Panic in the Pits: a Thomas Ballard mystery (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781732455122)

The fact that Cosmo Costello, a well-known Central Florida mobster, is killed doesn't send seismic waves through the law enforcement community except when it is discovered that a rather significant amount of cocaine is missing.

Full time automotive journalist and part time special deputy sheriff Thomas Ballard and his significant other, full time Orange County Florida Sheriff's detective Olivia Nederfield get called into headquarters to identify Costello's remains. The only apparent clue is a photograph dedicated to the deceased by an aspiring young stock car driver and a calendar with entries coinciding with car races in which he is racing, together with what appears to be payments of significant amounts of money.

The next race is at the iconic Daytona Speedway and Olivia and Thomas set off to try and connect the dots...find the killer and find the drugs in the fast paced world of automobile racing.