Dirk Diggins The Case of the Borrowed Heart

By Thaddeus Tuffentsamer

Take a 1930's hard-boiled detective, give him the genius of Sherlock Holmes, add a touch of Doctor Who, and occasionally drop him into The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and you get, Dirk Diggins, Private Eye.

Los Angeles, 1978. Dirk Diggins is a hardboiled private eye with a talent for finding trouble-and a long history of surviving things he shouldn't. But when Guy Finchley walks into his office with the exact date, time, and location of his own death, Dirk knows this case isn't ordinary. Guy isn't delusional. He isn't important. He's already been scheduled.

As Dirk, his wife and partner Ming, and their snarky AI companion FIBR investigate, they uncover a conspiracy that stretches centuries into the future. Someone needs Guy dead in the twentieth century-and they're willing to manipulate time itself to make sure it happens.

At the center of it all is the Phlox Consortium: a cold, bureaucratic force that doesn't rule worlds or wage wars. They maintain outcomes. They enforce inevitability. And they've already logged this murder as complete.

To save one ordinary man, Dirk will have to outthink a system that treats lives as data, tests loyalty through sacrifice, and measures love as leverage. The cost will be high. The consequences permanent. And the universe will be paying close attention.

The Case of the Borrowed Heart is a gritty science fiction noir featuring time travel, futuristic conspiracies, dark humor, and a private detective who refuses to let reality close the file.

Perfect for readers who love: - sci-fi noir - time travel mysteries - hardboiled detectives - cyberpunk and retro-futurism - dark, character-driven speculative fiction

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GHF7PF2M
• ISBN13: 9798244288292
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"