On the surface, a small, remote island in the Pacific Northwest looks quaint and placid. However, trouble brews deep below the water when the island is rocked by an unexpected, brief and violent earthquake, and Jamie Michael's husband, Larry, who has dementia, goes missing. Det. Sgt. Rob Rimmler along with Search & Rescue deploy forces. They scour the grounds and neighborhood only to find a widening gorge on Jamie's property-a heavily wooded, five-acre rural country plot. After giving up the search for Larry, three months later, Rimmler begins to track Jamie's every movement-appearing wherever she ends up whether in town or while alone at home. One night, he admits he suspects her. Now, she must prove her innocence or end up indicted on murder charges. Sometimes when you think all seems lost, it usually is. Praise for WHEN YOU LEAVE ME: "A twisty mystery about love, betrayal, and obsession. In a small town, everyone's a murder suspect. The ending packs a punch and remains in the reader's mind long after turning the final page. Thriller aficionados will devour this story." -Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series "A cup of hot coffee at my side, I dove into Susan Wingate's When You Leave Me. The coffee was cold when I reached for a sip, so enthralled I was by the storyline. Artfully constructed, melodic, and insightful, When You Leave Me is not just a complex, captivating mystery-it's a poignant reminder to never take love for granted." -Christopher Rosow, author of the bestselling False Assurances and the Ben Porter thriller series "Susan Wingate grabs you from the very first sentence of When You Leave Me and never lets you go. This thriller is a roller coaster ride of tension and suspense, delivered in punchy, elegant prose and with dialogue that provides a window into the personalities of the author's characters. You're going to love this one." -Joseph Badal, award-winning author of The Carnevale Conspiracy "What Susan Wingate does best in When You Leave Me, as in her previous novels, is to make human pain palpable to the reader. In this newest offering, threads of pain run through every page. On San Juan Island off the coast of Washington, a husband with dementia goes missing. Then a foot in a sneaker washes ashore amidst a rash of such grotesque discoveries. Thus begins, for Jamie Michaels, the missing man's wife, a tormented journey as she claws her way through a sea turgid with grief, guilt, and fear. Is Jamie responsible for her husband's fate? The police seem to think so, and so does she. But that, in the end, isn't the question. The real questions, as every person knows who has ever cared for a loved one with dementia, are how long must this punishment last? And how can I possibly survive it?" -Randall Silvis, author of the critically acclaimed Ryan DeMarco mystery series
After twenty-five years in prison for murdering a couple of cheerleaders, a quarterback, and the class president, "Hackin'" Howard Rheinhart gets discharged. His case is assigned to Schlitz-drinking, Elvis-loving social worker and pro boxer Duffy Dombrowski. Soon, local high-school VIPs start showing up dead and Howard is nowhere to be found. Duffy throws himself into Howard's defense while juggling a few problems of his own―like a huge upcoming boxing match, a new hormonal girlfriend, the unsolicited devotion of a goofy karate kid, and the ongoing misadventures of Al, Duffy's basset hound. Praise for TKO: "Fresh, intense and funny, Schreck's second mystery to feature unrepentant Elvis fan and dog lover Duffy Dombrowski packs a knockout punch." -Publishers Weekly "Refreshingly iconoclastic." -Kirkus Reviews "TKO is fast-paced, authentic, and funny as hell. Social worker and journeyman boxer Duffy Dombrowski is a workingman's hero, and I want him in my corner!" -Sean Chercover, author of Trinity Game "Not for the faint of heart, I doesn't let up. No holds barred, insightful characterization makes this series a stand-out." -Mystery Reader "No sophomore slump here. I am now really excited about the planned continuation of this series. Hand me another Schlitz, would you." -Book Bitch
"She wasn't pretty but she was ours..." Sandwiched between seedy businesses in the scorching east LA suburb of Glendale, The Damned Lovely dive bar is as scarred as its regulars: ex-cops, misfits and loners. And for Sam Goss, it's a refuge from the promising life he's walked away from, a place to write and a hole to hide in. But when a beautiful and mysterious new patron to the bar turns up murdered, Sam can't stop himself from getting involved. Despite their fleeting interaction, or perhaps because of it, something about her ghost won't let go... Armed with the playbook from the burned-out ex-cops, Sam challenges the police's theory on the killing, butting heads with hardened detectives and asking questions nobody wants to answer. As his obsession takes hold so does his sense of purpose-as if uncovering the truth about the killer might heal some part of his own broken life. But the chase sets him on a collision course with a crooked charity, violent fundamentalists, corrupt cops, brazen embezzlers and someone dangerously close to home-all who want to make sure the truth never comes out. Praise for The Damned Lovely: "The Damned Lovely