In Loose Ends, the second novel in the Fenway Burke Detective Series, we find our hero living aboard his floating home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his wife Megan; baby daughter, Lizzy; Rowlf & Blanche, his two enormous English Mastiffs; and Spot, an all black Portuguese Water Dog, who was Megan's only child before they hooked up. The Wiffersnapper is a fifty-six foot cruising catamaran they bought before they knew Lizzy was coming along. She's a real beauty, but even so, things are getting more than a little cramped. They have a fat deposit on a house but took a big hit in the market and unless they get a serious cash infusion, they stand to lose it all. A childhood friend, whose background is far from completely on the up and up, introduces him to his mentor who just happens to be a legendary money man with the mob, the man behind the man behind the man. Morris Gold is in his nineties, and has a problem. It seems his grandson's wife has disappeared without a trace. He doesn't want the police involved and assures Fenway it's strictly family, not business, and whatever it costs, if she hasn't simply run off, but is being held against her will, he has a blank check to get her back.

Gold then proceeds to hand Fenway a check for ten times his normal retainer. Megan knows Gold by reputation, is against it and is convinced that Gold has a hidden agenda. But when Fenway flashes the check and makes the case that he's just an old man trying to look out for his family, a case even he himself doesn't buy, she quickly caves. Fenway takes the job and the more he uncovers the more things just don't add up. This is no simple runaway, not by a long shot. Gold's up to something, but what? There are dark forces at work, ruthless, violent people with unlimited resources, and Fenway's right in the middle. If she is being held against her will, he'll need an army to get her back, that and one hell of a lot of luck. His search takes him to NYC, then Venezuela and Colombia, where he finds himself going up against the very top echelons of the Medellin Drug Cartel, a man with more power than many heads of State.

Fenway has his tough as nails side kick, Ax and Gold's money and connections in back of him, but still, getting her out and getting her home is one very tall order. Getting back alive is a taller order still. ***.