City by the Bay - John Miller

Oftentimes, the intentions of honest and law-abiding people are subjugated by the elements of the occupations that they pursue. Why would a skilled precision machinist want to give up on that life track to pursue a career of violence and danger in the slimy and violent world of the criminal underbelly of a large metropolitan city? Seeking out the answers to questions that many would rather leave unanswered is a skill learned the hard way for a new private eye. Without the tools of a skilled assassin, the strength of a professional leg breaker, or the general pugilistic abilities of a common street thug, Rex Bonner charts his way through the streets and alleys of his town to locate the center of the crux of his case and bring it to a client's approval, dodging hurdles and parrying threats along the way as others get the chance to pay the piper for the life they chose and the horror that fills it.