is the LA crime story born anew, an addictive mystery and a love letter to the careworn and forgotten places of Los Angeles-Los Angeles as it is right now. Adam Frost is a crime writer with a sharp new voice, telling a tale about the one thing everyone in Los Angeles has: desire. Desire for truth, for justice, for love, or maybe just a place to call home. Highly recommended." -Jordan Harper, Edgar Award-winning author of She Rides Shotgun "Frost's crackling debut novel belongs on the shelf right next to Joseph Wambaugh and Michael Connelly. Crisp prose. An intricate plot worthy of Raymond Chandler, packed with scruffy, lovable, and lived-in characters that leap off the page. Frost brings a fresh voice and much-needed new blood to LA crime fiction." -Will Beall, author of L.A. Rex and creator of CBS's Training Day "An unputdownable and suspenseful whodunnit: anchored in the quandary of manifesting destiny in grief and lost opportunity." -Blake Howard, producer and host of the One Heat Minute podcast "Every bourbon-soaked sentence in this endlessly entertaining first novel proves Joseph Wambaugh dipped Adam Frost by his ankle into the L.A. river. Roll over Michael Connelly, tell Raymond Chandler the news." -Adam Novak, author of Rat Park and Take Fountain
Homeland Insecurity is, on one hand, the story of two men accused of taking the lives of three fellow human beings-a fifteen-year-old girl in Mahwah, New Jersey and two young police officers in El Segundo, California. Two men born 8 days apart in 1934. Two men who died 57 days apart in 2017. Crimes that were committed 140 days apart in 1957. At a time when Americans were beginning to feel less and less confident about the safety of their families. One convicted murderer spent nearly fifteen years on death row at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, one-time home of Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann and Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, where he continually professed his innocence. The other perpetrator escaped arrest and conviction for more than 45 years. At the same time, this is an account of the hits and misses of the law enforcement agencies and legal institutions which-over the course of nearly five decades-eventually stumbled upon justice. Finally, it is a look at the post-World War II American experience leading up to the murders in 1957, and the profound changes to come after. When Rock & Roll, rebels without a cause, and catchers in the rye burst upon the American scene. When the fear of nuclear annihilation and real-life scary monsters crept into the national consciousness. And when those three murders in 1957, and a growing sense of national insecurity, may have had mutual effect.
Homicide detective Joe Hampton and his wife, Joyce, had planned to move to Clearwater Beach, Florida, once he retired from the Philadelphia Police Department. After Joyce unexpectedly passes away, Joe goes ahead with the move. Once he's settled into the Crimson Conch condominiums, his hopes of starting over are realized-until a series of murders upends his plans for a peaceful retirement. The Gray Detective begins with Joe discovering a body in the channel behind the condominiums after a night of Bingo. When Detectives Carly Truffant and David Sizemore arrive to investigate, Joe gives his account of the discovery. Joe is summoned to the police station days later at the request of prime suspect, Gary Burgess, the condo maintenance man. Burgess admits to having sexual encounters with the victim and other female residents and begs Joe for help. Joe's curiosity pushes him to investigate the matter, prompting Truffant to order him not to interfere. After finding Burgess dead by the condo pool after his release, and later learning of another murder, Joe uncovers a secret circle comprised of residents. Their purpose is not only illegal but deadly. Dark Arrival finds Joe acquiring the position of building manager and meeting Victoria Combes, a tough-talking, no-nonsense woman looking for a condo in the Crimson Conch. Still missing his wife, he finds comfort in their friendship though her manner is gruff. When a pair of residents are murdered, Joe encounters Truffant and Sizemore once more. Joe's exemplary career as a homicide detective persuades them to enlist his services. The arrival of Victoria's daughter provides Joe with a welcome diversion from the difficult investigation. Another murder occurs leading Truffant and Sizemore to conclude that a connection to the other murders exists. What isn't apparent is how close Joe is to the killer. Deadly Separation has Truffant struggling with a divorce and Joe agreeing to help her. Trouble arrives when Sizemore calls and tells Joe that Truffant's soon to be ex-husband has been found dead in a Dunedin townhouse. And worse, Truffant is considered the leading suspect. Truffant's troubles worsen when a woman is murdered and evidence proves she had an affair with her husband. Joe gets sidetracked by the arrival of his former neighbors from Philadelphia. When both are murdered, a man named Rogan Cavanaugh enters the picture. Joe discovers that Cavanaugh could be involved in the murder of his friends-plus the death of Truffant's husband's lover-and the mind game between the two begins.
