No Strings: A Novel

Richard Marzten is bored. He’s been married a long time to his considerably older wife, and if he wants to get a little action on the side, he’d better do it now, before he’s too old. But there’s a small complication –- well, more than a just small complication. While Richard is just a “nobody from nowhere,” his wife is rich. Very, very rich, and she’s made it possible for her husband to enjoy the finer things beyond his wildest imagination. There’s no way he’d ever want to lose Monica.
But like lots of men before him, Richard has it all figured out, and he’s not going to get caught stepping over the matrimonial line. Richard’s plan works to perfection. A personals ad for a discreet affair brings on an avalanche of responses, including one lady who stands out above all the rest –- the stunning Gretchen Trecker. Gretchen is the young wife of a wealthy –- and much older –- Long Island attorney. In other words, she’s Richard’s counterpart. She’s bored too, and soon the pair plunge headlong into an affair with “no strings attached” -- exactly what Richard Marzten desired.
But something goes wrong. Soon after ratcheting up the pressure on Richard to see her more often, Gretchen disappears. One day he gets a phone call from a private detective demanding that they meet –- he knows exactly what’s become of Gretchen Trecker.
Richard Marzten will have learned that having your cake and eating it too comes with a heavy price tag indeed.
An intriguing page-turner, NO STRINGS is a crime novel solidly in the tradition of Jim Thompson, James M. Cain and Jason Starr.