Stone Rain

Zack Walker #4

by Linwood Barclay

Metropolitan newspaper writer Zack Walker has a knack for stumbling onto deadly stories. But it's one that his good friend Trixie Snelling doesn't want told that's about to unleash a storm of trouble.

As a professional dominatrix in the suburbs, Trixie has her share of secrets, but Zack has no idea what she's really hiding when a local newspaperman threatens to do an exposé on her; not until Zack finds a dead body strapped to the bondage cross in her basement dungeon.

Now Zack is implicated in a murder, Trixie is missing, and everything he thought he knew about his friend, his town, even his own marriage, reveals a darker side. Zack's twisted trail to the truth will lead to a long-unsolved triple homicide, bikers, drug wars, and a stone-cold killer hell-bent on revenge. It's a story that's already cost him his job and possibly his wife, and, if Zack's not very lucky, it will cost him his life.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Canada, Suspense

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Linwood Barclay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of seventeen novels for adults, including No Time for Goodbye, Trust Your Eyes and, most recently, A Noise Downstairs. He has also written two novels for children and screenplays.
Three of those seventeen novels comprise the epic Promise Falls trilogy: Broken Promise, Far From True, and The Twenty-Three. His two novels for children – Chase and Escape – star a computer-enhanced dog named Chipper who’s on the run from the evil organization that turned him into a super-pup.
Barclay’s 2011 thriller, The Accident, has been turned into the six-part television series L’Accident in France, and he adapted his novel Never Saw it Coming for the movie, directed by Gail Harvey and starring Eric Roberts and Emily Hampshire. Several of his other books either have been, or still are, in development for TV and film.
After spending his formative years helping run a cottage resort and trailer park after his father died when he was 16, Barclay got his first newspaper job at the Peterborough Examiner, a small Ontario daily. In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper.
He held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, and Life section editor, before becoming the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. He was one of the paper’s most popular columnists before retiring from the position in 2008 to work exclusively on books.
In 2004, he launched his mystery series about an anxiety-ridden, know-it-all, pain-in-the-butt father by the name of Zack Walker. Bad Move, the first book, was followed by three more Zack Walker thrillers: Bad Guys, Lone Wolf, and Stone Rain. (The last two were published in the UK under the titles Bad Luck and Bad News.)
His first standalone thriller, No Time for Goodbye, was published in 2007 to critical acclaim and great international success. The following year, it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read selection in the UK, and did seven straight weeks at #1 on the UK bestseller list, and finished 2008 as the top selling novel of the year there. The book has since been sold around the world and been translated into nearly thirty languages.
Barclay was born in the United States but moved to Canada just before turning four years old when his father, a commercial artist whose illustrations of cars appeared in Life, Look and Saturday Evening Post (before photography took over), accepted a position with an advertising agency north of the border. Barclay, who graduated with an English literature degree from Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met when she served as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring detective Lew Archer. It was at Trent that he met Neetha, the woman who would become his wife. They have two grown children, Spencer and Paige.

Reviews

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable series

I liked this early series by Linwood Barclay. I think this last one was my favorite; definitely kept my interest and was funny in spots. Trixie became an interesting character and it was fast paced. One piece of advice that I learned the hard way: don’t read about Merker’s habit while you are eating lunch!!!!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Move, Bad Guys, and Bad Luck all sucked me deep into the Zack Walker mysteries, yet my most anticipated of the book was Bad News. We’ve been building towards this book throughout the first three, being introduced to everyone and watching as things grow. With Bad News, however, we finally got something related to a side character I had come to adore.

Fortunately, Linwood Barclay did not disappoint with this final Zack Walker mystery. As with all the books in the series, this one sucked me in deep and refused to let go. I was turning the pages at a rapid pace, unable to put the book down until I knew how everything played out. I adored the story and the characters, I adored the mystery and drama, and I was left with one single thought at the end – please, Linwood Barclay, come back to Zack Walker and his misfortune at some point in the future. Sure, I enjoy Linwood Barclay’s other work, but Zack Walker is going to hold a special place in my heart from here on out.

