The Things That Aren't There, Paperback

Detective Vic Lenoski of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has just been handed the biggest case of his career, the vicious murder of a venture capitalist known for funding high-tech and robotics start-up companies. But Vic, haunted by personal loss and hounded by a commander who despises him, is unraveling fast. Worse, his investigation soon uncovers major corruption among Pittsburgh's star robotics entrepreneurs, that the city's gangsters have gone straight, and Vic's commander and colleagues are only interested in promotions, pensions, and pats on the back.Just as the case and his career are on the verge of collapse, Vic struggles to make sense of his work and life while uncovering a series of deeply buried truths, and tracking a murderer who is desperate to kill again.

Peter W. J. Hayes was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and lived in Paris and Taipei before settling in Sewickley, a village just north of Pittsburgh. He spent many years as a journalist, business writer and advertising copywriter, but it was a six year stint on Wall Street as Chief Marketing Officer for a global investment company that really prepared him for crime writing. His short stories have appeared in a variety of mystery magazines and anthologies and he has won or been shortlisted for several awards by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) and Pennwriters. He is currently working on the novels of his Vic Lenoski Mysteries.