D. P. Lyle is the Edgar, Macavity, and Benjamin Franklin Award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Unbalanced is the seventh in his best-selling Jake Longly Thriller Series. Earlier books in the series were finalists for the Shamus Award, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, and the USA Best Book Award, and were included on Suspense Magazine's Best Books of the Year list. Lyle has authored 22 books, been a consultant to numerous novelists and screenwriters of popular TV shows, served as co-host of Crime and Science Radio, and currently hosts the Criminal Mischief podcast series. He lives in Orange County, California.

Jake Longly is never saying yes to his father again

It was a simple task. Five minutes tops.

Ex-pro baseball player Jake Longly and his girlfriend, Nicole, are asked by Jake's father, Ray, a private investigator, to pick up some papers from a realtor for his business. Jake would rather be lying on the beach outside of his Gulf Shores restaurant, but he begrudgingly agrees. It'll only take a few minutes.

But somehow, things are never simple in Ray's world. When Jake and Nicole reach the office, they find it empty-except for the dead body of the realtor lying on the floor, a single gunshot wound to his head. Who could've wanted him dead? The long suspect list and the numerous possible motives make untying the knot difficult.

Working with the police department, Jake, Nicole, Ray, and their friend Pancake dive into the deceivingly simple investigation, which grows more complex by the minute. With millions of dollars at stake, weeding through the realtor's entanglements requires all hands on deck, and yet again, Jake is dragged into the PI business he can't seem to escape.

Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich

While all of the novels in the Jake Longly Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Deep Six
A-List
Sunshine State
Rigged
The OC
Cultured
Unbalanced