Böcker utgivna av Down & Out Books

Ten remarkably diverse short stories filled with scheming characters, unexpected twists, and writing that'll sneak up on you from the Edgar Award winning crime novelist. "A good short story is like a punch from a prize fighter-it comes at you fast, delivers an impact, and leaves you stunned. There's no one in our business who does this better than David Housewright. In great story after great story, he proves himself a master of the art of short fiction. This is a collection that should be on every reader's bookshelf." -William Kent Krueger, NY Times Bestselling Author of the Cork O'Connor series A reformed newspaper reporter and ad man, David Housewright has published 16 crime novels including PENANCE (winner 1996 Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America), and PRACTICE TO DECEIVE, JELLY'S GOLD, and CURSE OF THE JADE LILY-all winners of the Minnesota Book Award. He was elected President of the Private Eye Writers of America in 2014.

13 sordid and salacious tales of hustlers, lovers and losers, killers and thrillers carousing in a charade of lust, love, luck, and murder... where shifty, shady types clamor to survive, when no way out seems to be the only way out... "You read stuff like this and the top of your head comes off. This is pure dark, stark, powerful poetry." -Les Edgerton, author of The Bitch, The Rapist and The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping "It's top shelf writing with a bloodshot eye for the gutter." -Charles Benoit, Edgar-nominated author of Relative Danger and You "De Blase wields a big heart and a bigger knife for twisting." -Jack Getze, Spinetingler Magazine

Who wants to kill Austin Carr? Everybody. He's a stockbroker. About to be ingeniously murdered -- snatched off a private fishing yacht by a live, six-hundred-pound giant bluefin -- a down-on-his-luck stockbroker recalls the events and bad choices that precipitated his gruesome end. His killer - Mr. Blabbermouth -- might be any of a dozen suspects, including a steroid-crazed wrestler angry over Austin's poor investment recommendations, a jealous sales manager often the target of Austin's jokes, and a widow with long red hair, sexy curves, and plenty of secrets. Or could there be another suspect Austin overlooked entirely until he stepped on board that yacht? This is the first book of the Austin Carr mystery series penned by Jack Getze. "Darkly comic, with an engaging protagonist." -- T.J. MacGregor, Edgar Winner, Author of The Tango Key Mysteries "Big Numbers is a gritty, sexy, violent, and funny book." -- Liz Clifford at Reviewed by Liz "Wonderful characters...well-written, entertaining...a good read." --Connie Anderson for Armchair Interviews "Indiana Jones has his whip and Luke Skywalker has his light saber, but for Austin Carr, his full-boat grin is the weapon of choice." --Melissa for Lou Reads "Jack Getze started his career as a newspaper reporter. As a result, BIG NUMBERS is lean and mean, with not a word wasted. A truly fun, genuinely funny read." --Lisa Guidarini for Bluestalking Reader

Dale is a crooked cop. It started slow, but grew like a cancer and now he can't get out from under the thumb of Tat, a would-be kingpin in every vice he can turn a profit with.And now Dale's number is up-the top brass knows. But instead of getting busted, Dale gets an offer. The mayor's daughter is being held by Tat in his fortress built from an abandoned office tower. They want her back but if they storm the gates, Lauren is as good as dead. So they're sending Dale on what could very likely be a suicide mission: infiltrate Tat's fortress and bring her out alive.If the Mayor even really wants her alive…Floor by floor Dale and Lauren have to fight off an increasingly difficult and dangerous set of obstacles.Meanwhile, Dale's wife has her own troubles and some of the drug kingpin's goons are only adding to an already rough day.The clock is ticking down along with the floors of the building and escape is looking less and less likely. But to save her, and to save himself, he must make it all the way down.Praise for ALL THE WAY DOWN:"Last chances, double crosses, and a cop who has to shoot his way out of a fortified skyscraper-what's not to love? All The Way Down rips. It's fast and fierce, like a guitar solo that hits all the sharpest notes." -Meg Gardiner, author of Into the Black Nowhere"Eric Beetner's All the Way Down is everything a reader could want from an action thriller-fast, suspenseful, and the right kind of outrageous. The stakes ratchet up with each harrowing surprise for crooked cop Dale and reporter Lauren, as they work together to escape the urban fortress of the city's maniacal kingpin. If every suicide mission was this much fun, we'd all sign on." -Glen Erik Hamilton, author of the Van Shaw thrillers"Beetner's Dale Burnett is a dirty cop trying to rescue someone from the clutches of the ruthless criminal he's been accepting money from...and fifteen floors of non-stop action follows! Beetner is a master at throwing more and more trouble at his heroes, and in All the Way Down, Dale gets hit with everything imaginable. No, check that-you will not have imagined what happens on a couple of these floors. This book is an absolute blast." -Frank Zafiro, creator and editor of A Grifter's Song"Relentless." -Rob Hart, author of the Ash McKenna series

