{"title":"Books by Ray Bates","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780595707270","title":"Babylon Blues","description":"It's 1994, and veteran homicide detective John Bowers teams up with his partner Minola Raye to solve another grisly murder in Babylon-Portland, Oregon's fringe district of losers and forgotten victims. Like hungry sharks, Babylon's riffraff feed on the innocent and vulnerable, and only case-hardened cops like Bowers seek justice in a system that has no heart.\u003cp\u003eDuring a quiet weekend, a young woman has just drifted to sleep when her first waking sensation is a crushing weight falling on her chest, as if some night-stalking bird of prey had swooped down from the ceiling and clutched her in its talons. The beast's foul-smelling breath poisons the air. With a startled chirp, she comes to and stares straight into hell. A grimy hand slams over her mouth before she has a chance to scream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe brutal killing that follows leaves Sergeants Bowers and Raye to piece together bloodied clues and investigate suspects among the throwaway people on the gritty streets of Babylon. This gripping police procedural delivers juicy crime scenes, a sizzling romance, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and the same old blues-along with the occasional gold nugget-in Babylon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56293825773941,"sku":"9780595707270","price":15.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780595707270_d0acab6d-921f-4aac-b12f-48e157608c6a.jpg?v=1786014676"},{"product_id":"9781425941369","title":"Blue Butterfly","description":"Detective John Bowers is a wily veteran with the Portland Police Bureau.  The only mystery Bowers hasn't solved in 23 years behind the badge is blonde and comes in all flavors.  The last split cost him his house, his furniture, his drift boat and his motivation.  John blames it all on bloodsucking divorce lawyers.Tracking a call girl's killer through Portland's sleazy sex trade, John and his new partner Minola Raye (Betty Boop with a nine mm on her hip) discover a Bureau cover-up and unravel a VIP's dirty little secrets in a job they sometimes love to hate.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56299455086965,"sku":"9781425941369","price":25.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781425941369_610f4dfe-5b51-45a0-890c-60ee9f7cb24e.jpg?v=1786019410"},{"product_id":"9781644386965","title":"CITY SERENADE","description":"\u003cp\u003eDetectives John Bowers and his partner Minola Raye catch a case that has them on the hunt for a serial rapist who has left two victims in the heart of the city, in the shade of the white-collar towers. Portland, the City of Roses, prides itself on a downtown which welcomes and succors the unfortunate, where every other corner has a Starbucks and the professionals hurry from cobbled streets to catch the trolley to green burbs. This is one new case that has the City fathers determined to put a suspect on the evening news sooner rather than later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Bowers gets sidelined by a kid who almost puts the Detective in the morgue. While John’s on the mend in ICU, his partner and the whole Central Precinct Homicide team is trying to find the main suspect who has disappeared. There’s barely a trail to follow, but intuition and plain-dog police work close in just in time to promise the return of safe streets downtown.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith John down a deep rabbit hole from the opiates they’re shooting into him the hospital, he becomes another crime victim, but this time nobody’s on the hunt for the perpetrator. This is one violation that won’t end with City Serenade.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302852669813,"sku":"9781644386965","price":29.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781644386965_a1953481-a1ea-45ee-a46d-721f3fc91ac7.jpg?v=1786024475"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-ray-bates.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}