Marty Fenton is not your average gumshoe. Neither a tough guy nor blessed with brilliant insight, Fenton is a bit of a nerd; a plodder who relies on patience and dogged persistence to unravel the mystery and catch the culprit.
Just before his 40th birthday, Marty decides to pursue a PhD in social psychology. He is accepted into the doctoral program at Syracuse University. When Professor Singletary, his advisor, discovers that Marty has worked as a licensed private investigator, he persuades his student to take on a series of cases including solving a cold case murder of a civil rights activist in the 1960s and finding a member of the SU women's basketball team who has gone missing.
After five years of arduous study and a busy schedule of PI moonlighting, Marty is finally receiving his doctoral degree and getting ready to begin his career as a social psychologist. He has accepted a faculty position at Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond Virginia. He has also overcome his reluctance to commit to a relationship and is scheduled to be married to Faith Pasternak, an attorney he met while working on a case his advisor convinced him to take.
In Tiffany's Misfortune, the 6th book in the Marty Fenton Mystery Novel series, Marty follows a twisted trail to discover who is taunting Tiffany, the niece of his new colleague, Yolanda Seawright, and why they are threatening to harm her. Along the way, he learns about the unorthodox drug trafficking operation in Richmond and the covert activities of a secret group of influential Richmonders. In addition to his sleuthing, Marty has his hands full adjusting to his new roles as college professor and spouse. He mostly enjoys his new life, but struggles to reconcile Faith's fear for his safety with his commitment to help Tiffany.