Spinoza Books
Meet Spinoza. Ex-cop. Recovering alcoholic. Relentless private investigator specializing in missing persons—and haunted by the loss of his own family. When an elderly woman walks into his shabby Los Angeles office begging him to find her missing step-granddaughter, Spinoza is prepared for the usual runaway case. Except the girl in question believes she's a vampire slayer. And she’s been missing for a week. Gladys, the frantic grandmother, says Veronica didn’t just read about hunting vampires—she did it. Next, her friend Nicole confirms the girl would vanish for days and return covered in blood. Even the local goth bartender admits Veronica is on a mission of vengeance, hunting the creature that murdered her parents in Echo Park—burned alive in their car after their throats were ripped out by a man with a dragon tattoo. Spinoza doesn’t believe in vampires. He believes in monsters of the human kind. But as his investigation leads him from Hollywood burger joints to gloomy vampire bars and all the way up the California coast to a bestselling author with a suspicious tattoo, Spinoza begins to question everything he knows. Because if vampires are real, one of them just might be hunting the hunter. Perfect for fans of supernatural mystery, hard-boiled PI fiction, and gritty noir with a paranormal twist. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: ★★★★★ “A great read! The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo is not what I expected—it was better. I loved the storyline and how Spinoza’s character completely took me by surprise. I kind of expected him to be a little more passive, yet, you get in his way when he’s on a case and he breaks out his inner fighter. I liked how he commits himself to a case. I would love to see this novella turn into a series as well.” —Amazon review ★★★★★ “What a lovely introduction to J.R. Rain’s writing! I had not read J.R. Rain’s works before, as I’m not really into vampires. The title of the book peaked my interest, so I got it. It was a very fast-paced read! A novella that is tightly written. The story is very fast paced. Very enjoyable read! If you need a fast mental escape, this little novella is perfect for reading while waiting anywhere!” —Amazon review ★★★★★ “Mr. Spinoza has a soft heart for the missing. I love Spinoza and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. J.R. Rain makes his characters so life-like that you can’t help but get engrossed in the book. I have read the series more than once already.” —Amazon review ★★★★★ “This short novella was a quick, fun read while I await Rain’s 5th book in the Samantha Moon series. PI Spinoza makes a brief appearance in one of Moon’s books and I was happy to see this spinoff. This tortured, shy detective is trying to make up for past sins by helping to find missing kids. He may be shy and quiet, but he can kick some serious butt. I hope to see more of this character!” —Amazon review ★★★★★ “This is another example of why I love novellas... all the great action and story with none of the boring unnecessary bits in between. Spinoza is a private investigator who specializes in missing children’s cases. A forte he discovered after his own life tragically fell apart. His latest case revolves around a missing teenager of an unknown name and origin with very odd interests. He questions the grandmothers sanity when he hears all the details but a missing child is a missing child and his heart goes out to her and the runaway Veronica. Fast-pace paranormal mystery that leaves you wanting more and wishing it was a full length novel. I honestly could have read another hundred pages as the details were in-depth and the story gripping. Characters were well developed and you can see there’s more to come from them.” —Amazon review
Private investigator Spinoza is no stranger to missing persons cases—or to death itself. Haunted by the loss of his family, he's used to hunting for the lost, the runaway, and the forgotten. But this time, he’s looking for someone already dead. When a quiet, grief-stricken teenage boy hires him for the price of two tacos, Spinoza can't say no—even if the job is finding the boy’s murdered mother. Her body has vanished from its grave. The case leads Spinoza deep into the heart of Los Angeles: windswept cemeteries, gloomy funeral homes, and the chilling secrets of a wealthy family with too many skeletons in their closets. But the clues don’t add up. The grave was undisturbed. The casket shows signs of someone pounding to get out. And the autopsy report hides a terrible truth. Because the dead woman’s husband sits on death row insisting she wasn’t human at all. He didn’t kill his wife—he tried to kill a vampire. As Spinoza confronts grieving parents, a creepy cemetery caretaker, and even the killer himself, he realizes this isn’t just about finding a missing corpse. It’s about stopping something that refuses to stay buried. Perfect for fans of hard-boiled PI fiction with a paranormal twist—Spinoza is back for another dark, razor-sharp mystery with a supernatural edge.
For private investigator Spinoza, “missing persons” usually means the runaways, the lost, or the dead. But this time, he’s been hired to find someone who shouldn’t even exist. A young man working at Medievaland—a cheesy dinner theater in Orange County—swears the star of their nightly show isn’t an actor at all. Every night, a “prisoner” in an iron mask is wheeled onto stage…and never unmasked. The staff refuse to talk. The doors to the basement are locked tight. And anyone who asks too many questions gets fired. Or worse. When Spinoza investigates, he finds far more than a gimmick gone wrong. Beneath the castle façade lies a real medieval dungeon, a woman chained in silver, her iron mask welded shut with molten silver. She doesn’t breathe. She drinks blood through a straw. And her violet eyes are pleading for help. Who is she? A captive monster? Or a vampire hunter caught by her prey? Spinoza is no stranger to the supernatural. He’s faced vampires before. But saving this woman means going to war with a bloodthirsty coven—one that’s turning Orange County into a feeding ground. With help from Veronica—a tough, telepathic vampire who owes him her life—Spinoza must infiltrate the coven’s lair and confront a brutal truth: sometimes the monsters wear human faces. And sometimes the only way to do the right thing is to kill. Perfect for fans of hard-boiled PI noir, supernatural thrillers, and gritty detective fiction with a paranormal bite.
A vampire on a train. What could possibly go wrong? Spinoza takes on a different kind of investigation when he’s hired to ride a train with a real vampire whose dreams predict the future. As it turns out, Spinoza is in the vampire’s dreams. And so is the train... As the iron giant chugs along, Spinoza will soon find out why he's in the dream. And when he does, he has only a split second to decide his fate... and the fate of the others on board. The Vampire on the Train is a short story set in the world of the Spinoza vampire mysteries. This series features a hardened detective, a little romance, some humor, and vampires galore. Click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE today!