If you are in the mood for classic and enthralling murder mysteries, these are the books for you. Let them keep you awake at night.

When I was growing up, my greatest entertainment was sitting in a dark room at night. listening to crime dramas on the radio.

Not television.

Radio.

They called it the theater of the mind.

The mysteries came on every night.

And I listened to the mysteries unfolding in Inner Sanctum, The Shadow, Gangbusters, the FBI in Peace and War, Mr. and Mrs. North, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, and a tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense.

Gunshots.

Screams.

Sirens wailing in the night.

The stories were gripping.

I was holding my breath then.

I’m holding my breath still.

I’m reading the Razzman Mystery Crime Files of Joe Congel.

His stories grab my imagination.

He jerks me straight into the scenes, into the stories.

They sometimes feel more like nightmares.

Tony Razzolito, the Razzman, is the kind of investigator you want to follow wherever he goes in the story, and you never know where he’ll go next.

You admire his instincts.

You laugh at its wisecracks.

You appreciate his style.

He’s an old dog with a bone.

He’s persistent.

He’s relentless.

You can’t stop him until he unravels the mystery, and the bad guys wind up wherever they need to be.

In jail.

Or a grave.

It doesn’t matter.

As one reviewer said: “While the story events are intelligent and intricate, it remains easy to read.  This is due to the smooth writing and crisp dialogue which seamlessly flows from page to page.  If you are in the mood for a classic and enthralling murder mystery… this is the book for you!  Undeniably a true page turner.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Dead Is Forever

Tony Razzolito, AKA the Razzman, is tired of dead-end sales jobs and refuses to get another, despite a huge blowout with his wife. Instead, he decides to pursue his dream of becoming a PI. He just has to figure out how to get started.

Just hours later, Tony receives a phone call from his friend, Detective Joe Humphrey – his wife has been murdered.

The devastating news sends Tony’s emotions on a roller coaster ride he didn’t expect. Yes, their marriage had issues, what marriage doesn’t? But now… now he would never have the opportunity to work things out, to make amends, or to say he’s sorry.

Shocked, pissed off and emotionally overwhelmed, he is determined to find the killer and insists on helping Joe with the investigation.

When clues to another woman’s death tie the two crimes together, Tony may discover that some secrets about his wife are better left hidden.

Deadly Passion

Two women dead: One a twenty-year-old cold case, the other brutally fresh. Both had their lives cut short and their hearts cut from their body.

PI Tony Razzolito, working for his favorite pro bono client, can’t seem to stop second guessing the results of the police department’s original investigation as he works to put the pieces together to solve the twenty-year-old murder.

And now, as the cops are deep into trying to figure out who committed the new crime, the clues appear to keep leading back to the same suspects from the cold case.

And to make matters worse, Tony keeps finding himself stepping on the toes of the seasoned homicide detective who was never able to solve the original murder the first time around.

Dirty Air

Crossing the finish line from the dark side of the track can make it hard to find the winner’s circle.

The adrenaline rush is real.

So is the danger.Stock car or modified. Track or street. One can make you famous… the other can make you dead.

Tony “Razzman” Razzolito is in way over his head as he works to solve the most challenging case of his career.

An up-and-coming NASCAR driver is found shot to death in an alley in uptown Charlotte.

When the widow of the victim asks Tony and his partner at McHenry Investigative Services to find out why her husband was killed, the Razzman gets a quick education in a sport he knows nothing about.

His investigation soon leads him to the world of illegal street racing where he tangles with a crew led by a maniac that doesn’t like to lose.

Mix in a healthy dose of tension between Tony and a certain Homicide Detective assigned to the case and tempers as well as egos are bound to get in the way.