As a Los Angeles police offer, Bill Leasure was so lacking in ambition that he was content to be a traffic cop who hardly ever gave out tickets. As a thief, he ran six-figure scams stealing yachts, and collected guns and cars, but also stockpiled worthless goods such as other people"s linens. He was involved in murder for hire, but didn"t pull the trigger himself, and never seemed to care much about the outcome. Was he a thrill seeker? Did he get off on hanging out with criminals and planning elaborate schemes? As the New York Times writes, "In Murderer with a Badge, Edward Humes presents us with a puzzle.... Despite [his] admirable assembling of the facts, the secret of William Leasure remains inviolate." Perhaps the "secret" is that "Mild Bill" is the type of psychopath who"s so completely self-contained and empty on the inside that there is no secret. Even Leasure"s savvy wife, a city prosecutor, was bamboozled by him. Murderer with a Badge is a well-crafted, absorbing story.