Gary M. Lepper

Professional baseball players in multiple cities have been injured inexplicably—and two have died. When former police detective David Kenmuir tries to learn why, he becomes trapped in a collision between the make-believe world of fantasy baseball leagues and the very real world of crime-for-hire. In order to escape from it, he must end it—and manage to stay alive in the midst of lethal conflicts between a mob boss and his maverick subordinate, and between himself and a nemesis from his past. It won’t be easy.

An intricate plot, engaging and believable characters, sharp and clever dialogue—and a terrific ending. What more can you want?

-—Steven Phillip Smith, author of American Boys

When the playful world of fantasy baseball meets the cruel reality of organized crime, the result is this unique novel, a thriller that’s always exciting and often humorous.

—Larry Yant, former sportswriter, San Francisco Chronicle

The stakes are high in this complex, deftly written thriller. Lepper sets the scene, winds up, and delivers a compelling story with a carefully crafted team of characters who will have you smiling one minute, cheering the next and locked in suspense throughout.

—Camille Minichino, author of more than 20 mystery novels

For decades, the Devil Mountain Country Club Board of Directors has refused to sell its substantial acreage of undeveloped land. Suddenly, the attitudes of several directors begin to shift inexplicably and one resistant director mysteriously disappears on his way home from a sporting event. Asked to investigate, former police detective David Kenmuir uncovers a morass of indiscretions and a ruthless scheme of blackmail. And when that scheme clashes with the covert arrival of Israeli vigilantes, recently alerted to club members who are long-missing Nazi SS war criminals, it is Kenmuir who becomes a likely casualty.

Real estate shenanigans, secret identity intrigue, Nazi fugitives, blackmail, engaging dialogue, and a clever investigator produce a thoroughly readable and believable who-done-it-and-why. Lepper creates real characters and then lets them simmer together for a wonderfully mysterious main course. —Bruce Joel Brittain, author of Brother Daniel’s Good News Revival

Get used to hearing the name of Gary Lepper—he’s writing the best mysteries on the fiction landscape. For his returning hero Dave Kenmuir, this is an intriguing and exciting ride through a posh country club amid suppressed secrets, love affairs, fugitive Nazis, blackmail, and merciless greed. —Robert S. Murillo, author of The Vanity

Praise for A Deadly Game, the first David Kenmuir action-mystery:

“An impressively crafted and inherently engaging read from cover to cover ...an original and highly recommended addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs and will prove to be ...enduringly popular.” —Small Press Bookwatch 

“David Kenmuir [is] a damaged hero, who carries a lot of baggage, but that baggage has toughened him, making him the perfect investigator to dig deep in the murder cases and be unafraid of what he turns up ...[He] is a fun character to follow and cheer for. The story had some good twists and turns and, as with any good mystery/thriller, I found myself reading faster and more often toward the end as the plot thickened.”  —Edwin Howard, Goodreads

“Great book; highly recommended, cannot praise highly enough” —Sharon Squire, Goodreads

A rare book dealer has been killed during a burglary to steal the priceless dedication copy of Moby Dick, but police can find no evidence of who is responsible. The dealer’s friend, Vietnam veteran and former police detective David Kenmuir, vows to learn what the police cannot. His search evolves into the discovery of an epidemic of thefts of rare books throughout the country and an undercover scheme for the sale of guns and munitions to third world rebels. And Kenmuir himself becomes a likely casualty.

City of Napa detective sergeant Joanne Matthews is investigating the murder of a local attorney. Coincidentally, detective sergeant Jeff Franklin is investigating a similar murder in nearby Contra Costa County. After they learn about their congruent inquiries, they decide to work together.

Matthews increasingly suspects the attorneys’ involvement with the illegal drug trade; Franklin suspects prostitution and pornography. As they explore these different reasons, their professional relationship evolves into a personal one. Franklin eventually concludes that there is only one motive and only one killer. Will Matthews agree?

The vineyards and wineries of several of the Napa Valley’s small vintners have suffered damage. Is that deliberate or merely unfortunate? Is it a method to force the sale of those properties to a group of large vintners headed by a greedy Romanian expat? Or is it a method of forcing environmental reforms? Or is it both? When lawyer and former police detective David Kenmuir investigates, he also uncovers a sinister scheme that is manipulating the quality and value of some of the Valley’s most esteemed and expensive wines.

“David Kenmuir [is] a damaged hero, who carries a lot of baggage, but that baggage has toughened him, making him the perfect investigator to dig deep in the murder cases and be unafraid of what he turns up...[He] is a fun character to follow and cheer for. [A]s with any good mystery/thriller, I found myself reading faster and more often toward the end as the plot thickened.”
— Edwin Howard, Goodreads

Oakland homicide detective David Kenmuir is investigating four curious murders. Evennentlaully he discovers that “His” murders may not be unique, because three other equally bizarre ones have occurred elsewhere in northern California. The more Kenmuir learns, the more the murders become less strange and more familiar.

Finally, Kenmuir realizes that only part of the solution may lie in the present because part may lie twenty year in the mast. But what could a Hawaiian vacation and a fraternity at Bay University possibly have in common?

“Once again, Gary Lepper has produced a tightly written novel from start to finiaish. The story features five murders, with twists and turns on almost every page. Be ready for surprises as the story concludes.” - Clark Sturges, Professor Emeritus of English, Diablo Valley College

El Lugar houses more than two dozen undocumented immigrants. After two disappear, a waitress at a Peruvian restaurant asks attorney David Kenmuir to find them. Kenmuir agrees - and thereafter learns that the immigrants are being exploited as labor for Los Gobernadores’ collection of illegal businesses, rating from cocaine distribution to pornography, to contract scams. In turn, The Governors soon decide that Kenmuir’s investigation must end - and Kenmuir himself with it.