“Trouble is my business” is both the title of a story by Raymond Chandler and the job description of that most-American icon of crime fiction, the private detective.  It’s the job description of my detective, Val Lyon.

Chandler set his stories in what was then the westernmost city in the United States, Los Angeles.  My stories are set in what is now the westernmost city in the United States, Honolulu.

Chandler’s knight dealt with the wreckage of human lives in the mean streets of Los Angeles.  My knight deals with the wreckage of human lives in a part of paradise that tourists seldom see.

Chandler’s knight was a man.  My knight is a woman.

Meet Val Lyon, ex-cop, ex-con, ex-professional basketball player, now private eye.  Val appears in one novel and seven short stories.  The first novel, PILIKIA IS MY BUSINESS, published in 2001 by LTDBooks, was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America.

Check out the first chapter of PILIKIA and some of the Val Lyon short stories on this site by clicking the title on the top menu bar.  If the story can be read on another site, clicking the title will open the story in a new window.