***COLLECTS THE FIRST 4 STORIES IN THE ALTERNATIVE INVESTIGATIONS CRIME THRILLER SERIES. IF YOU'RE A BOOK LOVER, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU.****Skin Deep Motives**Can't Beat a Classic**The Grunge Operatives**A Dying Art****ILLUSTRATIONS BY DANIEL COONEY***The private eye in crime fiction has come a long way since the 1840s when C. Auguste Dupin solved a gruesome double murder in the Rue Morgue. During the Great Depression and World War II, pulp fiction described the P.I. as a stoic loner, investigating cases in a trench coat and fedora hat. They packed concealed weapons and followed a strict moral code to see justice done, no matter the cost.How is the P.I. portrayed now? To answer that question this collector's edition of four crime thrillers redefines the private eye genre. Enter Alternative Investigations.The operatives of this agency are Matt Grudge and Leslie Crow. Matt comes from a family of traditional detectives. But as the 90s grunge scene obscured criminals in the shadows and witnesses on the streets refused to speak with anyone that resembled the law, Matt embraced an alternative lifestyle of body piercings and tattoos. Pepper, the seductive redhead that inked his first tat, seared Matt's heart and soul. Leslie is his partner, a Lakota Sioux that raised herself on skid row. She aided Matt in adapting to an urban existence. Along the path where their cases lead, Matt and Leslie draw the attention of a cheerleader and gear head with a competitive spirit that's driven to nail a serial rapist. And their connection to freelance forensic sketch artist Emma Rooney puts a contract on her life. It's their dogged determination to follow through that will pull them all toward a vicious showdown with fate.