Like the prior books, Bad News brings plenty to the table. In fact, I feel as though this one brought the most. We’ve always had fun characters, an interesting crime, wonderfully interwoven plot points, and dark humour – however, Bad News delivers all of this in abundance and then some more. This one has that little bit extra, making it go the extra mile, making it an even more powerful book than the other three books in the series.

I think what I loved so much about this one was the plot. Sure, I adored the things I have loved so much throughout – namely the characters and humour – yet the plot in this one delivered even more. It is such an intricate story, taking us back and forth, proving us with details that come together in a wonderful way. As much as I adored the criminal aspect of the book – and it was wonderful, keeping me gripped to see how everything played out – I also adored the drama. We’ve watched the characters grow throughout the series, and this one is an accumulation of all that has happened throughout the prior books. Reading the series back to back allowed me to really appreciate the drama that occurred throughout this book, both that related to the criminal aspect of the story and the more general life drama.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Zack Walker mysteries are great books, with Bad News being my favourite. I now believe it is time for me to play catch up and read those few Linwood Barclay books I have yet to read.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did it, I finished the entire series and it was a really fun read. I absolutely love Zack Walker, yes he is kind of an asshole, but his heart is in the right place. He's constantly putting others ahead of himself, which ends up getting him into a lot of trouble throughout this one. His marriage was definitely a little shaky, but you see their love for each other which was really good to see. There were a lot of moments that had me laughing out loud, especially where he states that the most adventurous thing they'll be doing in the future is a trip to Home Depot. The ending was okay, but it definitely left me wondering about what comes next for the Walker family. Which I will probably never find out, unless there is a fifth one in the works.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4th book by Linwood Barclay in the Zack Walker series. I have now finished all the books in this series and found these early Linwood Barclay books very entertaining and an enjoyable read. This series of books are slightly different from the latter books by Linwood Barclay in that they are more humorous and lighter.If you have read the previous 3 books you find the characters well developed and easy to follow. I enjoyed this book and now look forward to the next Linwood Barclay novel.

[Jennifer Ayliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realized it was a 4th book in a series, but nothing lost not reading the others. Fast moving, good plot twists, and I really enjoyed it.

[Dawn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final book in the series action packed and think I will miss Zack Walker

[itchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

titular sentence:
p245: Inmates getting bad news, of one kind or another, had to be a pretty regular occurrence.

?:
p12: It's just that I'm the kind of guy who panics if he hasn't paid his parking ticket on time.

p142: A waitress with big hair, lots of lipstick, and, I had to admit, a rather spectacularly engineered figure smiled at Cherry like he was a regular and showed us to a table.

What a way to end the series!

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barclay blends mystery and humor, that Carl Hiaasen would approve of.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing. The book began with a pretty strong concept and what seemed to be a sympathetic protagonist in Zack Walker. Unfortunately, as the chapters pile on, Zack becomes more of a bumbling idiot that only seems to get himself and those close to him deeper in the hole with every passing sentence. I went from liking him to mostly being annoyed.

His former neighbor, whom he knows as Trixie, is actually a much stronger and more interesting character. The plot really revolves around her, which is a blessing. However, I couldn’t help thinking that Barclay was trying too hard to be funny in order to offset some rather dark criminals who were a threat to Trixie and, by default, Zack. The black humor never made it past a sort of perverse slapstick, as the plot went from plausible to ridiculous. Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but this goes way beyond that.

I’ve only read one other novel by this author and was impressed enough to come back for more. I can sense that he’s got the skill, but am less certain of that now. Will probably give him another go down the road to be sure. A decent 3 star read, but there’s better by far.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zack Walker is a brilliant character a funny guy and Linwood Barclay has left me wanting more. I loved this series and book four ended Zach's dangerous escapades. A writer of science fiction novels turned reporter at the Metropolitan under an editor who happens to be his wife somehow ends up in trouble by chance. A friend from his previous neighbourhood, a dominatrix, gets herself caught up in murder and mayhem and Zach tries to help and a few murders later.......

