Here’s the set-up for Colleen Collins’ The Zen Man, just 99 Cents on Kindle:

Just as washed-up criminal defense attorney, life-long Deadhead (nickname “The Zen Man”), and current PI Rick Levine decides to get relicensed as a lawyer, he’s charged with killing one and ends up in the slammer with a half-mil bail.

Released on bond, Rick and his girlfriend Laura have 30 days to find the real killer. In the course of their investigations, they dig for dirt among Denver’s shady legal backrooms to its tony corporate centers. Dodging bullets, a kidnapping, trumped-up charges and the FBI’s unwanted intervention, Rick and Laura continue tracking key suspects who have motive…eventually learning that true redemption begins at home.

From the reviewers:

“Move over Sam Spade, Nick and Nora; make room for a Denver who-dun-it, Colleen Collins’s The Zen Man. Brilliant and fast-paced writing. I couldn’t put it down.”  —  Donnell Ann Bell,  Award-Winning Author of The Past Came Hunting

“Not only do the pages fly by with the action and plot twists, but the characters will keep you guessing their next move as well. I was thoroughly entertained and can’t wait to read the next installment of this fabulous gumshoe novel!” — Wendy Hines, Minding Spot book reviews

“I loved every single word of The Zen Man!” — Delores Fossen, USA Today Best-selling Author

“Rick and Laura are incredibly charming and likable…and the book’s mystery is well structured with clues and red herrings doled out steadily to move the plot along and keep things interesting… can’t wait for the return of The Zen Man.” –Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

“The Zen Man is an homage and update of Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles, a well-paced mix of banter, action, and New Age philosophizing.” —  Gerald So, owner-moderator of DetecToday for fans of the private eye genre

I’ll state upfront that I tend to read darker mystery novels, so I wasn’t quite sure how I’d like The Zen Man (I’d read somewhere that it was a mystery with romantic elements). But this author hooked me. Well-developed mystery, complex/sympathetic characters, and plenty of grit. I still can’t get over “the dart scene” (won’t say more-don’t want to spoil it for readers). A highly recommended page turner that has me wanting more of the Zen Man. 5 stars.  – “ilovebookstoo”

Visit Amazon’s Colleen Collins Page

And now, for the facts:

How Do Private Eyes Do That? shares Collins’ experience and knowledge as a professional private eye.

Compare the fiction of  The Zen Man with the facts to see how Collins applies reality to the creation of compelling, reality-based fiction.   Mystery fans and would-be mystery authors will love the two books as companions to each other.

About the author:

After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara, Colleen worked as a film production assistant, improv comic, telecommunications manager at the RAND Corporation, technical writer/editor, speech writer, and private investigator. All these experiences play into her writing.

She’s a member of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Private Eye Writers of America (PWA), Sisters in Crime and Novelists, Inc. (NINC).

When not sleuthing, Colleen’s hanging with her two Rottweilers (named Jack Nicholson and Aretha Franklin), working on a time-traveling PI series, and envisioning how Nick and Nora would behave in the 21st century.

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of THE ZEN MAN by Colleen Collins: