Mal Townley is a failed, small-town private investigator who is on the verge of throwing in the towel when a baffling case comes his way: the disappearance of the enigmatic Iris Black, an eccentric, young novelist and author of The Days of Wine. Everyone Mal contacts about Iris has an opinion about her; however, no one seems to have a picture of her. The only likeness available is in the form of a beguiling painting titled: "e;Black Iris"e;-that seems to cast a spell over its admirers. Mal breaks the first rule in the P.I. handbook: never fall in love with the subject of your investigation-which also happens to be the recipe for a bizarre, rollicking, psychological mystery. Mal's investigation introduces him to some strange and eccentric characters, including columnist Thornton Dorstone, bestselling author, Ruby Braithwaite, conceptual artist, Leroy LeRoy, and Iris' fianc Baxter Hawthorne. All of them seem to be hiding something-whether or not it's information about Iris Black remains to be seen. But then, quite by chance, Mal stumbles upon an enigmatic character who breaks open the case. Set in a small, Midwestern college town, in the late 20th Century, "e;Black Iris"e; is full of local detail and the warmth of nostalgia-but is also psychologically complex and deeply mysterious.
