Fourth Down and Out
An Andy Hayes Mystery
Published on 15. April 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-8040-1153-2 (ISBN)
Description
The job seems easy enough at first for private investigator Andy Hayes: save his client's reputation by retrieving a laptop and erasing a troublesome video from its hard drive. But that's before someone breaks into Andy's apartment in Columbus; before someone else, armed with a shotgun, relieves him of the laptop; and before the FBI suddenly shows up on his doorstep asking questions.
Soon, there's a growing list of people with a claim on the computer, all of them with secrets they don't want uncovered. When one of those people ends up dead, Andy has his hands full convincing authorities he's not responsible, while trying to figure out who is-and who's got the laptop-before someone else dies. Soon the trail leads to the last place Andy wants to go: back to Ohio State University, where few have forgiven him for a mistake he made two decades earlier in his days as the Buckeyes' star quarterback. That misjudgment sent him on a downward spiral that cost him a playing career, two marriages, several wrecked relationships, and above all his legacy in Ohio's capital city, where the fortunes of the OSU team are never far from people's minds.
As Andy tracks a laptop and a killer from the toniest of the city's suburbs to its grittiest neighborhoods, he must confront a dark figure from his past and prove that this time he won't drop the ball.
Soon, there's a growing list of people with a claim on the computer, all of them with secrets they don't want uncovered. When one of those people ends up dead, Andy has his hands full convincing authorities he's not responsible, while trying to figure out who is-and who's got the laptop-before someone else dies. Soon the trail leads to the last place Andy wants to go: back to Ohio State University, where few have forgiven him for a mistake he made two decades earlier in his days as the Buckeyes' star quarterback. That misjudgment sent him on a downward spiral that cost him a playing career, two marriages, several wrecked relationships, and above all his legacy in Ohio's capital city, where the fortunes of the OSU team are never far from people's minds.
As Andy tracks a laptop and a killer from the toniest of the city's suburbs to its grittiest neighborhoods, he must confront a dark figure from his past and prove that this time he won't drop the ball.
Reviews / Votes
"Welsh-Huggins (does) a masterful job with the book, an entertaining, easy-to-read tale worthy of Robert B. Parker." (Columbus Dispatch) "Like any other good detective novel, Fourth Down and Out has murder, dames, snappy dialogue and a tough, weary protagonist. This most entertaining fiction debut shows that noir can come in scarlet and gray." (Akron Beacon-Journal) "With a wealth of Columbus-area color, an intriguing private detective with a shady past and more twists than many of Ohio's back roads, Fourth Down and Out represents a top-notch opener for a writer who seems destined to score big." (Richmond Times-Dispatch) "Midwesterners and football fans will find the most enjoyment in Fourth Down and Out, but even for private eye fans at large, this is a promising new series with a lot of charm." (Black Heart Magazine) "Fourth Down And Out is a tall, frosty stein of Middle-American noir, backed with a healthyshot of wry."
"Columbus resident Welsh-Huggins has his scene down pat, from government buildings to trendy coffee shops, and he makes good use of his familiarity, such as knowing the best abandoned quarry to dump a body into. Similar to how James Lee Burke treats Cajun country or Sue Grafton the California coast, Welsh-Huggins is out to make Columbus a character." (ForeWord Reviews) "Andy (Hayes) is an agreeable narrator with a dry wit and a bit of a martyr's complex. His dark past under center for the Buckeyes plays into the satisfying conclusion of this solid debut thriller from an AP legal-affairs reporter based in Columbus." (Booklist) "Reporter Welsh-Huggins's...debut, the first in a series, introduces Andy Hayes, a Columbus, Ohio, PI, and-for reasons explained late in the story-perhaps the most reviled former football player in Ohio State history.... The author's use of iconic Columbus landmarks and lots of Buckeye lore will appeal to O.S.U. fans." (Publishers Weekly)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ohio
United States
Publishing group
Ohio University Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
310 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8040-1153-2 (9780804011532)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2014
1st Edition
Swallow Press
€15.49
Available for download
Person
Andrew Welsh-Huggins is the Shamus, Derringer, and International Thriller Writers award-nominated author of the Andy Hayes private eye series; author of the standalone crime novel The End of the Road; and editor of the Columbus Noir anthology. His short mystery fiction has appeared in multiple magazines, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and in many anthologies, including The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021; Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties; and Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon. His nonfiction book, No Winners Here Tonight, is the definitive history of the death penalty in Ohio.