You can find Walter Rice's books on his Amazon author page, his Smashwords author page, Nook, iTunes and other retail sites.Click an orange link for a Kindle Preview.  

Coming soon: A sequel mystery novel >>  Read more in my blog.

He thinks his flat nose is holding him back, but it ends up opening many doors.

Epipeda  >>NEW

>> A humadroid who wants a real human nose sets off a chain of events he could never have imagined. 11,200 words Ebook only

Several hundred years in the future of Earth, humadroid Aaron Dunarc wants to fix one thing about his body. He’s on a mission to acquire a real human nose, not the flat thing above his mouth that humadroids normally have. Already a successful engineer at twenty-seven, he wants even more opportunities and a face that won’t bring ridicule.

A new nose seems like a simple surgical request to Dunarc, but he quickly learns that altering his humadroid body would be highly illegal. Undaunted, he searches for a medical underworld contact with a green scarf. In the process, he meets someone else with a green scarf, Sadie, a beautiful young human woman who doesn’t care that he’s a humadroid. 

Love is in the air, but Sadie has no knowledge of the medical underworld. When Dunarc finally finds the other green scarf and learns the many difficulties of the nose surgery he seeks, his attention returns to Sadie and his work.

Dunarc and Sadie build a good life together, professionally and personally, and just when everything seems to be on cruise control, the highest authority on the planet hands him the invitation of his life, and Sadie’s life. The offer is gripping, yet totally disrupting. In a few short hours, he receives major recognition and learns the long-hidden secret of the humadroids. Now, his flat face and body type, along with his engineering prowess, have become huge assets and opened doors he never could have imagined.

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A palm reader helps Slidell recover his memory. Then they're both in trouble.

Slidell's secrets

   >>New COVER

>> Recovering memory means accepting things forgotten, the bad as well as the good. Some people can handle that, but others explode like fireworks. 4,200 words. Ebook only

Slidell has a memory problem, and without a past he can’t see that he has a future.

He recalls only bits and pieces, most of those only recent. Doctors and psychologists haven’t helped him, so he’s turned to a palm reader. Meanwhile, his life seems to be falling apart. Largely through his own doing, he’s homeless and unemployed.

Slidell’s first visit to the palm reader Madame Petrovic gave him hope because she seemed to understand him. So he goes back for another reading.

Getting to Madame Petrovic’s house the second time is a challenge because of a snowstorm. Snow confuses him, and he has to trudge uphill many blocks through the storm. Once there, he warms up and dries out with the help of hot tea and a kind of magical fireplace.

When the reading starts, it’s all cordial at first. But soon Madame Petrovic pulls back the curtain on Slidell’s memory. Together, Slidell and the palm reader come to realize he’s been traumatized by a murder that shocks both of them.

The palm reader wants a peaceful parting with no followup, but Slidell only grows angrier with this woman he had counted on so much.

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Max likes cars so much  he steals them. His old friend Joey has other ideas. 

Joey's Mistake

>> Stealing cars is just for thrills at first, but then it becomes business. And even after a partnership withers away, secrets live on—until someone talks. 4,500 words. Ebook only 

Max and Joey were friends, and they started stealing cars in high school. Then after graduation they went separate ways.

Max made a good living repairing all kinds of cars, but he still got a thrill, and extra cash, from taking them away from their owners.

Joey, meanwhile, steered himself to a normal life. In addition to a good job not involving cars, Joey had something else: Max’s secrets. The question was, could he keep them? And what if he didn’t? That might be a problem that Max and Joey would both regret.

Some mistakes are immediately apparent, but others take years to make themselves known. But when they do, they almost seem inevitable. Welcome to the world of Max and Joey.

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Tired of finishing second in a two-man race.

IT ALL COMES BACK

>> When a friendship is torn beyond repair, payback with a bullet starts to look appealing. 6,440 words. Ebook only

Nash Spielman has a problem. His old friend Brad Burwood is fast becoming less of a friend. When old loyalties are tested and torn in painful ways, Nash decides he’s had enough.

One solution might be moving away and putting a lot of miles between them. Another might be dealing with the situation head-on. A gun could be part of the equation, but staying away could be equally as effective.

