“That’s what always worries me about you two. Killings bring a lot of heat.”

Granite Elephants, Tom Rhyne’s debut work, is a clever, entertaining thriller with a likeable protagonist in widower Jury Garrett, a near-50 ex-cop who spends some of his time as a private investigator, but only on cases he likes.

“He took another slow drag on his cigarette and stared at the ceiling. I still don’t understand why he wouldn’t help us use his system for our military applications. Why can’t we keep this son-of-a-bitch under control? He’s a geek, not Jason fuckin’ Bourne.”

Set in Austin and Brussels, Rhyne’s story opens with a Sunday-night phone call from a young and beautiful wife, Janelle Kinlaw, whose husband, Walter, an equally young high-tech entrepreneur, has disappeared during a trip to Europe.

Jury’s work on her case soon leads him into conflicts with the U.S. Army—who had funded Walter’s start-up company in Austin—some criminal types wanting to collect on a New York agency’s sub rosa loan, the Austin Police Department, and a highly placed banking official located in a secured office in Brussels. As Jury follows a complex series of rabbit trails to find out “Where’s Walter?,” he leans on former associates whose specialized knowledge (including applications of artificial intelligence to international currency trading) helps him get closer to the missing entrepreneur.

Anyone who has spent time in Austin will find this quick-moving, down-to-earth page-turner of very special interest. Rhyne will definitely leave you wondering where Jury goes from here.