Hard Sell: A Thomas Price Mystery

by J.W. Bouchard

When a morally ambiguous real estate agent who moonlights as an amateur private detective lists a property for a client whose identity is shrouded in mystery, he unwittingly takes on his first murder case, putting himself at the center of a much larger conspiracy.

Thomas Price is a successful real estate agent trying to put his life back together after a nasty divorce and custody battle over his 13-year-old daughter. He’s on the rebound and no slouch with the ladies, which is good news for someone who can’t stand being alone. When he receives a call from a mysterious stranger asking him to list a house, Price thinks it’s business as usual, until he discovers the property is the site of a recent homicide and the people behind it will keep the circumstances surrounding it a secret at all costs. Meanwhile, a new love interest convinces him to investigate a stolen property case, and Price is a sucker when beautiful women are involved.

Ridiculous theories abound, from drugs to guns to priceless artifacts, and the nosy neighbors each have their own unique version of the truth. Aided by a small-town cop and his trans forensic toxicologist wife, Price soon finds himself embroiled in two one that could mean losing his girlfriend, and the second that might cost him his life.

Genres: Mystery

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2026

About the author

J.W. Bouchard is the author of over twenty novels spanning horror, mystery, and science fiction. He also cowrote the screenplay for Toxin, a film starring Danny Glover. When he’s not writing stories that pull readers into the dark, the strange, and the unknown, he’s exploring them firsthand—spelunking underground or scuba diving below the surface.

In the past, he has been a grocery bagger, waiter, hearing aid consultant, promotional products salesman, telemarketer, janitor, security guard, law enforcement officer, treatment facility supervisor, healthcare fraud investigator, business manager, and serial entrepreneur. He is a licensed real estate broker and a formerly licensed private investigator.

His latest hobby is teaching his kids bad habits. He lives in Iowa.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this eBook in a Goodreads giveaway. Thank You J.W. Bouchard for sending me this eBook.
This is book 1 in the Thomas Price series and the first book that I have read by J.W. Bouchard.
Thomas Price is a 43 year old realtor. He is divorced from his ex wife, Cheryl. They have joint custody of their daughter, Harper.
He gets a phone call, asking him to list a house for sale. The man calling him identifies himself as John Smith. Smith tells him that that someone was murdered in the house, which may be a problem trying to sell it. Price agrees to accept the listing. Smith sends the necessary documents via email, and the owner is listed as Van Laargen Holdings LLC.
Priced soon realizes that the house has a reputation, as shady people kidnap him to force him into letting them search for something left behind by the victim.
How he manages to survive, start a romantic relationship, and care for his daughter makes for a well paced thriller with a satisfactory ending.
I rate it 4 stars.
Cross posted on Amazon and Storygraph.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

This is a bit of an odd book. Pretty much every character is a jerk, but we're supposed to give the protagonist a pass because he sleeps with a Black girl. Well, so did Strom Thurmond.

Anyway, somebody stole some seat covers from the girl. The sleuth, a realtor iwth a PI liscense, finds out who did it with minimal effort.

Then he gets a call to sell a house for a mysterious client. Turns out, there was a murder in the house, and the theory the cops have doesn't hold water. In fact, cops are pretty much useless for the whole book.

On the whole, I found myself hoping the sleuth got himself a beat down the whole time. The other characters weren't any better.

[Danis Miller-Bucholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and to GoodReads - I was gifted a copy of this novel through a GoodReads Give-A-Way. Unfortunately, this mystery novel didn't live up to the hype of the blurb. It took me a while to finish this book because I just didn't find myself interested in the characters or invested in the plot. The premise here is interesting - the idea of a former cop, turned real estate agent who also has private detective credentials. The set up sounds interesting, but the description, characterization, dialogue, details, pacing and plot all tend to fall flat for me. Parts of this novel reminded me of texts I've read that have been generated by AI - just some parts seemed almost artificial or too factual/literal level. I don't want to give too much away about the plot, but it involves a small theft of car seat covers, which is where the protagonist somewhat displays his skills as a private detective, I guess, and then his for sale listing of a run down house where a murder occurred. There's a bit of a mystery involving the house - I won't say more than that - but no suspense and no real clear ending. The main character was not very likable and the other characters were not especially well developed. I didn't find myself caring much about any of it. I know this author has written other novels and I haven't read any of those, but this one did not appeal to me.

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder house

This was a very suspenseful mystery. It definitely held my interest all the way through. Thomas Price is a realtor and when he gets a call to list and sell a house there are all kinds of alarm bells going off for him. The house and the company that owned the house had all kinds of secrets that put him n danger. He is divorced and he is navigating the dating scene as well as trying to nuture his relationship with his teenage daughter.

[Ali W · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun and fast read. Price was an easily relatable character, who approaches adversity with matter-of-fact sarcasm.
Hard Sell touches on what is right, what is wrong, and what is worth it even if it’s wrong. When it comes to selling this mystery murder house, Price is immediately faced with the feelings that he shouldn’t be the listing agent, but decides to anyways to see if the juice is worth the squeeze. Throughout the book, he is faced with the same moral dilemma, just differing circumstances.
Hard Sell also delves into the disconnect some parents may feel with their teenage children especially when custody is divided between both parents. Again, Price copes with constant rejection from his daughter through humor, which helps bring a realistic feel to his character.

Recommend: Yes
Read if you like: fast-paced storyline, humor, relatable characters.
Skip if you want: high level of visual detail, many well-developed characters, high-level drama/suspense

[Sarah Donner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the mystery aspect of this book was just okay. It was intriguing enough to keep me reading, though in the end I found it to be anticlimactic. I also waffled back and forth throughout the story between liking and disliking the main character. I think ultimately I’d give another Thomas Price story a shot.

[Pam Papworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for sending me the ARC of this book. I used to be a realtor, so I thought I would enjoy this book. The premise is good, but it just doesn't come across well. The ending feels abrupt, and there are loose ends.

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The main character is a whiney womanizer. I just couldn’t handle him blabbing on. There was opportunity here. I HATE that he has ice cream flavor nicknames for his women. It’s very weird. It’s a no for me.

[Ashley Bentley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you for the chance to read this one via Goodreads giveaway!

This one took me a little bit longer to read than normal. It had alot of potential but it just kind of felt rushed / all over the place to me. I wasn’t really connecting with any of the characters.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the story.disappointed in the ending.read it on good reads.