After nearly two decades in prison, high school gridiron great Dan Parrish returns to his hometown in rural Kansas with nothing more than a duffel bag and a desire to quietly get on with his life.But picking up the pieces in a place where he was once revered isn’t as easy as he hoped, especially for a convicted felon in the Bible Belt. And in no time Dan has landed squarely in the crosshairs of an old, high school nemesis, the unctuous Judge Rick Hunter who warns Dan to “leave Echo now or be sent back where you came from.”When Dan is offered a dream job—a coaching staff position with the Echo Junior College football team—he must decide between accepting the offer and risking his newfound freedom; or leaving Echo, tail between his legs, and breaking the promise he made to his dying father.Meanwhile, Dan is falling fast for his college professor, a beautiful but enigmatic outsider who challenges him to stay in Echo. And in an odd twist of fate, Parrish’s final decision results in an outcome that splashes his name and face across every county news outlet in Kansas, forcing the former star to face off against his two most formidable adversaries: his age and his checkered past.Praise for SPLINTER CITY:“Splinter City is an action-packed homecoming tale with a satisfying twist. Dan Parrish, ex-con, ex-football star, is a fascinating, complex character who braves the prejudice of a small town that may not be ready to forgive his alleged sins.” —Deborah Shlian, winner of Florida Book Award for Rabbit in the Moon and Royal Palm Literary Award for Silent Survivor“Thomas Wolfe said, ‘You can’t go home again,’ but haven’t we all gone back, or wanted to? If you haven’t, you can go back vicariously by reading Splinter City, a fine new novel by established authors Shawn Corridan and Gary Waid. Travel with Dan Parrish as he deals with homecoming, heartbreak, and small-town football.” —David Bishop, author of The Third Coincidence“When a former local football hero returns home to a small Kansas town after eighteen years in prison he discovers even the secrets have secrets, and the forces that tried to ruin his life are still there, now more powerful, ready to finish the job. Don't read it on a work night. Highly recommend.” —Mike Pace, author of One to Go“Corridan and Waid spin a masterful tale of redemption with surprises at every turn. A great read.” —Robert B. McCaw, author of the Koa Kane Hawaii mysteries

The "black car" has appeared both conspicuously and inconspicuously throughout the annals of fiction-its presence both mysterious and menacing, its appearance enough to pause your heart. It's the sedan just within sight that seems to be mimicking your speed and movements as you walk down the dark deserted street late at night. As the hairs rise on the back of your neck you wonder, Who is behind the wheel and what is the driver's intent? It's The Black Car Business and its presence means your life is about to abruptly change. You try to assure yourself there's nothing wrong, but your pace quickens nonetheless, and soon you're running, desperate for that narrow sliver between two buildings to slip through, the one too narrow for the black car to pass through. It's that car parked just down the block that sends chills down your spine and keeps you awake throughout the night. It's the sanctuary you race toward when you're being chased, only to explode when you turn the key. It's the one that skids off the icy mountain overpass and plunges into the cavernous grotto. It's where Clemenza garrotes Carlo just as he's about to be driven to the airport. It's The Black Car Business. If The Black Car Business Volume 1 made you nervous Volume 2 will have you climbing the walls. Here are eleven fresh takes on that ominous black whip coming out of nowhere to stun and lay waste to your psyche. You may lose a few nights sleep but we promise it will be worth it. Contributors: Jonathan Ashley, Brett Battles, Kathy Bennett, Austin Camacho, Tim Ellis, Ty Hutchinson, Rick Murcer, Richie Narvaez, Gary Ponzo, Jeff Soloway, and Frank Zafiro.

