Morty Martinez, now wealthy and living the good life in Baja California, figures it will be easy to honor Father Gomez's request to retrieve a sacred relic for his La Paz diocese. The holy relic, a gold ring once worn on the finger of a legendary conquistador, was stolen off the finger contained within a box at the orphanage bearing the conquistador's name. After 55 years, Father Gomez now knows who took the ring -- discount-chain billionaire Robert Tyson Grant. And the priest is confident Grant will be willing to return the ring to its rightful place of honor once he knows of its history. Well, think again, padre.

Grant did not make his money being a sentimental softy, as Monty soon finds out. No sooner does he arrive in New York and meet with Grant than Monty finds himself up to his eyeballs juggling a myriad of double-crossing murder plots involving Grant and a quirky cast of characters (Grant's salacious mistress, his scandalous stepdaughter, a rapacious fortune teller and a blundering ax-happy assassin) each with their own get-rich-quick-and-be-famous schemes. Entangled in all this quagmire, Monty eventually ends up in a jail cell awaiting execution.

Told by Monty from his Mexican jail cell the night before he's to be shot, RINGER is an amusingly delightful crime novel. The diverse cast of quirky characters and the elaborate plot, as well as Monty's wry and insightful narrative, provides pure reading pleasure. Wiprud has a true talent for writing witty crime fiction, and I can't wait for his next book!