Saratoga Longshot

Charlie Bradshaw is spending his 41st birthday in New York, trying to track down Sam, the son of his great high school love. Sam has gotten himself involved in a big-time drug deal, and everyone -- from Sam to the New York cop on the case -- wishes Charlie would go back to Saratoga to do his sleuthing.

But a combination of stubbornness and savvy -- to say nothing of Sam's enticing girlfriend -- keeps the small-town cop deep in the Big City mystery.

"Murder and mayhem in an unusually inviting climate." (The New York Times)