Forgiveness also comes to mind, but Nash hasn’t found that useful. Poking the bear appeals to him more, until it doesn’t.

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An unspoken vision drives him to do good, but not everyone's on board.

My Good Intentions

>> A ranch without cattle, a product almost too big for the world. 9,860 words. Ebook only

Forging a meaningful life with good intentions doesn’t mean you’ll be liked or understood. Influential billionaire Wendell Beks knows that now, and so on his eightieth birthday decides to set the record straight by telling his own story.

 To that end, Wendell harks back thirty-two years to a pivotal lunch with his financial adviser. Their regular meetings in posh Manhattan restaurants are usually quiet affairs, but this meeting steers Beks onto a new and unexpected path.

 The adviser encourages Wendell to spend more time outside New York City and even invest in rural property. The idea resonates with Wendell and before long he’s looking at ranch property in Wyoming.  With an unspoken vision driving him, he sees plenty of ranches he doesn’t want, but finally the agent takes him to the perfect property that’s not even on the market. Until now.

 Wendell and his wife are in the odd position of having no interest in raising cattle on their huge ranch, but he pushes on. His adviser once suggested he could dig up rocks, and so that’s what Wendell does.

 With expert help, he learns of a special mineral deposit on his land and opens a mining operation. Pushed on by his vision, he grows wealthier, but that’s only a byproduct of getting this mineral out into the world.  The important things is how this miracle product helps everyone else.

But not everyone is happy about that. Some people liked their situation better before this simple but profound mineral brightened so many lives. This is what makes Wendell Beks speak out. Trying to hold the line against these dark forces is a battle for all humanity.  The outcome hangs in the balance.

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Tech savvy solves part of the crime, but he has to send out an intelligent spirit to finish the job..

KHONSU AND THE NIGHTSHIFT

>> The challenge for a maverick energy cop in the near future is investigating major power drains from the local utility and figuring out the who, what, why and where of the massive electricity theft. His tech savvy takes him close to the solution, but to finish the job he also needs his own modern version of an Egyptian god. 9,745 words. Ebook only

Kyle Corson is no ordinary policeman. He works the nightshift as an energy cop, and he follows his own rules.

In this exotic urban blend of science fiction, suspense and paranormal, energy is precious, coffee is rare and artificial food is unsurprising.

Corson uses electronic sniffing tools, including some of his own invention, to track down criminals stealing energy. Because of his productivity, he is allowed to work apart from his colleagues. Corson is also different in other ways. He's in touch with the spirit world, and he has a lady friend, Connie Sue, named after the Egyptian god Khonsu.

A day after being chewed out for being late, Corson is offered a major assignment, tracking down huge losses of energy from the city utility. He hears that many others have failed to solve the problem, and now he's been chosen because of his unusual work methods. 

He accepts the challenge, but when ordinary police detecting finds nothing, he hacks into satellites and finally sends out the spirit of Connie Sue to go underground and to protect himself. Since he realizes he's supposed to fail and take the blame for his rogue approach, self-preservation becomes essential.

Corson's relationship with his supervisor, Sergeant Mona Rinner, is respectful but laced with gamesmanship. She can be demanding while also supporting his work. In the end, she might be a friend he can count on.

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Traci's happy Halloween plans fall apart when  a storm strikes and her black cat  escapes.

The Veil Between

>> A missing black cat, a little horror and a very tall matador push the limits for a young wife who just planned a pleasant Halloween evening of handing out candy to kids. The holiday connection aside, this a ghost story that can be enjoyed year around. 8,300 words. Ebook only

When a young woman, Traci, heads out into a Halloween storm to find her escaped black cat, she searches the street with one disappointment after another.

Eventually she reaches a strange and unfamiliar old house where the grandmotherly Millie says she has Carlisle the cat. And there he is.

But all is not right. Millie at first seems friendly but soon turns against Traci. The man of the house, Big Jim, agrees to help Traci  but only on bizarre terms. Standing six feet six with an odd face and eccentric manner, he dresses as a bullfighter to hand out Halloween treats.

Though these two characters who won't let Traci her out of the house, she pulls off a daring and ingenious escape with her cat.

