Art Gaines is a single dad involved in a bitter battle with a former girl friend over visitation rights with their daughter. Now he must also discover who murdered a potential client at his home. As he wisecracks and bullies his way through a group of suspects, he enters an unfamiliar world of old family money, real estate frauds, corporate greed and Southern separatist politics. When he gets close to solving the mystery, one of the suspects kidnaps him. Art's escape forces a bloody meeting with some of the suspects on Georgia's Stone Mountain, where the carving of General Robert E. Lee helps send one of the murderers to his just reward. Although injured, he still has the strength to confront the ultimate villain, solve the case and reach a compromise with his daughter's mother An Investment of Lies will appeal to the many fans of the traditional 'murder mystery. The main character succeeds by 'poking around and stirring things up, ' much like the characters of Mickey Spillane, Rex Stout and Stuart Woods. The novel is character driven yet it is action oriented with humor and snappy dialogue that will appeal to the many people who buy Robert Parker's books.