Acknowledgments

This book relied on advice, facts, and information from many people. They included my three children—Ruth Henson, Betsy Peters, and John Sandstrom—each of whom has a skill set that’s a major help to a mystery-writing mom. I also relied on Elizabeth Garber, of Best Chocolate in Town in Indianapolis; Tom Bolhuis, a pro at boat building and restoration at Great Lakes boating; Deborah Baroff, head curator of the Museum of the Great Plains; lawman Jim Avance; Dr. Rosemary Bellino; Dr. Nils Axelsen; Tim Raubinger and Jack Cooper. Additional help came from Michigan friends Tracy Paquin, Susan McDermott, and Judy Hallisy.

I’m sure that fans of noir films hold get-togethers at which they dress in costumes, portray famous detectives and gangsters, trade souvenirs and memorabilia, and otherwise, well, behave like fans. A cursory search of the Internet, however, did not reveal a lot of information about these events. Therefore, I felt free to create my own world of noir fandom.

JoAnna Carl