Think of the big Woody Allen/Soon Yi Previn scandal, where a famous man marries his stepdaughter. Now, instead of Woody Allen, imagine the guy is a legendary macho writer, a cross between Jack Kerouac and Ernest Hemingway. And imagine the wife he abandoned was a famous feminist.

That’s the extreme situation David Handler sets up in The Girl Who Ran Off With Daddy, yet another Stewart Hoag mystery. Needless to say, this one involves some pretty cringe-inducing situations – though I think it’s fair for me to tell you the worst parts do get mitigated in the end.

When Hoagy was a young writer, Thor Gibbs was his mentor and inspiration. So when Thor asks him to ghost-write his stepdaughter/girlfriend’s autobiography, giving her side of the story, he doesn’t feel he can say no – creepy though it feels. Hoagy is mostly retired now, living in Connecticut with his ex-wife/current partner, Merilee, and their baby daughter Tracy. His life is fairly idyllic, and he’s not really over the moon about having their farm invaded by an aging Peter Pan with a death wish on a motorcycle, and his seductive 18-year-old lover. Thor Gibbs hates normal living, and none of that is in prospect – until murder occurs.

There’s lots of stuff going on beneath the surface in The Girl Who Ran Off With Daddy, and some of it’s actually pretty positive. Especially a subplot involving Hoagy’s father. So if you can get through the initial creeps, you may be glad you read it.

Cautions for language and immature subject matter.