OF THE DRAGON (2009, Tigress Publishing); UNREASONABLE PERSUASION (2010, Tigress Publishing); and UNHOLY ALLIANCE (2011, Tigress Publishing). Coming soon: THEATER OF THE CRIME (Tigress Publishing, 2012).

Neil Low's website is: http://neillow.com/