But she returns home shaken and confused, unable to explain much of anything to her husband and toting something odd that’s not at all what she thought.

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Stu has harbored a grudge ever since his massive injuries 22 years ago. Now he has a chance to make his old boss pay, but revenge isn't as simple as he'd imagined.

Such a Cruel Month

>> A mystery novella featuring Stuart Abbleford, who carries a heavy heart and a longstanding grudge against an old boss he'd like to settle with violence. 17,600 words. Ebook only

April might indeed be the cruelest month. Take the case of Stuart Abbleford.

A retired resident of Des Moines, Iowa, Stu has walked at the mall for his winter exercise, but now that April has arrived, he’s ready to stretch his legs in a park with green grass and fresh air.

Stu hears his wife steering him toward a walk around the neighborhood, but he’s bored with that. He also shrugs off the reality that two men have died in the park in recent months. One was a suicide, and the other was a drug dealer who was robbed and murdered. The latter, Stu asserts, just goes with the territory.

So despite old injuries and some creakiness of age, Stu goes to the park for regular exercise. After a few days, he meets a man his age who suggests they once worked together. Neither man figures out the other at first, but on their second meeting the truth comes out. After twenty-two years, Stu has again encountered his nemesis, Tom Lasley.

Stu blames Lasley, his onetime boss, for a work incident that severely injured him, but Lasley doesn’t see it that way and advises Stu that his grudge is doing him more harm than good. After craving revenge for so long, Stu threatens to kill his old boss but lacks the means to murder him that day in the park.

After Lasley flees, Stu digs out his father’s old hunting knives and becomes obsessed with terminating Lasley, whom he now considers only a despicable parasite. As the mission proves more difficult than expected, Stu grows to accept the advice of his wife Kate that the best course is to forgive his old boss. Even so, Stu struggles to let go of his old grudge.

Later in the month, when Lasley is actually stabbed to death, the police turn up the heat on Stu. He insists he’s innocent, but wherever the truth lies, Stu begins to unravel as he tries to sort out what happened and what didn’t.

On the last day of April, Stu finds himself talking to the cops again. A boxed-up pistol on the dining table is one surprise he serves up, but far from the only one.

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What the universe saw.

Now there was a thought that Monica was sure she’d never entertained before.

Not only that, but also what the universe remembered. Was that so strange?

Mrs. Crothers and the Everything Box

>> A paranormal/supernatural novelette that explores a clash of timelines and one woman's extraordinary adventure in trying to sidestep the ordinary. 10,700 words. Ebook only

What if multiple histories and timelines are more than just an interesting theory? And what if some of those timelines intersect in a way that a person is caught between them?

Now, imagine that this person is a thirty-five-year-old woman who thinks of herself as a little too ordinary but is in no way prepared for the extraordinary. Let’s give her a name: Monica Crothers.

Monica is a responsible wife, mother and business executive. She also acquires odd items as a small rebellion against being conventional. This is not an accident. No, Monica puts thought into these items and has developed a well-considered philosophy around them. She appreciates that these oddities want nothing from her, and she thinks they give her balance.

Always on the lookout for new acquisitions, she enjoys the search as much as the items themselves. Toward the end of a long lunch break one September afternoon, she takes up the hunt by venturing into a store she’s never visited before. At first it seems the shop called Melvin’s has nothing special, but then life takes a strange and unexpected turn.

The white-haired shopkeeper understands Monica’s need for something odd and so cajoles her into buying The Everything Box. Although it appears to be a simple wooden item, the box can be a powerful tool in the hands of the right person.

Monica isn’t sure she’s that person, but the wily old shopkeeper picks up on the subtle connection to the box that she felt from the beginning.

Monica avoids showing the box to her office colleagues, but she won’t be able to bypass her husband’s curiosity so easily. Rob, who’s loving and practical, jokes about “Mrs. Crothers” and her collection when she brings home one of her odd items.

The Everything Box reveals history in novel and cinematic ways, and since Monica was a history major in college she at first appreciates a new view of her own life and key moments in the world at large. The more or less traditional historical sections are fascinating, and the personal little videos are benign and comforting.

