In Portland, the City of Roses, it takes more than raindrops to make Detective Max Rose bloom. A pipe, a bourbon, and all the brain-power that goes into solving a murder makes him blossom. And what about emerald-eyed Lily Roberts, the victim's widow. A tonic. Hopefully not one made with hemlock. To find Jack's killer, Max journeys into Portland's Circus Underground and uncovers a secret that leads him all the way back to the Third Reich, and finally to 18th-century Cremona. Detective Rose always gets his man. And as for the ladies? Well...Max is an accordionist.ABOUT THE AUTHOREric Stern is an accordionist, singer and composer. Most famous for starting the cabaret ensemble Vagabond Opera, he has composed two full-length operas (including their librettos), and has performed internationally as a singer, accordionist, and as a story teller. Born in Philadelphia, he grew up wandering the aisles of Wooden Shoe Books and Records, an anarchist collective bookstore, started by his parents and their friends. Naturally with such a radical foundation he studied opera and went on to perform it. He lives in Portland Oregon with his family and his dog Bijou. He's written many short stories. Rose City is his first mystery novel.
