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Getting Lucky
When beautiful Bonita Esquivez hires P.I. Clay Webster to find her husband, Lucky, Clay expects an easy missing-person case. But when Bonita bites a poisoned bonbon, more than a quick buck is at stake. Clay needs to establish exactly who Lucky is and determine if his client could be lying to him.
Fifty-five-year-old Clay Webster knows pain; he lost his thirty-year marriage, his son, Sean, and his twenty-eight-year police career. Trying to build a new life, his wit is his weapon, and his humor is his first line of defense against life's assaults. His search for Lucky centers primarily on Lowell, Massachusetts, where he tries to save a drowning teenager in a canal and hires yet another teenager, Denton La Rock Junior, who has been making prank phone calls to his home. Clay looks for links between Lucky and A Touch of Love, the new porn shop in town.
Meanwhile, Senator Carlton Swinburne rails against the city's perceived moral decay, personified in part by ex-cops such as Clay Webster. Perhaps Chantal Ladoute, Clay's old friend the ex-nun, will be his moral gyroscope as he navigates an increasingly dangerous course.
Fifty-five-year-old Clay Webster knows pain; he lost his thirty-year marriage, his son, Sean, and his twenty-eight-year police career. Trying to build a new life, his wit is his weapon, and his humor is his first line of defense against life's assaults. His search for Lucky centers primarily on Lowell, Massachusetts, where he tries to save a drowning teenager in a canal and hires yet another teenager, Denton La Rock Junior, who has been making prank phone calls to his home. Clay looks for links between Lucky and A Touch of Love, the new porn shop in town.
Meanwhile, Senator Carlton Swinburne rails against the city's perceived moral decay, personified in part by ex-cops such as Clay Webster. Perhaps Chantal Ladoute, Clay's old friend the ex-nun, will be his moral gyroscope as he navigates an increasingly dangerous course.
187 pages, Nook
First published March 3, 2009
12 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Bob Sanchez
9 books46 followersTechnical writer and editor for 20 years. Won a national award of excellence from the Society for Technical Communication. Wrote five novels, published the three worth publishing, and working on two more. Served as president of Mesilla Valley Writers and the El Paso Writers' League. Editor of the Internet Review of Books. Write regular book reviews and fiction. Happily married and living in New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 28, 2012
My office is above Robby’s Auto and I feel it is an appropriate place. There is a car graveyard behind the building and Webster Investigations is built on ruined lives.
My wife, Molly had asked for a divorce and right after that I had shot a drug addict. I was on suspension when Patrolman Mike Poirier pushed me past the breaking point and I punched him. I had been a police officer, but had belted him in front of way too many witnesses and was asked for my resignation.
It was Thanksgiving weekend and I figured no one would be coming into the office, so I would try to clean it up a bit. The building left a lot to be desired.
In walked a woman asking for Clayton Webster, that was me. She introduced herself as Bonita Esquivez and told me her husband was missing. He had been gone since last night and she was afraid he may be hurt. Why would she think that?
She pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and asked when I could start. They had come here from Miami, so I couldn’t help but wonder why they would stop here, in Lowell, Massachusetts.
She said a black officer at the precinct had given her my name. I figured that must be Lieutenant Willis Chubb. I picked up a cup of coffee for him and went to his office. He confirmed it was him who sent her. He warned me to be careful with her, you know, the femme fatale are always trouble.
I started with the hotel bartender. His roommate Chicken Man told me he had seen a man hitting on another man’s wife. The man punched him and Chicken Man said he helped him outside. He left him puking by the canal. Could he have fallen in and drowned? When I left, Chicken Man came down right after and jumped in his car, a beat up Volvo. I had seen one when I was with Bonita earlier and looked at the license plate – EJAQL8. I wouldn’t forget that.
I went around asking more questions, but couldn’t find out anything. I went looking along the canal to see if I could find a sign of Lucky. I recognized Choop, from when I was on the force, and yelled for him to wait up. I wanted to talk to him. He was looking down at the canal and I wondered if he saw something. He ran and lost his footing, falling in the canal. The cold water jolted my system as I dove into the canal. He almost strangled me as I tried to save him and I had to knock him out.
My next step would be to check out hotbed motels and the city bars.
Bonita called me to thank me for the box of chocolates, but I told her I didn’t send them. I heard her vomiting, as she was trying to talk to me on the phone. I called the front desk and told them to get up there in a hurry.When I got there, I checked the box. It said, with compliments from Webster Investigations. I could see tiny holes in the bottom of the candies. She wouldn’t let me call the police. I was now really motivated to find Lucky.