As the days progress and Monica asks more of The Everything Box, its history lessons veer toward darkness, and soon she finds the box’s personal messages almost too difficult to handle. When she tries to remedy her situation, reality delivers more surprises and history proves to be far more elusive than she’d imagined.

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How can anyone speak of justice when the crime of imprisoning me festers like an old wound, a wound so vile and repulsive that no one but me is willing to acknowledge it?

THE LAST PRISONER

>> Convicted without proof, now a second chance. A mystery novel of justice, love and connections. 68,800 words. Ebook and paperback

Mitch Souder is a black science teacher serving a 25-year term for the murder of a white high school girl. He maintains his innocence and refuses to show remorse for a crime he insists he didn’t commit.

Ten years into his sentence at the age of thirty-eight, Souder learns that his prison has to close because it’s a health hazard. Over several months, inmates are moved to other facilities, but Souder remains. When almost all the cells are empty, the warden tells Souder his fate is different. He becomes the last prisoner.

After thinking his appeals and protests have gone nowhere, Souder gets a second chance. The governor, a former prosecutor, has found problems with Souder’s trial and so had arranged a special kind of parole. If Souder stays out of trouble for ninety days, his sentence will be commuted. If not, he’ll go back to prison.

Souder has two college degrees and would love to teach again, but that’s not the arrangement. Instead, he will be a barber, just as he has been in prison. He needs a job, and this is the offer.

He enjoys his freedom but adjusting is difficult. After his wife left him years ago, he finds a woman to love again but can’t bear to tell her he’s done time. Then there’s the job, which is doable but doesn’t pay enough to keep him afloat, even in his meager studio apartment with its peeling paint. Christmas is coming up fast, and he fears he’ll be laid off and become homeless.

Then two people he thought he could trust offer him a way out. Big money is the payoff, but he’d have to become a criminal to get it. This is Souder’s pivotal moment. After years of maintaining he’s not a killer, would he commit a felony to achieve financial stability and a decent life?

The answer seems to be a simple yes or no, but what if Souder could find a third way? As he deals with real crime, he finds himself involved with law enforcement, a sultry singer, politicians, millionaires and powerful lawyers. Justice is the ultimate prize, if he can seize it.

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More places to buy the ebook.

A lot of things bothered Keegan. So he got rid of them - one by one.

A FINE DEATH

>> A cautionary tale of crime, forceful house cleaning and the wisdom of letting the ex-wife go her own way. 8,100 words. Ebook only

Ed Keegan suddenly gets the urge to clear the clutter in his house. He attacks this buildup of unwanted stuff with aggressive intensity, throwing out all kinds of things while continually seeking more efficient methods.

As beneficial as this clearing out might appear, there are signs from the outset that Keegan’s problem runs deeper than traditional clutter. His wife Chelsie left him a year ago for what he calls an idiot stockbroker. Now Keegan still lives in the house they shared, and he misses her every day.

With the divorce final, Keegan looks for a pathway to a brighter future. He’s not convinced that uncluttering the house will help but he throws himself into the effort. He’s resourceful in finding ways to move out unwanted items, but is easily angered by bumps in the road. People who cross him in even small ways are quickly tagged with harsh labels.

Clearing the clutter rapidly becomes a manic purge as Keegan descends into his self-assigned task with maddening obsession, and though he wants Chelsie back he’s eager to toss out items she gave him or left behind.

Keegan’s shedding of possessions morphs into other troubles, including a fading connection to his job that he can’t hide. Before long, he finds himself adrift from reality and finally does something he thinks will make him whole.

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When he looked up and saw a young woman running out of a house toward the street, his calm state shattered. 

Always such a quiet street

>> A long story, or perhaps a novelette. Whatever the label, this tasty tale of crime runs 10,100 wordsEbook only

A young man finds daily walks along quiet streets enjoyable and rewarding—until he’s forced to stop a threatening gunman.

Ryan, a college senior, has chosen to live away from campus to help prepare himself for a “rough and tumble” life outside the university’s protective cocoon. He just wasn’t expecting his neighborhood strolls to get him mixed up in a death threat.

He jumps into action to prevent harm to Lucy, a young woman only a half dozen years older than himself. As a result, he ends up handling the semi-automatic pistol himself. Shaken by the incident, he steers clear of the street he once thought so peaceful.

