# Pay Or Play by Howard Michael Gould (Hardback)

**_Blackmail, sexual harassment, murder . . . and a missing dog: eccentric, eco-obsessed LA private eye Charlie Waldo is on the case in this quirky, fast-paced mystery._**  
  
Paying a harsh self-imposed penance for a terrible misstep on a case, former LAPD superstar detective Charlie Waldo lives a life of punishing minimalism deep within the woods, making a near religion of his commitment to owning no more than One Hundred Things.  
  
At least, he's trying to. His PI girlfriend Lorena keeps drawing him back to civilization - even though every time he compromises on his principles, something goes wrong.  
  
And unfortunately for Waldo, all roads lead straight back to LA. When old adversary Don Q strongarms him into investigating the seemingly mundane death of a vagrant, Lorena agrees he can work under her PI license on one condition: he help with a high-maintenance celebrity client, wildly popular courtroom TV star Judge Ida Mudge, whose new mega-deal makes her a perfect target for blackmail.  
  
Reopening the coldest of cases, a decades-old fraternity death, Waldo begins to wonder if the judge is, in fact, a murderer - and if he'll stay alive long enough to find out.  
  
_Pay or Play_ is the third in the Charlie Waldo series, following Last Looks and Below the Line. Last Looks was turned into a major motion picture, starring Charlie Hunnam as the offbeat private investigator.

## Details

- **Price:** 19.49 GBP
- **Vendor:** Severn House
- **Tags:** All, Thrillers

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19.49 GBP | In stock |

## Images

- Pay Or Play by Howard Michael Gould (Hardback)

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> Source: [Somiibooks](https://somiibooks.com/products/pay-or-play-howard-michael-gould-9780727850850)
> Updated: 2026-09-17