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Michael F. Rizzo

This is the first three books in the Rex Carlton Mysteries series, Bloody Valentine, Double Rush, and Screaming in the Night.

Rex is a bike messenger in Buffalo, New York that finds himself in predicaments with vampires, mobsters, and a serial killer.

Rex Carlton Mysteries

Rex Carlton Mysteries Box Set

The dark nights of Buffalo are complicated when a woman is found dead behind a goth club. The clues lead to a real vampire coven inside the city. Struggling bike messenger Rex Carlton ends up in the middle of the investigation and is left for dead.

Rex worked in IT, a job he did not care for. Part of the reason was the sales manager, who despised him and made him hate his job. His girlfriend also dumped him, leaving his eccentric neighbour and best friend Neumann the only solace in his miserable life. When he read there was an opening for a bike messenger in Buffalo, he decided that had to be better than what he was doing.

It turns out riding a bike for a living isn’t as easy as he thought. As he second guesses his decision, he ends up tangling with one of the Buffalo vampires who put a target on his back. Will the vampires kill him before the bike does?

This is Book 1 of Rex Carlton Mysteries. Read the backstory and learn more about the characters, then pick up Book 2, Double Rush.

Bloody Valentine

The Buffalo Mafia is a well-known myth that permeates the grey city streets. Talk of its presence and actions have been discouraged or scoffed at for years. Yet for Rex Carlton, that myth is going to become very, very real.

As the lead bike courier for Zippee Messengers, Rex rides these city streets every day, delivering important correspondence while dodging both pedestrians and cars. When he accidentally slams into a stranger, Rex is unaware that he has crossed paths with an influential mobster, or that his life is suddenly on the line.

A chance encounter and a dropped bag throw him down a rabbit hole of danger, intrigue and Mafia connections that could rock the entire city to the ground.

Includes discussion guide.

Double Rush

Bike messenger Rex Carlton has a new girlfriend and discovers he has cancer. He takes his frustration out on those he loves and must decide if he wants to continue his career. He visits his cousin in the Pacific Northwest after discovering a letter hidden behind a painting for over 100 years. The letter leads them on a wild chase for the truth and into the sights of a serial killer.

Rex and his best friend Neumann travel to the small town of Devils Corner in western Washington where his cousin Kelly Martin lives. With Kelly's help, they try to unravel the meaning behind a mysterious letter Rex found behind an old painting Kelly had sent him. 

While digging through old newspaper articles and family trees Rex examines his own life before deciding if he wants to return to his girlfriend and the job he loves. The trio finds themselves the target of a killer and exposing the truth could destroy them as well as the small town.