Toxic by Carol Ericson

"That's the way I like it - hot and wet."
Not something I'd typically say in a job interview, but it just kind of slipped out. I blame Ronnie Tate the woman is sin in stilettos. As bosses go, the sexy ex-showgirl is way more appealing than the Miami billionaire who hired me to find his missing mistress.
The girl's trail ends at Ronnie's bay-side bar, so I've got to get close to the people there to find out more. And I plan to get real close to Ronnie in particular. She's hiding plenty,like why she's clinging to this dump her late husband left her, and why her employees keep disappearing. If I have to expose more than just Ronnie's secrets, so much the better.
Slinging drinks isn't private investigator J. P. McCoy's usual MO. But nothing is what it seems in this sultry noir tale of blackmail, murder, sex and scandal.

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Edgy, dark, tense and scorching hot Noir story from Carol Ericson sets the tone in a totally different world from the norm.
The attraction, and heat, between Ronnie and J.P. is sizzling. There's voyeurism, exhibitionism, raw and sweltering sex scenes. J.P., the recovering alcoholic, is borderline obsessed with Ronnie, with jealous rage running through him. He calls her his new addiction.
While J.P. was just suppose to find the missing mistress of a billionaire, dead bodies start to show up, all Ronnie's employees. Something fishy is going on, and while having fun with each other, Ronnie and J.P. are trying to solve the mystery of several deaths, before they end up victims as well.
There's twists and surprises in the plot that keeps your interest. It is a dark, different kind of story, representing Noir fiction well. Interesting dip into the genre for me.
~ Three spoons