DUELING DETECTIVES: A 300-pound gourmet chef and his crime-solving cats vs. a womanizing, hard-drinking, hard-boiled P.I. THE CASE: A centuries-old curse dating back to the Salem witch trials, poisoned pen letters and a pile of dead bodies. May the best detective subgenre win. THE CURSE HAD NINE LIVES takes place in the remote village of Olde Sayville, where the cursed descendants of the Salem witch trials reside. Gourmet chef/amateur sleuth Montgomery Maybach and hard-boiled P.I. Phil Dodge narrate the story in alternating chapters in the style of their respective detective subgenres. In a town filled with suspects, motives and questionable alibis, the dueling detectives independently piece together the clues only to arrive at different conclusions. Who is right? Or are they both wrong? Rich J. Stone's second novel takes a playful swipe at two beloved detective subgenres, and delivers a top-flight mystery with twists, turns, wit, and a sly sense of humor.