Gentrification is moving in hard and fast in Montreal's South-Western districts. D'Arcy Kennedy finds himself out of breath, out of a job and raising a kid in a small home meant for another era. As the bulldozers take away entire chapters of his life, he turns to old acquaintances for work, leaning in on his hard-earned reputation as a good PI to find employment with the Irish mafia. But even organized crime is struggling to keep up with the changing landscape of the City. Weed is going legal, trust funds are pushing realtors and people who would have not dared cross the Irish not so long ago now defy them carelessly. Navigating his past and staking his future on this new life, D'Arcy Kennedy will have to thread a razor thin line between the law, loyalty and his own family if he wants a place for him and his own at the end of it all. Praise for DOWN WITH THE UNDERDOGS: "A working class family man strikes a deal with the devil in Ian Truman's fast-paced, volatile Down with the Underdogs. The result is class warfare on the streets of Montreal. Truman offers an unflinching portrait of a city caught in the throes of gentrification, and one person's struggle to fight back. An excellent read." -Sam Wiebe, author of the Wakeland novels. "Truman captures life on the edges-of culture, of language, of the legal and illegal, of the sane and the mad. And he tells a great story in the process." -Warren Moore, author of Broken Glass Waltzes

Life has never been easy. Life has never been kind. It is always hungry. It is never full. Enter the struggles within the pages of The Big Machine Eats. Where fathers clash with sons, cannibals turn on cannibals, and sometimes sandwich meat is far from the worst choice a person can make. These stories, along with the continuing adventures of Bishop Rider, make up the bulk of this collection. They are not for the faint of heart. They are not for those who fail to believe one should get what one deserves. We must help ourselves. We must help those who find themselves unable. If not, it's as the sign says: The Big Machine Will Eat. Praise for THE BIG MACHINE EATS: "Beau Johnson has put together a collection of stories so compelling that you will want to set aside a few hours each time you come to it. One just isn't enough, and the next thing you know you'll be grumpy at work because you stayed up way past your bedtime." -Paul Heatley, author of Fatboy "Beau Johnson takes you to dark places and shines a light on the ugly things that happen there. His perfectly created, bigger-than-life Bishop Rider is a modern-day anti-hero and Johnson writes the surrounding stories with savage suspense. The Big Machine Eats is the perfect follow-up to his debut A Better Kind of Hate." -Marietta Miles, author of Route 12 and May "These deliciously dark stories will stay with you long after you've read them. Johnson is a natural storyteller-insightful, empathic, and, above all, brutally honest. He takes readers places they really don't want to go, drawing them into a grubby underworld of bad guys doing very bad things to very bad people. Retribution is a common theme, and Johnson never shirks from the grisly details as his characters come up with even more inventive ways to settle old scores. Revenge, here, isn't just served cold-it's delivered on ice, and then some. The Big Machine Eats is a gripping collection from a writer at the top of his game." -Gary Duncan, author of You're Not Supposed To Cry "An extremely entertaining and clever collection of stories from one of the biggest names in the game. He invites readers along for a wild ride through the seediest neighborhoods of his twisted mind in this fantastic follow up to A Better Kind of Hate. Let him help you see the demons that walk among us and shine some light through the darkness. Clearly the best collection you will read this year." -Kevin Berg, author of Daddy Monster and Indifference "Beau Johnson has a way of luring you in with his sharp wit, discerning eye, and conversational voice. You'd follow him anywhere, even after you careen off a cliff and plunge into the darkest depths of the human psyche-and sometimes not so human. A helluva brutal collection from a ferociously twisted mind." -Sarah M. Chen, author of Cleaning Up Finn "Beau is back, once again proving he is the alchemist of conflict as he continues to peel back the fingernails of human frailty and forces us to stare into the darkness found there." -Tom Pitts, author of American Static and 101 "Beau Johnson excels at the base, those twisted places we don't want to go. Whether that is sexually motivated, or fueled by revenge or something more sinister (if not all three at once), Johnson puts his subjects beneath the microscope. What we get is, yes, the truth, but more than that: we get an extreme close-up of the horrifically beautiful." -Joe Clifford, author of The

The Origins Game Fair is proud and pleased to present Mystery! , our 2018 fiction anthology. The collection features stories by authors in the convention's Library program. This collection brings together fifteen tales of mystery set across genres, in a legion of times and places. Each author has provided a story which will give you an excellent opportunity to sample their skill and imagination.