Actor Paul Wilkinson is in a world of hurt. The cops are sure he murdered his new girlfriend's abusive ex, and a vicious drug dealer is after him for a batch of stolen narcotics. Paul sees a chance to escape the heat when he's offered the bizarre role of an eccentric billionaire's long-lost friend. He accepts the part and takes on a new identity, allowing him to hide in plain sight while he searches for the missing drugs and the real killer. When the trail leads Paul to where he least expects-back to himself-he must risk losing his identity, his freedom, and even his life to end the drama he's been unwittingly cast in. Praise for Mark T. Conard: "Dark as Night is a funny, violent, and damn near perfect noir. If you like your heroes flawed, your villains amoral, and your body count high, you might well think that Mark T. Conard has been reading your mind. A fantastic debut." -Tod Goldberg, author of Living Dead Girl "If you crossed Anthony Bourdain's Bone in the Throat with Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant and threw in a little bit of Carl Hiaasen for good measure you might get something like Mark T. Conard's funny and brutal Dark as Night. He's one to watch." -Scott Phillips, author of The Walkaway
"PI Pete Fortunato, half-Italian, half-Jewish, who suffers from anger management issues and insomnia, wakes up one morning with a bad taste in his mouth. This is never a good sign. Working out of a friend's downtown real estate office, Fortunato, who spent a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town, lives from paycheck to paycheck en a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn't hesitate to say yes. Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband in the apartment of his client's young, stud lover. He's been shot once in the head. Case closed. But when his client's check bounces, and a couple of Albanian gangsters show up outside his building and kidnap him, hoping he'll lead them to a large sum of money supposedly stolen by the dead man, he begins to realize there's a good chance he's been set up to take the fall for the murder and the theft of the money. In an attempt to get himself out of a jam, Fortunato winds up on a wild ride that takes him down to Texas where he searches for his client's lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder."--
The Sixties were a time of great cultural upheaval, when long-established social norms were challenged and everything changed: from music to fashion to social mores. And the Leave It to Beaver households in Middle America didn't know what to make of it all. In the midst of this, private eyes tried to understand and bridge the generational divide while providing their clients with legal and extra-legal detecting services. From old-school private eyes with their flat-tops, off-the-rack suits, and well-worn brogues to the new breed of private eyes with their shoulder-length hair, bell-bottoms, and hemp sandals, the shamuses in Groovy Gumshoes take readers on a rollicking romp through the Sixties. With stories by Jack Bates, C.W. Blackwell, Michael Bracken, N.M. Cedeño, Hugh Lessig, Steve Liskow, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, Neil S. Plakcy, Stephen D. Rogers, Mark Thielman, Grant Tracey, Mark Troy, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, and Robb White.