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linwood Barclay is one of the best writers I’ve read. Any series, old or new, keeps me entertained from beginning to end. This old series is no different. More of a mystery than his newer thrillers it’s a fast paced quick read where you are always gunning for the journalist to come out on top. And his family to remain safe from harm. I wish Barclay wrote books faster :)

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like my heroes to be quite so wussy. He was pretty smart but physically he couldn't defend himself. This was my first Zack Walker book and I can say that it didn't make me want to go back and read the previous three.

[William Kozy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Linwood Barclay's books. I like them and all, and yes, I even like this one, but I would rank it squarely in last place on my list of his books, of which I have read 23. This one is the final book of his 4-book Zach Walker series, which were the first thrillers he wrote. You can tell he was getting his feet wet as he plunged into the genre, not yet sharpening his great skill in the domestic thriller sub-genre. Indeed, his writing improved right after he finished these four initial books, all following a writer named Zach Walker who has a penchant for getting mixed up in adventures, that put him and his wife and two teenage children in danger. He almost can't help himself. But it's to Barclay's credit, that the incremental steps and decisions Zach makes that lead him down the many rabbit holes of misadventure were either with the best of intentions, a sense of right and wrong. Which perhaps creates a nice sense of irony for readers of this series. Nevertheless, in these four books he ever so slightly started to learn the trick of ending a chapter with a jaw-dropper that compels you to keep reading. Eventually he would perfect the tactic in his post-Zach Walker novels, but in the Walker books he's not quite as good or consistent with that skill.

The dry with is there though, for which many of his later characters capture with dialogue, but also triggers a laugh in you as you read his descriptions of scenarios and character mindsets. He is a funny writer.

But what bothered me most about this book, placing it last on my list, were A. some overworked descriptions of his villains, and B. a situation that crops off sometimes in movies and books where the question arises, "Um...why don't they call the police?"

With regard to the villains, Mr. Barclay overdoes one character's penchant for picking his nose. He mentions so often in the book, you get to a point where you feel, "yeah yeah, I get it he always picks his nose, and I'm sure you keep reminding us because it's going to have a payoff." And sure enough, it does. But damn, it's not really believable how often he does and the complete absence of his obliviousness to the social situations he does it in. And no explanation as to why--a coke habit? A rash? Disease? Who knows. And there's another trio of villainesses that are a little hard to believe. Short, Russian-accented unattractive women, a mother and her twin daughters all of whom are built like tanks apparently. But short, so I'm not so sure how physically over-powering they could really be.

And then that nagging plot snag: Why not call the police. For a while during the climax you can go with it, our lead character is being held as a hostage by a bad guy who has a gun. Okay. BUT...then the plot takes a turn in which another character is compelled to take part, unwillingly in the scheme to impersonate someone else in order to fool a bank. And it's at that point where I felt like, "Oh come on, why not call the police at this point while fulfilling a part of the scheme that leaves you unseen by the bad guy, ergo able to call the police, the FBI, and whoever else you can think of. Explain the situation to the authorities and they'll rush to the scene, covertly and all that, and that's that. Sigh.

[Lulu Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3

[Derek]

Won't read, won't rate...

First, we have a married couple working for a metropolitan newspaper where he reports directly to her. I'm sure it happens, but not often, because employers of any size don't let spouses report to each other - it's a recipe for disaster. Then, we have the managing director forcing the reporter to give up his sources and notes to a senior reporter: I'm certain that almost never happens, because you can't keep employees if you treat them that way. Finally, when we reached the point where she is prepared to sacrifice their relationship for a promotion - which I'm certain does happen - I decided I wasn't interested enough in the characters to read the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final installment in the Zack Walker series. The last book was left in a cliffhanger, so we finally find out what Trixie wanted to tell Zack. Since Trixie has been in all the previous books, I enjoyed finally hearing about her background. She ends up pulling Zack in to her drama, putting Zack and his family in danger yet again.

