About the Author

Rick Polad teaches Earth Science, plays jazz trumpet, and volunteers with the Coast Guard on Lake Michigan. For over a decade, Rick has given editorial assistance to award-winning photographer Bruce Roberts and historian/author Cheryl Shelton-Roberts on several of their maritime-themed publications including North Carolina Lighthouses: Stories of History and Hope, and the third edition of American Lighthouses: A Comprehensive Guide to Exploring Our National Coastal Treasures. Rick also edited the English version of Living With Nuclei, the memoirs of Japanese physicist, Motoharu Kimura.

Reviews

In this second book of the Spencer Manning Mystery series, author Rick Polad ratchets up the tension. Way up. P.I. Manning is the kind of guy you'd like to hang out with, and who would never turn down the opportunity to do a favor. But when he's asked for a simple favor this time, it leads him into a dark world of intrigue, serial killers, and sinister ladies of the evening. Polad masterfully weaves a complex mystery-thriller with intersecting plotlines and multiple suspects, and pulls off the difficult job of mystifying but not confusing the reader. This is a Chicago only seen late at night. And that may be the best time to read this haunting tale of obsession and revenge, set in the dark alleys of a city that substitutes for Victorian London in the days of jack the Ripper." -Gary Lindberg, #1 Bestselling author of The Shekinah Legacy and Sons of Zadok Dark Alleys by Rick Polad brings private investigator, Spencer Manning, back to readers with two difficult murder scenarios to help solve. Manning remains close to Chicago police as an informer, yet he is left to his own cunning to help with this city's tough murder crimes. As a sequel to Change of Address, this book not only doesn't disappoint but it enamors me more with Manning, the one I'd like to call on for help when a police case is seemingly unsolvable. The characters are well developed and the suspense kept me reading chapter by chapter until I had finished it! Linking one set of murders to a copycat of Jack the Ripper is intriguing and genius. The short chapters made it easy to put down and pick up again as time allowed-amazing planning of character development while the mysteries unfold. The potential romance between Spencer and police detective Rosie is enticing. I want to know more! Where is mystery book # 3?! I want it asap!" -Cheryl Roberts, Author of Lighthouse Families and numerous other lighthouse books It all begins with a ringing telephone. Most good mysteries do. The private investigator is sleeping late. Most good private investigators always sleep late. A good friend is calling about a girl. A troubled voice says, "I'd like you to see what you can find out about her. I have a name and address. See if you can get some history. Where is she from? Any family? Anything that might help." Spenser's eyebrows went up. "Help with what?" Ben sighed. "I don't know. Maybe keeping her alive." It seems like a harmless request. It isn't. A simple phone call takes Spenser Manning into the search for a serial killer who is leaving the dark alleys of Chicago awash with death and blood. Rick Polad's taut suspense thriller, Dark Alleys, begins as many mysteries do. But that's where the similarities end. Dark Alleys is different. Rick Polad makes sure of it. In his inventive and complex novel, nothing is as it seems. The answers he finds only leads to more perplexing questions. The girl is a prostitute. Is she in trouble? Prostitutes are dying, brutally murdered. Is she in danger? Or does she know more about the serial killer than anyone suspects? What secrets lurk deep within her? Does she have the final answer? And is she the key to Spenser piecing together another intriguing puzzle before someone else is destined to die today? The streets of Chicago after dark may appear threatening. But they are harmless compared to the dark alleys of the Windy City. The truth lies within reach. But in a Rick Polad thriller, the truth is always hard to find. Just when you have it all figured out, you don't. -Caleb and Linda Pirtle