Duffy Dombrowski is not your average social worker. When he's not counseling sex addicts and drug users in a town outside of New York City, you can find him digging Elvis tunes, getting "Schlitzed" with his quirky friends, or fighting ex-Olympians in the boxing ring. Our less-than-perfect hero occasionally uses his mean left hook on pimps and other lowlifes, too. But at least he cares about his clients. When Walanda, a schizophrenic, crack-addicted prostitute, is murdered, Duffy pledges to take care of her basset hound and find her missing stepdaughter, Shony. He's horrified to discover the teenager is ensnared in a web porn ring-a vile enterprise that enslaves crack-addicted women and their children. On the verge of losing his job-and his life-Duffy also gets mixed up with a creepy doctor with ties to Pakistani extremists. Still, nothing will stop this conflicted Robin Hood from trying to save Shony and foil a terrorist plot. Praise for On the Ropes "The funniest book I have read in a long time. This is a genuine good read." -Harold Lederman, HBO Sports "Not since Carl Hiassen's Tourist Season debut has there been a novel with such superb comic timing and laugh-out-loud lines." -Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-winning author of The Guards "An Everyman with a big heart and a wicked jab, Duffy Dombrowski may well be the new Spenser. I can't wait for Round Two." -Marcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself "On the Ropes is sly, funny, irreverent, and one hell of a good time. Read it or be sorry you didn't. It's just that simple." -Laurien Berenson, author of Hounded to Death "It'll put you down for the count with laughter. Tom Schreck is a contender for funniest author working in the crime genre today." -William Kent Krueger, author of Thunder Bay "If you've ever despised your boss or secretly wanted to save the world, On the Ropes is a novel you'll devour." -Steve Farhood, Showtime Boxing "Duffy Dombrowski-a loose-cannon social worker and a boxer-has a lot more heart than is healthy for a guy. Give him an orphaned sidekick who hasn't been housebroken (literally), jam them into the middle of a sinister murder plot that packs a surprising wallop, and you've got a winning combination." -Lee Charles Kelley, author of Like a Dog With a Bone "One of my favorite writers...Can't wait for Duffy's next adventure." -Nancy Claus, Westchester Magazine "It won't take long to realize Duffy doesn't run to type...occasionally over the top, but warmhearted, tough, funny Duffy makes a promising debut." -Kirkus Reviews "Pure delight. The sharp-edged humor peppers you like a boxing master's jab, and the poignant undercurrent of theme delivers with the power of a left hook. Duffy Dombrowski is a major new contender in the world of private eye fiction." -Michael A. Black, author of A Killing Frost and A Final Judgment "Get ready to rumble with lovable losers, misguided misfits, and a disgustingly adorable dog." -Michael "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" Buffer, the Voice of Champions
The only time Guy McCann stops talking is when he's downing scotch. Guy was a hot-shot attorney for the West Coast mafia until he got cold feet and split town, earning a target on his head. Now he's lying low in Las Vegas, giving back-room legal advice to second-rate crooks while pining over his old girlfriend Blair, a syndicate working girl with a razor wit and zero inhibitions. When Blair is committed to a psychiatric ward, Guy is drawn back to the dangerous underworld of Los Angeles. Next thing he knows, Blair has escaped from the hospital and Guy's former mafia associates are on her trail, with Guy caught in the crossfire. Enter Dr. Happy, a mob physician dissatisfied with performing hotel room surgeries. Suspecting Blair holds a secret that might be their ticket to freedom from the syndicate, Dr. Happy forces his unsolicited assistance and callous bedside manner onto Guy. With the not-so-good doctor in tow, Guy follows Blair's demented trail of breadcrumbs through nightclubs and major league ballparks, pursued by a switchblade-happy mafioso with a penchant for disembowelment. All Guy wants is to survive long enough to find Blair, but she may not want to be found.
Dirty ex-cops Robert "Diggy" Diggs and Dwayne "Stick" Figgers have found themselves in hot water. After Kansas city drug lord Benny Cordella discovers that they have wronged him, he devises an insane plan: he will force them to commit suicide. This, he believes, will send them to hell, where they will track down Dread Corbin, the man who killed his daughter. Of course, Diggy and Stick don't believe this is possible, but they will soon discover that hell is real. Diggy and Stick quickly find that hell is quite different from the world they're used to. It's one giant, endless urban landscape populated by liars, cheats, and murderers-and those are the good ones. But hell isn't the pit of fire they expected. It's dark and rainy around the clock, and almost everyone there is a member of one of the many criminal organizations. Worst of all, there are no women. With the help of infamous Deadwood pimp and killer Al Swearengen, Diggy and Stick will hunt for sadistic, disfigured killer Corbin. Hell to Pay: Diggy and Stick Book One is unlike any crime novel you've ever read before. It's dark, dangerous, edgy, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Buckle up for one hell of a ride! Praise for Hell to Pay "I haven't read all of Andy's books, but I've read several, and I like that he writes whatever he likes. He's got some damn good stuff." -Joe R. Lansdale, author of Cold in July "Rausch's writing is like a serpent. It's lean. It's clever. It coils around you...and then it strikes. It's glorious, but be warned-there is no anti-venom." -Chris Miller, author of Dust
Former Irish mafia hitman Brock Sheehan lives quietly on a boat fifty miles from Cleveland. His "retirement" angered the mob boss and his former job caused the Sheehan family to disown him. But when his long-lost nephew, Linus Callahan, tracks him down and asks him for assistance, he agrees to help. A few days earlier, the nephew got into a push-and-shove bar argument with a multimillion-dollar basketball player just released from prison for running a high-level dog-fighting ring. Then the athlete is murdered, and Linus becomes the Cleveland police department's "person of interest." So while Brock Sheehan asks questions regarding the illegal dogfight community, the athlete's crazed fans subject him and his live-in girlfriend to a beating, and rapes one of his co-workers at the local animal shelter. In his travels all over NE Ohio, Brock finds himself in Youngstown where he discovers the woman he's loved all his life, Arizona Skye, who walked out on him years ago and disappeared because of his violent profession. Now she works as a TV news reporter in Youngstown and he hopes to somehow rekindle that love from ten years ago. Investigating the athlete's former dogfight ring, Brock gets most unpleasant with the remaining partner-and winds up with a pit bull of his own, which he names Conor, after an Irish saint. And eventually, with Conor's instincts, he discovers and turns over to the police the real killer of the dog-killer turned sports legend.