I enjoyed this series, mostly because Zack is a humorous character that ends up always finding himself in dangerous situations. If you read it, definitely start with the first book since each book builds upon the one before it.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zack is asked to help a friend and gets much more than he bargained for. Trixie sees two men who scare her to the point she runs away leaving Zach with a dead body and no clue how to pick up the pieces.
An excellent series! (I am sad this is the last one *fingers crossed, hoping there are many more).

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the character, Zach Walker, and his family. This was an easy enjoyable mystery, with a little humor added in. I could have done without the frequent and repeated descriptions of nose picking though...,

[Donna Siebold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zack's former neighbor Trudy needs his help. A local reporter wants to do a story on her and she wants Zack to help her dissuade him. Zack tells her he can't help but he does agree to attend a meeting between her and the reporter. When Trudy fails to show up things get off to a rocky start.

This gets even rockier when Zack's boss calls him on the carpet for his actions and demotes him to writing in the Home! section of the paper. Then Trudy's picture appears in the paper. She is frantic about this and promises to explain all to Zack. He agrees to meet her at her house, but once there, they find a dead body in her basement.

Trudy handcuffs Zack to the railing and runs off taking his car. She does kindly call Zack's wife who comes to his rescue. Not without Zack paying a steep price in a hit on her faith in him.

Things go downhill from there. Zack ends up getting fired - well - put on leave and his wife gets demoted to his former position in the Home! section. Zack figures out why Trudy is afraid and manages to locate her. This is unfortunate because the police are tracking Zack and quickly arrest Trudy.

Trudy was running from a former boss from whom she had stolen $500,000. He kidnaps Zack and ropes his wife into helping him recover some portion of his money. Again, Zack is faced with a terrible dilemma and barely escapes with his life, but the bad guys are foiled and Zack is back with his family again.

This is likely the last of the Zack Walker novels as it has been several years since it was published and it doesn't seem as if a new one is on the horizon. It is a shame, the crimes are interesting, the crooks are crazy and Zack is a likeable asshole (to quote him). However, the relationship between Zack and his wife is unlikely to survive another of his inept attempts to get to the truth and loosing that relationship would change the tenor of these stories in a very negative way.

[Patricia Francke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mauvaise influence
Dernier roman de cette quadrilogie que je ferme avec un soupçon de nostalgie. J’ai l’impression de quitter des amis, un peu comme si je déménageais. (C’est marrant, parce que justement, je déménage) Zack est ses mamies étranges et insupportables et ses idées tordues encore plus insupportables. Trixie, la fouetteuse d’hommes qui ne couche pas mais règle, dans le cadre de sa profession, ses comptes avec la gente masculine, Sarah, la femme de Zack qui arrive à supporter les mauvais plans de son mari. Angie et Paul, leurs deux enfants, adolescents que l’on voit grandir au fil des livres. Sans oublier, Lawrence, ex-flic, devenu détective privé, black, homo et amateur de jazz.
Quatre romans, drôles et haletants, et de nombreux personnages qui déjà me manquent. Un rythme précipité et des mauvaises passes à chaque fin de chapitre qui nous font nous inquiéter pour Zack. “Mais comment va-t'il se sortir de là?” ou encore “Sarah va-t-elle lui pardonner cette mauvaise blague ou ce nouveau mensonge?” Après, reconnaissons que les blagues sont là pour lui servir de leçon et lui apprendre les dangers de ce monde et les mensonges pour la protéger. Enfin, c’est du moins, l’avis de Zack.
Les méchants des quatre romans ne sont pas en reste. De Barbie au Morveux qui ne portent pas ces surnoms pour rien, mais aux motifs qui m’ont fait mourir de rire, on peut dire qu’ils sont haut en couleur.
Alors au-revoir Zack et peut-être à dans 10 ans, car oui, c’est la seconde fois déjà que je lis cette quadrilogie. Il faut dire qu’elle me fait rire et que j’aime beaucoup le style fluide, rythmé et l’humour de Linwood Barclay.