The '80s hair-metal band Savage Night is living the rock star fantasy. They trash hotel rooms, run through groupies, and flaunt their goods in music videos with bloated budgets. All that changes while on tour in Japan, when the band learns they owe more money than they have. They discuss their options: add a keyboardist, release a live album, and tour for six straight years in hopes of breaking even. The Drummer chooses a different path. He shaves his head, takes the next flight back, torches the mansion that his stripper ex-girlfriend designed, and fakes his own death. Fifteen years after their collapse, the Singer of Savage Night has tracked down the Drummer in hopes of convincing him to come out of hiding for a reunion tour and second shot at glory. The chase is on, as the press, the Feds, and former bandmates hunt the Drummer down the streets of New Orleans. A novel soaked in sex, drugs, and tequila, The Drummer is a still cocktail of crotch-grabbing hair-metal and New Orleans noir. Praise for THE DRUMMER: "A fun read about drugs, rock and roll, brawls, and banging (drums, groupies, and otherwise)." -Publishers Weekly "If you had any connection with-or nostalgia for-the '80s heavy-metal rock scene, Anthony Neil Smith's The Drummer should be right up your dark alley. Smith writes with force and clarity." -Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune

Who hasn't dreamed it? Lost in today's siren-scream world, coming apart at the seams, the chance to ditch the pressure and find...yourself. For the fragmenting Metcalfs-long-adrift Ben, world-class sailor Kate, coming-of-age Shay-a friend's sailboat, warm breezes, and tropical waters is a dream come true. Until the nightmare finds them... The reviews are in: Award-winning author Richard Barre rocks. Praise for Echo Bay: "A new Richard Barre novel is reason to break out the champagne. He is... one of the true blue masters of crime fiction." -Dennis Lehane, bestselling author "In addition to building suspense and evoking a setting with both warmth and terror, Echo Bay displays Barre's writing talents. His voice is unique, his words and images powerful, his thoughts on the human condition heartbreaking. Echo Bay is a stunning novel of betrayal and redemption." -Les Roberts, Cleveland Plain Dealer Praise for Burning Moon: "The sheer beauty and strength of Barre's writing gives a glow of redemption that is extremely rare in any kind of fiction." -Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune Praise for Christmas Stories In the Tradition of Rod Serling: The Complete Collection: "There is a spooky polish rubbed over all of this, onto every surface until it shines. Barre knows what he is doing and this story shows it. Edgar [Allen Poe] would be proud because it ripples with the muscle of less being more." -Michael Connelly, bestselling author "Richard Barre touches the soul. He is simply one of the best." -Harlan Coben, bestselling author

Hopper Garland is good at finding lost girls. When his last target tries to taker her life upon being discovered, he begins to rethink his career as a private eye. However, a persuasive offer from a sexy woman has him back on the case, chasing a missing sixteen-year-old pregnant girl from the swampy ruins of post-Katrina New Orleans to the neon grime of Las Vegas. Along the way he'll have to contend with a rogue's gallery of henchmen, pornographers, and his own incestuous sister. After he makes a deal with a sociopathic murderer who believes he's found the secret to eternal life, Hopper will relearn that old saw: some things are better off left alone. Praise for XXX SHAMUS: "XXX Shamus is the most transgressive PI novel ever written. It's also one of the best." -Allan Guthrie, author of Two-Way Split "Okay, you tough readers. You like it so raw? Time to put up or shut up. Stick your face into the pages of XXX Shamus. Turn away before the last page and I'll kick your fucking teeth out. Take it. Take it all." -Victor Gischler, author and Marvel Comics writer "Danger. Keep your head and hands inside this ride at all times. Then wash them afterwards. Wish I woulda wrote it." -David James Keaton, author of Pig Iron "Five stars with the proviso that this is an extreme book, and definitely not for those readers of delicate sensibility." -Pearce Hansen, author of Street Raised

Being a bad guy isn't just a way of life. It's an art. Eddie Ballard is a hitman who loves his job. He is also inexperienced and enjoys making the kind of noise that just isn't professional. If Eddie wasn't so good at what he does, he could be the next one put onto a slab. Cecil Marzynski is a quiet, skinny man with eyes that have seen all there is to see in the St. Louis underworld. Cecil is also a hitman, but one that uses a vast network of contacts as his primary weapon. So many important people on both sides of the law owe him favors that some have taken to calling him Marker. Eddie enjoys fast cars, loud guns and louder music. Cecil has been circling the same woman for months, trying to find the perfect angle to approach her without tipping her off that he is wanted for murder in several states. Eddie thinks he knows how to be a tough guy. Cecil has forced some of the toughest criminals to give up everything they held dear. The figure at the top of St. Louis's biggest organized crime syndicate is known as Pyotr The Greek. Pyotr is the only man with enough power to convince Cecil to take Eddie under his wing and teach him about what it means to be a true professional. Along the way, perhaps Eddie can show Marker a thing or two about savoring the good things in a bad life. Unfortunately for both of them, there is a new threat coming to town that might hit The Greek hard enough to topple his entire family.