After 15 novels and a collection of humorous essays printed by small publishers, Steve Brewer is about ready to be discovered by a wide audience. Brewer’s affinity for storytelling is matched by a wry sense of humor that doesn’t overwhelm the serious aspects of his mysteries.

Next year, “Lonely Street,” Brewer’s first novel in his Bubba Mabry private detective series, will hit the movie theaters starring Jay Mohr, Joe Mantegna and Robert Patrick. Meanwhile, readers can get a jump on discovering the Albuquerque private detective in “Monkey Man” (Intrigue Press, $24), the seventh Bubba novel.

The sincere, but not always bright, Bubba is about to be hired to find out why the local zoo seems to have a high death rate for its animals. Bubba hasn’t even decided to take the case when his would-be client is killed in front of him. Now he has a new client – the dead man’s fiancee – and a double job to find the man’s killer and the cause of the animals’ deaths.

“Monkey Man” briskly moves through a seamless plot. Brewer continues to make Bubba a likable guy who is willing to reach beyond his limitations. His relationship with his reporter wife adds to the story, especially since the two are at odds over their jobs.

Brewer, who writes a weekly humor column that’s published in about a dozen newspapers, including the Albuquerque Tribune, also has a second series that revolves around a sports editor and several stand-alone caper-style mysteries.

The movie of “Lonely Street” is at least a few months away, but “Monkey Man” is here now.