[stix_antics · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few weeks ago, in an effort to read the works of Canadian author Linwood Barclay in chronological order, I borrowed a book called BAD GUYS - the author's debut novel - from my public library. It detailed the life of Zack Walker, whose attempts to make everything safe for his family led to even more danger and chaos. Now, having completed STONE RAIN, I have also finished the Zack Walker series that Barclay started his career with.

STONE RAIN was an entertaining novel, and some of the skills that Barclay would use later on in his writing career are obvious here. It also has some unpredictable elements that reminded me of who the author of this book was (especially after reading LONE WOLF, which was unfortunately very predictable). This book deals with the side character of Trixie Snelling, the main character's former neighbour and a dominatrix, whose secrets are revealed when Zack finds the body of a reporter, who had been trying to nose into Trixie's career, stuck on her bondage cross with his throat sliced open. Not only must Zack convince the police that Trixie is innocent, but he also has to find her - without being caught by other dangerous people who are interested in her whereabouts.

I am going to miss Zack Walker and his family - side-note: what the hell happened to his brother? After being revealed to exist in LONE WOLF, he wasn't even mentioned here - but am glad that I had the experience to read about their wacky adventures.

And so concludes the Zack Walker Series by Linwood Barclay.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems the Zack Walker series has gotten darker with each entry, I thought Lone Wolf was dark, but this one, WOW, Linwood Barclay certainly knows how to change the tone!

Stone Rain picks up right after the events of , where Zack Walker barely escaped with his life. Once again Zack finds trouble when he is approached by his old neighbor Trixie Snelling, who is in a certain trouble of her own. Zack knows Trixie has a career as a professional dominatrix, so he doesn't really known how he can be of help. He calls it off when a rival reporter threatens to write a story on Trixie, and then to make matters worse, the reporter is found dead in Trixie's basement.

Now Trixie is on the run from the authorities, leaving Zack to pick up the pieces. He soon realizes that Trixie is not who she ever claimed to be, and he has no choice but to uncover the truth, leading to unsolved triple homicide, drug deakers, and a vicious biker gang. The stakes have never been higher for Zack, these events have already cost him his job, and not only his life, but also his family's life.

A fitting conclusion to the Zack Walker series, this was a fun read, a great starting point for Linwood Barclay!

[Laraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 - 4 1/2 stars. This is the fourth and last book in the Zack Walker series and it was another quick and fun read. Zack is trying to help his friend Trixie Snelling, the dominatrix, with a problem. A local newspaper guy is trying to tell her story and take her picture. And that is the one thing that Trixie doesn't want to happen. She was involved with some very heavy guys who were in a motorcycle gang years before and she had to run for her life. And when she ran, she took a lot of their money, and she knows that if they find her it won't be good. When Zack finds a dead body in her basement and it is the newspaperman, Trixie is arrested on suspicion of murder. If that's not enough, the bad guys have seen her photo and know where she lives and they want their money. Zack's son Paul gets a part time job and discovers that all is not it seems there and soon those folks are also after our hero Zack. This was quite a rollicking adventure and a perfect ending of an easy reading and fun series.

