The Guardian Angle

I’m Val Hunyadi and I’m a private investigator. I’m not squeamish about taking divorce cases, stolen property, missing teens, missing pets, and even missing teenage pets.


I’m Hungarian with high cheekbones, a long pointy nose, horsey teeth, eerily blue eyes, fish-white skin, and dark black hair with a widows peek. In short, Dracula’s dumpier sister with Resting Vulture Face.


People often go into a profession that suits their personality. A nurse wants to heal, a teacher wants to educate, and telemarketers selling you extended warranties on your car are sadists. I am a private investigator because I am congenitally nosy. At the moment, I was leaning across my desk, mouth agape and eyes agog. I was in my element.

My new client was a sweet, old lady – and she was out for revenge! An unknown neighbor had filed papers of conservatorship for Martha Baldwin, claiming incompetence due to age and mental infirmity. What started as a simple and satisfying take-down of a would-be scammer soon spiraled into the disappearance of my client, a moderate-speed car chase, an exploding outhouse, a kitchen utensil battle royale, and a corpsicle in my client’s back yard. With the help of my enthusiastic, (if not wholly competent) assistant Tyler, we frantically try to find Martha before the real killer did.


Fans of Gretchen Archer’s Davis Way Capers will enjoy The Guardian Angle‘s fast pace, its humorously human characters like Barbara Allan’s Brandy and Vivian Borne, and Val’s creative tenacity like Janet Evanovich’s Lula and Stephanie Plum.