Avoiding involvement works well until Ryan happens to cross paths with Lucy at the grocery store. She wants to thank him for saving her life, so invites him to a Saturday night dinner. Despite his misgivings, he accepts. 

Lucy likes fine food, and she has an appetite for a kind of justice that puts Ryan to the test.

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His inclination was to walk, but he studied his client instead.

The Kansas Cross-up

>> A twisted crime novella with a side of romance. 31,000 words. Ebook and paperback

What does a hit man do? He completes assignments — unless something goes wrong.

This is one of those times because it’s anything but right.

Harry Hall kills people for a paycheck. He did it for the government, and now he does civilian contracts for a wealthy Hollywood film investor.

When Hall is sent to his home state of Kansas, the job looks fairly ordinary. But when the target is revealed, he rebels. This is one hit he can’t possibly make.

He’s confused and angry and sets out to find the truth and make his own justice. Then suddenly he realizes he’s been crossed up—he’s not the only hit man in town.

Besides saving his own skin, Hall is forced to decide between a woman in LA he wants to love and a woman in Kansas he could love again.

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He thought traffic was murder. She wanted him to solve a murder.

HOLES IN MY ARMOR

>> A supersized novel of murder, revenge, fragile minds, halting brilliance and bold action. 125,000 words. Ebook and paperback

A truck cuts off Clay Sutler on his Seattle commute, but his complaint only gets him mixed up with Tara and her brilliant, scheming mind.

Clay has a lot in common with Tara, mainly Montana, where his parents died too early and where he never wants to go back. But his hometown is exactly where Tara wants him to go and solve her cousin’s cold case murder.  Now Tara even makes him a suspect in a police database while she chips away at his resistance.

Clay does his best to sidestep Tara’s maneuvers, seductive and otherwise, but he can’t keep his girlfriend Francie out of Tara’s grasp. While he fights for his own stability and leans on a wise inner voice named Doc, questions about Tara’s sanity threaten to undercut his own fragile progress.

Then, one fateful weekend, Tara prevails and the killer emerges in Clay’s Montana town. In a swirl of a secret liaison, family tragedies and cracked football dreams, Clay puts it all together and orchestrates justice in the town he tried to leave behind.

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He went to Denmark for business. Then he saved a life and came back in love.

Smarty Havarti

>> A robust novel of murder, love, spies and Denmark. 111,000 words. Ebook and paperback

Jason Stallings has a job to do, but problems keep coming up.

The American account executive goes to Denmark to fix a thorny business issue, then finds out his trip is much more than a sales call.

Situation:

  • Body in hotel room. Check.
  • Beautiful women. Check.
  • Willful violations of business deal. Check.
  • A spy who doesn't love him. Check.
  • People pretending to be someone else. Check.
  • A whole lot of folks having trouble doing the right thing. Check.

Jason Stallings knows how to do the right thing. Sometimes people cry, but he can be very persuasive, even with the police.

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He knew his digging looked crazy, but he couldn't stop.

Dig

>> A novella of obsession and deadly secrets. 29,500 words. Ebook and paperback

A man can't stop digging holes in the ground and doesn't know why—until at last he comes face to face with deadly secrets.

Jim Lassiter is an intelligent guy who makes his living writing software, but he becomes obsessed with digging, and he just keeps on digging.

When he runs out of places to dig, he finds more land.

It's insane. Or maybe not.

Something traumatic happened to him nine years earlier. He can't remember what. So he keeps digging until he finds the truth. Then he's in real trouble.

He could use some help. Go ahead, grab a shovel.

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When all the dictionaries disappear, Benbrook has to  bring them back.

The dictionary Writer

>>A short story of literary suspense. 5,000 words. Ebook only

In this story of literary suspense, all the English dictionaries in the world disappear, and  Benbrook, a consummate word lover and professor of linguistics, is shaken to the core.

In response to the crisis, the President of the United States appoints a blue-ribbon commission to write a new American dictionary in only one year and names Benbrook to head the team. A quiet academic, Benbrook has never faced such a challenge, but now the world is in his hands.

The situation is rough at first, but he soon answers the call with such startling dexterity that even he barely understands what he's pulled off.

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