Jailbait, written by David Benjamin

"In a small town, every crime is personal”

Jailbait

By David Benjamin

(No. 1 in the Jim Otis crime series)

Jim Otis, a disgraced Chicago police detective who lost his heart — plus his job and his marriage — to an underage hooker, ends up as police chief in the sleepy Wisconsin hamlet of Hercules. His best-laid plans for redemption run afoul of a teenage girl named Josie Dobbs, cheerleader, prom queen and precocious femme fatale. She (spuriously) adds Otis to her roster of male conquests, wrecking his chances to be elected permanent police chief. In his lame-duck last month as police chief, he faces the crime of the century in Hercules, the holdup and near-murder of his friend Jeff Kozlowski at the Hercules Hardware. His investigation leads him back to his jailbait nemesis, Josie Dobbs, and to the deadly spell she has cast on just about everyone in Hercules. In the end, Otis is surprised by the havoc that Josie has wrought and he is seemingly helpless to bring this clever and ruthless beauty to justice.

AWARDS: Next Generation Indie Book Awards (Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group), Finalist, Series, 2022.

Jailbait

By David Benjamin

Price: $20

What they're saying

“Is a white knight just a predator in fancy armor? Wields his considerable storytelling talents to examine the intersection of power and sexuality, David Benjamin does not pull punches. He has created a sometimes uncomfortable, always thought-provoking drama with a cast of deeply flawed, well-developed characters. In an era when minors are sexualized and predators remain in positions of power without consequence, Jailbait shines a spotlight on tough questions everyone should ask.”

— Walter Rhein, co-author, Paperclip