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The Slim Hardy Mysteries by Jack Benton
A deeply flawed, alcoholic detective, a couple of twenty-year-old cold cases, and a satisfyingly odd cast of characters. There are some tough things to read in this series (the third book comes out in February), but it’s quite well put-together, even though the ending of the second book is almost too neatly wrapped up. I loved The Clockmaker's Secret—the second book in the series, which I read first. The first book, The Man by the Sea, has a narrative that is a bit choppy, but the plot still works well, and there's a glimmer of the supernatural.