This is the first of 2 books to features Ace Carpenter from Los Angeles. Carpenter is a former professional guitar player who drives a VW, smokes a pipe and drinks Stolichnaya.
Hamilton T. Caine is the pseudonym for author/musician Steven Smoke who is the founder and editor of Mystery Magazine which was published briefly from 1979 to 1982.
Book Details
Title: Carpenter, Detective
Author: Hamilton T. Caine
Pages: 256
Published Date: 1981
Publisher: Charter
Series Details: 1st book in the Ace Carpenter series
Hamilton T. Caine Book List
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From the Dustjacket
He’s young, and maybe a little rough around the edges. But he’s a good detective. That’s why Kathy St. John came to Carpenter for help. Her father wants him off the case because he’s a little too good, because with each step he takes another skeleton falls from the St. John family closet with a rattle that can shatter dreams.
Reviews From Other Sources
Private Eyes: 101 Knights (pub. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1985)
“Ace makes like a warmed-over-Lew Archer searching out the ugly secrets of the rich and rotten St. John Family.”
Thrilling Detective
Ace's debut, 1981's Carpenter, Detective, was nominated for a Best Paperback Original Shamus, and there was a sequel, Hollywood Heroes, that popped up five years later.
As I recall, I enjoyed the books, particularly the first one. I thought they were pretty good solid P.I. fare… - Read Full Review
Other Shamus Best Paperback Original PI Novel nominees - 1982
 California Thriller |  |  |  Murder In the Wind |
