New York City homicide detective Lenny Bliss's biggest mistake wasn't bungee-jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The mistake was handing his gun to the previous jumper, a young Chinese girl: she's gone. Bliss's wife has a successful career as a stand-up comic (often using him for material), but for Bliss work is serious. A young Off-Broadway actor has been found dead on stage; Bliss's partner, Ward, is out of commission, reeling from having been shot by a druggie --and now an unstable young woman has disappeared with Bliss's gun. Bob Sloan's street-smart plot, full of jump-cut scenes and colorful New York atmosphere, follows Bliss as he frantically tries to track down Li-Jung while also investigating murder suspects. Why are the dead man's very rich parents acting strangely? What motives are the other members of the theater troupe hiding--the poetic Wolf, haunted by Vietnam memories; the director Katrina, with her obsessive videotaping; the seductive Constance, who harbors a secret and seems bent on distracting Bliss from his job? Meantime Li-Jung, a walking time bomb of rage and loneliness, waits for the right moment to use her unexpected new power. When a nothing-to-lose ex-cop picks her up in his cab and sees a way to make some blackmail money, events come together fast in a tense and satisfying conclusion.

"Dad's Own" is one-stop shopping, from how to hold a knife...to 150 absolutely terrific recipes. Bob Sloan, who began as a self-taught cook is a professional chef and caterer, knows intimately how to navigate a kitchen - and he covers it all: tools, techniques, ingredients, shopping, timing, and getting a meal on the table, whether a weeknight meat loaf for the kids or a weekend dinner party. He tells Dad how to select the choicest meats and freshest fish; how to read a recipe; why to heat a pan before sauteing the food; and how to organize it all into dinner (or breakfast, or lunch, or pizza night). There are quick lessons on the microwave, the grill, the food processor; tips on everything from chopping to steaming; wine and cheese primers; the four basic potatoes and eight ways to prepare them; perfect lunchbox sandwiches and treats; and throwing the perfect birthday party for a child. And, of course, not just the how of cooking, but the what: Dad's Official Meat Loaf, Cajun Baked Salmon, Stuffed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese, Caesar Salad, Lamb Shish Kebab, Jambalaya with Shrimp and Chicken, Puffed Pancake, Steak Fajitas, Dad's Own Apple Pie, Chocolate Pudding. As much about attitude as it is about technique, "Dad's Own Cookbook" takes fear out of the kitchen - It's time to make Dad the new hero of the kitchen.