A Lesson in...

When David is drafted at the last minute to cover a class on human sexuality, he prepares by attending a sex therapists conference, where a fellow attendee confides that she’s being blackmailed over illicitly obtained sex tapes. Things take a sinister turn when murder is thrown into the mix, and as David fumbles his way through his first mystery, he discovers he has a talent for sleuthing—and for finding himself in sticky situations.

When a musician client asks David to accompany him to the 1982 US Festival, death is the last thing on his mind. Angry groupies can be passionate, sure, but murder? Nah. David’s optimism is swiftly rocked and rolled when exotic drugs and death appear as supporting acts and the festival mood shifts. Even the lovely Lilah can’t distract David from reality. His client needs help. He has to act. Flexing his sleuthing muscles, David noodles around from one thing to another. Info is sketchy, and time is running out—the bass isn’t the only thing dropping as more bodies are found.

While reluctantly attending a therapist conference, David is relieved to find escape from his colleagues when a random stranger asks for his help. But curiosity can be a curse. He’s unwittingly drawn into a family feud, and doesn’t need to attend classes to know these never end well. Sure enough, people start dying, and a cryptic note, snarky siblings, and an intimidating wine magnate all conspire to test David’s sleuthing abilities—and his breaking-and-entering skills. A class for this might be more beneficial.

David joins therapy client Bennett, a volatile but goodhearted author, at a mystery writers conference in Las Vegas, where attendees dress up as famous detectives and participate in an innocent whodunit game. So far, so sleuthy. But all is not what it seems—Bennett’s girlfriend has disappeared, and David is tasked with finding her. And he’s not the only one on her tail. The conference cosplay takes a less than cozy turn when a series of dramatic deaths wipes out some of the most famous detectives in mystery history.

It’s 1984, and David is off the couch once more and providing support to the team-building efforts of a publishing start-up at the LA Dodgers Adult Fantasy Camp in Florida. As David seeks the elusive home run that will elevate his love life from the minors, team rivalries simmer, and he is drawn into a web of lies, suspicion, and drug smuggling. Teambuilding becomes less of a goal and more of a necessity as members start to show up dead.

In 1985, The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering had its inaugural conference in Elko, Nevada. David was there to help put on a show, but when your cast keeps losing members, it's hard to know how the show can go on. 

David’s up for a giggle when wild-card therapy client Bennett ropes him into running therapy sessions at a comedy conference. It should be a hoot, but nobody’s laughing when a conference attendee turns up dead, and veiled threats waft David’s way. Treading a fine line between self-preservation and sleuthing, David calls in his growing posse for backup and some questionable group improv.

David reluctantly joins members of his high school bridge club at their 20th class reunion in the hope of solving a personal mystery from his own past. But reuniting soon delivers a few unwelcome truths, and fear sets in when a classmate is found dead. As old rivalries and resentments flare, the gathering on the Queen Mary in Long Beach for a weekend of memory-making brings forth more murder. David enjoys a high school flashback with an old flame but is left with more questions than answers.

The ninth instalment of the popular Lesson series–featuring therapist, professor, and reluctant sleuth David Unger. David’s chakras are stimulated, and he takes a skeptical step into the unknown when he’s asked to support at the Santa Monica Whole Life Expo–bad juju is coming, and positive therapeutic auras are required. Murder soon spoils the cosmic karma, and with the posse on hand to spice up the mystic mix, David’s sleuthing leads him to places he’s never been before and most likely won’t return to.