Bonita had said her husband might be with his cousin, Carlos Chavez, in Boston. I told her I was headed there and she said not to leave without her. She had to go back to the hotel first. She found that her purse had been ransacked and her gun was missing. Nothing else was touched. I had to find a safe place for her.
I headed to Boston on my own. While I was there, I was knocked out and robbed. I figured someone didn’t want me to find Chavez.
I found out Bonita had lied to me. No big surprise there. Bonita had told me Lucky was in the jewelry business, but I found out he was dealing in porn. Bonita had sent me to the warehouse where I was attacked. Bonita had been out at 2:00 am. What does she really want from me?
3 STARS – Would Recommend To Others
I liked the cover. Anything with water and vibrant colors catches my attention. The title is appropriate and could have more than one meaning.
The book was detailed and well written. The storyline was easy to follow. I always like these kinds of books. No big surprises.
The femme fatale, as usual, lies and can never be trusted. You don’t know who or what to believe.
Lucky was scum, abusing his wife and stepchild. The plot dealt with the seedy parts of life. How low could someone go? Lucky was pretty low. Who cared if he died?
The blurb caught my attention because of Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts. They are places very familiar to me and I am always drawn to a book that has a location I know.
Getting Lucky Bob Sanchez
My wife, Molly had asked for a divorce and right after that I had shot a drug addict. I was on suspension when Patrolman Mike Poirier pushed me past the breaking point and I punched him. I had been a police officer, but had belted him in front of way too many witnesses and was asked for my resignation.
It was Thanksgiving weekend and I figured no one would be coming into the office, so I would try to clean it up a bit. The building left a lot to be desired.
In walked a woman asking for Clayton Webster, that was me. She introduced herself as Bonita Esquivez and told me her husband was missing. He had been gone since last night and she was afraid he may be hurt. Why would she think that?
She pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and asked when I could start. They had come here from Miami, so I couldn’t help but wonder why they would stop here, in Lowell, Massachusetts.
She said a black officer at the precinct had given her my name. I figured that must be Lieutenant Willis Chubb. I picked up a cup of coffee for him and went to his office. He confirmed it was him who sent her. He warned me to be careful with her, you know, the femme fatale are always trouble.
I started with the hotel bartender. His roommate Chicken Man told me he had seen a man hitting on another man’s wife. The man punched him and Chicken Man said he helped him outside. He left him puking by the canal. Could he have fallen in and drowned? When I left, Chicken Man came down right after and jumped in his car, a beat up Volvo. I had seen one when I was with Bonita earlier and looked at the license plate – EJAQL8. I wouldn’t forget that.
I went around asking more questions, but couldn’t find out anything. I went looking along the canal to see if I could find a sign of Lucky. I recognized Choop, from when I was on the force, and yelled for him to wait up. I wanted to talk to him. He was looking down at the canal and I wondered if he saw something. He ran and lost his footing, falling in the canal. The cold water jolted my system as I dove into the canal. He almost strangled me as I tried to save him and I had to knock him out.
My next step would be to check out hotbed motels and the city bars.
Bonita called me to thank me for the box of chocolates, but I told her I didn’t send them. I heard her vomiting, as she was trying to talk to me on the phone. I called the front desk and told them to get up there in a hurry.When I got there, I checked the box. It said, with compliments from Webster Investigations. I could see tiny holes in the bottom of the candies. She wouldn’t let me call the police. I was now really motivated to find Lucky.
Bonita had said her husband might be with his cousin, Carlos Chavez, in Boston. I told her I was headed there and she said not to leave without her. She had to go back to the hotel first. She found that her purse had been ransacked and her gun was missing. Nothing else was touched. I had to find a safe place for her.
I headed to Boston on my own. While I was there, I was knocked out and robbed. I figured someone didn’t want me to find Chavez.
I found out Bonita had lied to me. No big surprise there. Bonita had told me Lucky was in the jewelry business, but I found out he was dealing in porn. Bonita had sent me to the warehouse where I was attacked. Bonita had been out at 2:00 am. What does she really want from me?
3 STARS – Would Recommend To Others
I liked the cover. Anything with water and vibrant colors catches my attention. The title is appropriate and could have more than one meaning.
The book was detailed and well written. The storyline was easy to follow. I always like these kinds of books. No big surprises.
The femme fatale, as usual, lies and can never be trusted. You don’t know who or what to believe.
Lucky was scum, abusing his wife and stepchild. The plot dealt with the seedy parts of life. How low could someone go? Lucky was pretty low. Who cared if he died?
The blurb caught my attention because of Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts. They are places very familiar to me and I am always drawn to a book that has a location I know.
Getting Lucky Bob Sanchez
April 27, 2009
I'm the author.
