Jack McCoul has a good life: a beautiful wife and a comfortable business. His skeletons are safely tucked away with little fear of reappearing to disturb the comforts of his good life. That is, until he returns home one day in anticipation of a cold cocktail with his wife and the end to a day at the grind. A cold drink certainly awaits and he gets to share it with not only the lovely Katie, but a dear friend from that dusty closet of hidden bones. Bobby Ballena, a prominent participant in Jack’s past of secrets, has resurfaced and not just for a drink and to reminisce about old times. He’s on a mission and he needs Jack’s expertise in putting the pieces together again.

First stop is to hook up with Laura’s best friend, who happens to be Bobby’s old “flame,” now married to a collector of rare and priceless antiquities, Dexter Cotswold. Jack’s BS detector goes on high alert. When Bobby’s around and sniffing at gold-lined company, days of old have a tendency to materialize into more than just memories. Jack’s intuitions of bad karma become a reality when Dexter ends up dead and Laura is put behind bars.

Bad Karma is a fun read. The assorted amusing characters keep Dwight Holing’s crime story moving with suspense, intrigue, and just downright entertainment. As Jack struggles to remain on the up-and-up and Katie refuses to allow her friend to perish in prison, the bad guys do not truly understand that “Good deeds and good intent can insure good karma and future happiness.”

Bad Karma by Dwight Holing begins when ex-con man Jack McCoul is in a 9 to 5 job and not very happy with it. Jack gets busy with his app, some sort of a personal consultant, which, among other things, can act in tandem with the world’s oldest profession. This calm and quiet atmosphere is shattered by the murder of one of his connections, Dexter. A missing Buddha and suspicion falling on many of their group trigger a chain of happenings, events of love and deceit, sex and violence, and the rigors of investigation. The investigation finally leads to a surprising end.

Bad Karma by Dwight Holing is a well planned book with each character contributing much to the mysterious ambiance of the plot, and the quick succession of events masterfully crafted to produce the necessary ‘twist’ keeping reader interest alive at all times. Each and every character of this drama, from fairly diverse, interesting backgrounds, has a well defined part, none of them exceeding their perceived domain. The brisk pace of the story also contains rather ‘philosophical’ interludes from many characters. For example, “The way Jack saw it, whoever invented romance knew what they were doing. What else could explain make up sex, a spontaneous combustion that came when no one wanted to admit they were wrong, at the same time they wanted to forgive and be forgiven.” This is a good, light read, with the mystery and suspense well guarded till the end.