[Oriana Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

And just like that the Zack Walker saga concludes. I gave this book 3 stars because it wasn’t as good as the first two, but it was better than the third. I think I made a mistake in reading these books one after the other, because by the time I read this book, I had started getting a little bit bored of the genre. The first 100 pages were slow to start, but I persevered. There were definitely twists and turns, and a few things that did make me audibly gasp. I really do love Linwood Barclays writing style. But this book didn’t amaze me, it wasn’t as great as the others. This book also featured passages from a female characters perspective which was very different to the other books, but did make sense given the context of this book. To conclude, I think what made the first two books that bit more enjoyable was his family and children being more present. I think I will definitely still read Linwood Barclay books, and I’m glad to have completed this saga.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought book 3 at a charity book sale, not realising it was book 3 of a 4 book set. I enjoyed that so much, I bought book 4, Bad News, as I wanted to know what happened to Zack Walker next. I loved Zack, flaws and all! This raced along at a terrific pace, poor Zack getting deeper and deeper in trouble with thugs, just by trying to help a friend. Just when I thought he’d made a clever move, there was another unexpected twist and poor Zack was back in bother. I’m so gripped by the authors brilliant plots and his totally believable characters, that I’m having to approach this all wrong - I’m now buying book 1, to see how it all started and book 2 to see how he got into the pickle he got into in book 3! My advice - if you like fast paced, cleverly plotted thrillers, with believable characters and lots of twists and turns, with humour mixed in, start with book 1. Don’t do as I did and start in the middle - I believe you’ll enjoy the 4 books all the more.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Metropolitan newspaper writer Zack Walker has a knack for stumbling onto deadly stories. But it's one that his good friend Trixie Snelling doesn't want told that's about to unleash a storm of trouble.

As a professional dominatrix in the suburbs, Trixie has her share of secrets, but Zack has no idea what she's really hiding when a local newspaperman threatens to do an exposé on her; not until Zack finds a dead body strapped to the bondage cross in her basement dungeon.

Now Zack is implicated in a murder, Trixie is missing, and everything he thought he knew about his friend, his town, even his own marriage, reveals a darker side. Zack's twisted trail to the truth will lead to a long-unsolved triple homicide, bikers, drug wars, and a stone-cold killer hell-bent on revenge. It's a story that's already cost him his job and possibly his wife, and, if Zack's not very lucky, it will cost him his life."

[Phil Princey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, I really loved this book! Loved his other book too, Trust Your Eyes. That's why I picked this one up. was attracted by the cover and that it is a series. This book I believe is number 4 in the series of Zach Walker mysteries.

Very different from Trust Your Eyes, yet still has his style you know it's got to be good. What I liked is, firstly his writing is excellent; it's really funny but has the edge of suspension of a crime novel; the lead character -reporter, loving husband and father-somehow gets himself into all sorts of messes that is serious but also hilarious; and all the characters are fantastic.

I have a stack of books ready to read but I feel like starting straight away on the first of this series, 'Bad Move'(#2 Bad Guys. #3 Bad Luck). Hmmmm at least very soon. must check the libraries if they have it.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great character and name for the main character--Zach Walker. I really like this main character, and maybe I should have read the other books in this series before reviewing this one, but I didn't. One problem I have with Barclay's characters are distracting names like Trixie, a prostitute of course, but the name Barclay chose for her annoyed me from the start in this story. I cringed every time I read Trixie, though there were plenty of things to like about this story-- the humor, characters, plot twist--these always keep me reading. Overall this was a good book but the character names and his stereotype--the prostitute with a good heart type of character make it seem like Barclay was in a hurry to finish the book.

[Jennifer Bolton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after moving away from the suburbs of Oakwood, Zack Walker has continued his friendship with dominatrix Trixie Snelling. When a local newspaperman threatens to do an expose on her, Trixie asks Zack to intervene, which just ends up getting him into trouble at work and at home. Then the body of the newspaper reporter is found in Trixie's basement and Detective Flint figures Trixie is the guilty party. Zack's quest to help out his friend leads to a series of events that puts him into even hotter water at work and at home as he learns Trixie's secrets go deeper than he ever imagined.
In Stone Rain, Barclay leads the reader on another humorous adventure with hapless Zack Walker that is sure to entertain. Great series.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this final book in the Zack Walker series. It picked up where the previous book finished, with Zack finding out about the trouble that Trixie had mentioned.
Another journalist has found out what Trixie does for a living, and wants to run a story. Trixie doesn't want publicity as she is worried that it will lead to the reveal of more than just her current secrets.
Zack tries to be a friend, although there is little that he can do when a fellow journalist has a legitimate story, and ends up causing himself and his wife Sarah problems at work. And that's before he's found in a basement with a dead man!
Zack proves his investigative skills as he searches for Trixie and uncovers the secrets of her past, but will he survive long enough to be any use to anyone?