Disappeared : a Buster Hightower mystery
(Book)

Ted Snowe is a hit man, but with a twist. He double-dips. He accepts money for performing the hit, but then arranges for the victim to disappear with a new identity, while collecting additional funds for this service from the victim. Unfortunately for Ted, James Jimmy "Knuckles" Brutto, one of the would-be victims Ted helped, very publicly resurfaces, and Ted's employer, not pleased, sends Leonardo the Asp Aspromonte to deal with Ted and prevent further embarrassment. Ted, along with Beth, Jimmy's former wife, and his friends, third-rate comic Buster Hightower and Carla Chance, all of whom get caught up in Ted's problem, go on the run to Rome, trying to elude the Asp. When in Rome, they find Shorty, the man who started Ted in the business, and figure out a way to neutralize the Asp. Framed with Buster's jokes, this fast-paced crime story is told from multiple points of view and includes numerous plot twists, quirky characters, a romance, and some dark humor.