April 14, 2020
I read this book ages ago and just re-read it recently... it's such a great story, told so well. Against a backdrop of one of Massachusetts' old mill cities, Lowell, Sanchez tells a straightforward PI story that's a fun and fast read. Clay Webster, a recently divorced former cop, is now a P.I. working out of a rat-infested office (owned by his slumlord son—just the start of Sanchez's quirky and memorable characters). Clay is hired by a beautiful client to find her missing husband, though it doesn't take him long to realize that her goal is something different altogether. I love reading books set in places I know, and having lived in Lowell for a number of years, I re-discovered the city afresh through Sanchez's eyes and prose. A delightful time.
July 27, 2023
Good Read!
January 9, 2012
I was born and raised in Lowell, Mass where this story takes place. The cover depicts what were the textile mills along the Merrimack River.
Welcome to the historic side of Lowell, Mass with its converted old textile mills and its canal system that runs along the Merrimack River. Then meet Clay Webster, recently divorced ex Lowell cop, now P.I. working out of a rat-infested office compliments of his slumlord son who owns a lot of Lowell property.
His first client is femme fatale Bonita Esquivez who is looking for her husband Lucky who went downstairs the previous night at the hotel for a nightcap and hadn’t returned.
In “Getting Lucky,” you will find yourself in bars, restaurants, Belvidere and The Acre. Belvidere and The Acre are two of the many sections of Lowell. Belvidere being middle class while The Acre is for those with less income, often people from other countries. Among these are the Cambodians such as Choop and his friend Vandy (Speed Ball) Neak).
Clay’s been getting slightly threatening prank calls so gets himself set up with caller ID.
It’s really a good story. Too bad the author didn’t think this book would stand on its own without the sex talk and sex scene. I still enjoyed the book however because Sanchez does a remarkable job depicting those areas of Lowell.
Welcome to the historic side of Lowell, Mass with its converted old textile mills and its canal system that runs along the Merrimack River. Then meet Clay Webster, recently divorced ex Lowell cop, now P.I. working out of a rat-infested office compliments of his slumlord son who owns a lot of Lowell property.
His first client is femme fatale Bonita Esquivez who is looking for her husband Lucky who went downstairs the previous night at the hotel for a nightcap and hadn’t returned.
In “Getting Lucky,” you will find yourself in bars, restaurants, Belvidere and The Acre. Belvidere and The Acre are two of the many sections of Lowell. Belvidere being middle class while The Acre is for those with less income, often people from other countries. Among these are the Cambodians such as Choop and his friend Vandy (Speed Ball) Neak).
Clay’s been getting slightly threatening prank calls so gets himself set up with caller ID.
It’s really a good story. Too bad the author didn’t think this book would stand on its own without the sex talk and sex scene. I still enjoyed the book however because Sanchez does a remarkable job depicting those areas of Lowell.
January 2, 2014
If you like your private detectives cynical, hard ridden, with a tarnished past, but are also hard hitting, hard living, and hard working, then Clay Webster is the man for the job.
Bob Sanchez's Getting Lucky is set in an old New England mill town called Lowell, Massachusetts. The pace is quick as Clay is hired by the beautiful and charming Bonita Esquivez to find her missing husband, Lucky Esquivez. Clay begins to suspect that she really isn't interested her husband being found. The search introduces Clay to an interesting cast of characters that seem as seedy as the parts of Lowell that they are found. If that's not enough, Clay tries to reconcile a love triangle between his client and Chantal Ladoute, an old friend and ex-nun, while comforting his lesbian ex-wife.
Bob Sanchez's humor and wit will keep you laughing and turning the page as he leads you through twists and turns. Will P.I. Webster ever get Lucky? Yes, but not like you'd expect.
Bob Sanchez's Getting Lucky is set in an old New England mill town called Lowell, Massachusetts. The pace is quick as Clay is hired by the beautiful and charming Bonita Esquivez to find her missing husband, Lucky Esquivez. Clay begins to suspect that she really isn't interested her husband being found. The search introduces Clay to an interesting cast of characters that seem as seedy as the parts of Lowell that they are found. If that's not enough, Clay tries to reconcile a love triangle between his client and Chantal Ladoute, an old friend and ex-nun, while comforting his lesbian ex-wife.
Bob Sanchez's humor and wit will keep you laughing and turning the page as he leads you through twists and turns. Will P.I. Webster ever get Lucky? Yes, but not like you'd expect.
January 21, 2012
Free on Kindle
March 21, 2013
This guy is an indie writer, as good as any New York published. He has several novels out. I liked When Pigs Fly better, but this one is still a winner.
December 11, 2012
Pretty good mystery. A little too many tangents, turns and twists to make it believable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews