Fatal Sisters

A Rafferty P.I. Mystery

Rafferty’s Rule 46: When in trouble, lie like a son of a bitch.

Patty Akister wants Rafferty to find her husband, Sherm. He’s a secret agent.

Sure he is.

Rafferty soon discovers Sherm’s just a schmuck earning some extra cash as Manny Hinkston’s bagman, and lying to his wife about it. But before Rafferty can convince Sherm of the limited future in that gig, Sherm has no future at all.

Sherm’s been executed inside a Hinkston whorehouse, and Rafferty was there when it all went down. The cops want to throw the book at Rafferty, but he didn’t kill Sherm; he was just late to the party.

Which quickly becomes standard operating procedure. No matter what he tries, Rafferty’s always one step behind.

Can Rafferty find justice for Sherm, without destroying Patty’s naïve fantasy of her dead husband?

With the witnesses being murdered one by one, Rafferty must face the truth: sometimes it’s a simple matter of kill or be killed.

If you’re a fan of Spenser, Mike Hammer or Matt Scudder, then this hardboiled pulp thriller, from Shamus Award Winner W. Glenn Duncan, will keep you reading late into the dark night.

FATAL SISTERS won a Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original and is a hardboiled P.I. mystery in the tradition of the best pulp thrillers.

Rafferty’s a Dallas P.I. and an ex-cop who spent enough time on the streets to understand how things work. And when they don’t, Rafferty’s the guy you’ll want on your side. He may quote Latin occasionally, smoke too much and be a cynical sonofabitch, but when it all hits the fan and you need someone you can trust, you’ll be glad you called Rafferty.

Originally published by Ballantine, this 30th Anniversary release of FATAL SISTERS marks the first time that W. Glenn Duncan’s work has been available in digital format. We doubt that Rafferty would quietly accept the ongoing march of technology that provides this opportunity, but even a grizzled P.I. has to grow up sometime.

This hardboiled PI series will continue with the first new Rafferty story in nearly three decades. FALSE GODS, written by W. Glenn Duncan Jr. (son of the original author) sees Rafferty looking for a missing girl, up to his ass in religious fundamentalists and needing all the help he can get from his old pals Cowboy and Mimi—and a few new ones—to make sure he gets out alive.

Join the Rafferty Readers’ Group at RaffertyPI.com to get the latest news on the upcoming release of FALSE GODS.

Praise for W. Glenn Duncan:

“Sometimes it seemed W. Glenn Duncan's Texas P.I. Rafferty had a rule for everything, but the fact remains that most of them were a hoot. And, of course, a further irony is that "Rafferty's Rules" is, in fact, an Australian football term for "no rules at all.” - Thrilling Detective Website

“I have all of the Rafferty titles in my collection. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff over the years, but the Rafferty books are a mainstay. I think they're terrific!” - Paul Bishop

“Duncan truly captured the pure essence of the definitive smart-ass private eye in his character Rafferty. Take part Sam Spade with a little Mike Hammer, mix in some Spenser and you have an awesome character.” - Cliff Fausset

“At first sniff, it may smell like Spenser with a cowboy hat, but take a good whiff: W. Glenn Duncan's Dallas, Texas private eye RAFFERTY was actually a blast of fresh air in what was rapidly becoming a glut of sensitive, soul-searching, overly politically-correct cookie cutter P.I.s in the late eighties. Of course, it helps that Dallas ain't Boston.” - Kevin Burton Smith