The Alternative Detective (1993) - Plot & Excerpts
In The Alternative Detective Sheckley once again creates a mystery with a comic heart. Hob Draconian, the Alternative Detective, is, in the tradition of Roger L. Simon's The Big Fix, an aging ex-hippie turned private investigator. Still suffering from the culture shock of returning to an America he never made, with a predatory ex-wife on his back and no prospects for work, Hob is wallowing in depression when his nephew brings him a new case. Five surfboards have gone missing on the island of Ibiza. Not the usual sort of case - but The Alternative Detective Agency isn't the usual sort of investigative firm. Draconian's international "staff, " mostly friends from Hob's hippie days, are spread all over Europe - including Ibiza. Hob's not in Europe long before he's got another case, this one more personal. A woman brings the news that an old buddy of his has disappeared in Paris. Accompanied by the attractive - and attentive - woman, Draconian journeys to Paris to search for Alex. This is no simple missing persons job - people are threatening Hob, and pointing guns at him, and generally making it clear that he's in way over his head. Hob Draconian has stumbled onto a real case, with real criminals. Organized crime, international drug trafficking, and Hob's version of the alternative lifestyle are not a good mix, but he's in too deep to get out.
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