The first day of summer is the last day of a young accountant''s life. Colin McHenry is out for his regular run when an SUV crosses into his path, crushing him. Within hours of the hit-skip, Cleveland Homicide Detective Jesus De La Cruz finds the vehicle in the owner''s garage, who''s on vacation three time zones away. The setup is obvious, but not the hand behind it. The suspects read like a list out of a textbook: the jilted fiancée, the jealous coworker, the overlooked subordinate, the dirty client. <br><br>His plate already full, Cruz is assigned to a "special project," a case needing to be solved quickly and quietly. Cleveland Water technicians are the targets of focused attacks. The crimes range from intimidation to assault. The locations swing between the east, west, and south sides of the city. This is definitely madness, but there is a method behind it. <br><br>The two cases are different and yet the same. Motives, opportunities, and alibis don''t point in a single direction. In these mysteries, Cruz has to think laterally, yanking down the curtain to expose the master minding the strings.
Hollywood is just another word for Hell on Earth! When Dick Moonlight PI and his professional impersonator sidekick, Fat Elvis, uncover the head of a decapitated, long blond-haired woman under the floorboards of an under-construction luxury home, they come into contact with a husband-and-wife construction team who also fancy themselves Hollywood filmmakers. Only, it turns out that the filmmakers aren't interested in making romcoms, but instead, snuff films. With Fat Elvis the perfect candidate for a starring role in their new film, Moonlight is hired by the police to go undercover and expose the snuff film operation which, it turns out, is also partly financed by Mexican drug cartel gang members. The stakes and the body count in this hard-boiled thriller are higher than a box office smash hit, and far more deadly. For fans of Joe R. Landsdale, Michael Connelly, Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker, and more, New York Times and USA Today bestselling ITW Thriller and PWA Shamus Award-winning author Vincent Zandri delivers another novel in the gritty, fast-paced Dick Moonlight PI series that promises to keep you up all night.
There''s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn''t the food selection that attracts customers, it''s the illegal weapons available with the special order. <br> <br>Each episode of <i>Guns & Tacos</i> features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life''s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag. <br> <br>Episode 13: <i>Two More Tacos, a Beretta .32, and a Pink Butterfly</i> by Dave Zeltserman <br>Episode 14: <i>Two Tamales, One Tokarev, and a Lifetime of Broken Promises</i> by Stacy Woodson <br>Episode 15: <i>Chimichangas and a Couple of Glocks</i> by David H. Hendrickson <br><br>Episodes 16-18 are featured in Guns + Tacos Vol. 6.
There''s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn''t the food selection that attracts customers, it''s the illegal weapons available with the special order. <br> <br>Each episode of <i>Guns & Tacos</i> features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life''s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag. <br> <br>Episode 16: <i>Refried Beans and a Snub-Nosed .44</i> by Hugh Lessig <br>Episode 17: <i>Two Steak Taco Combos and a Pair of Sig Sauers</i> by Neil S. Plakcy <br>Episode 18: <i>A Smith & Wesson with a Side of Chorizo</i> by Andrew Welsh-Huggins <br><br>Episodes 13-15 are featured in Guns + Tacos Vol. 5.
Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 2, the second entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is a crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor. Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn't often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century. Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finn is a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you've finished reading every story, you'll know that you've been "slipped a Mickey." The nineteen contributors, including some of today's most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include: Trey R. Barker, John Bosworth, Michael Bracken, Scott Bradfield, S.M. Fedor, Nils Gilbertson, J.D. Graves, James A. Hearn, Janice Law, Hugh Lessig, Gabe Morran, Rick Ollerman, Josh Pachter, Robert Petyo, Stephen D. Rogers, Albert Tucher, Joseph S. Walker, Sam Wiebe, and Stacy Woodson.
Armand Cole kills a snitch. He is supposed to take him to Monticello''s infamous Pier 9, but a snowstorm forces him to leave the body on the freeway. A related murder at the pier is assigned to the MPD''s Special Investigations squad. For Jessica Branson, this means she gets to do something she hasn''t done in years: Real police work. But she must do so under the former Internal Affairs officer who sent her into exile. <br><br>Armand is soon the point man for the drug operation''s money man, a suave businessman named Rufus King. He is ordered to keep an eye on a stubborn dealer, an arrogant boy named Baggy, who has turned the city''s Holland Bay neighborhood into his own fiefdom. Branson finds her squad has been given a new mandate: Clean up Holland Bay. While Armand runs afoul of dealer Baggy, Branson is nearly killed in an explosion that also puts her erstwhile partner in the hospital. <br><br>Branson soon zeroes in on Ralph Smithers, the city''s drug lord. Armand tries to curry favor with Smithers, but soon becomes enmeshed in a tug of war for power between Smithers and King. In a sudden explosion of rage and betrayal, open conflict erupts over the course of an evening. Each man wants Armand to kill the other, while Branson leans hard on Smithers. <br><br>As Smithers''s grip frays, Branson, against orders, chases down leads, including a busted dealer, a drug lab operator ready to come in from the cold, and a woman brutalized by Smithers. Armand is soon in the middle of carnage the city has not seen since its Mafia days. As the night drags on, the fate of the city falls to Armand as he must decide which of his two overlords must die. <br><br>The two will end up at Pier 9 as rivalry comes to a head. <br><br>Praise for HOLLAND BAY: <br><br>"Jim Winter has written a novel that like a fine whiskey, just gets better and better with time." -Ken Bruen, bestselling author of the Jack Taylor series <br><br>"Drug dealers, cops, departmental politics in a beaten-down city. Fans of <i>The Wire</i> will love <i>Holland Bay</i>." -Dana King, two-time Shamus Award nominee and author of the Penns River crime series
Former academic now veteran Deputy Sheriff Blevins Bombardi tries to solve a freakish murder of a cryptozoologist seeking the elusive Skunk Ape in a national forest in north central Florida. He is distracted, though, by struggles with his inner demons: heavy drinking, depression, suicidal thoughts, and torment from the recent murder of his wife for which he was responsible. Also, his daughter ran away two years before when her mother was killed and may have joined up with a vagabond cult that moves with the seasons around the country and is now camping nearby in Florida, and he has spent countless hours traveling from state to state trying to find her. In the meantime a category five hurricane rushes toward Florida in the unlikely month of February, the bears and monkeys (an odd piece of Florida history) in the national forest are mysteriously slaughtered by arrows, and politicians and evangelists join forces in a push to privatize all public lands. When a bizarre and perhaps severely mentally disturbed ex-con shows up insisting that Bombardi help him locate a former lover (who may be imaginary), the Deputy Sheriff may have to step far outside the law to restore any order to his off-balance world. All My Sins Remembered joins Ron Cooper's previous novels as part mystery, part philosophical inquiry, and part tragi-comedy. Winner of a Florida Book Award. Praise for ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED: "Please meet Major Blevins Bombardi, a deputy in the middle-of-nowhere central Florida, a man unknowingly haunted by the first line of Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus. He's part Spencer from Robert B. Parker's detective novels, and part TV's House. All My Sins Remembered is a fast-paced whodunit-or whodunabunchofthings-with a cast of secondary characters worthy of any swamp-dweller chronicle." -George Singleton, author of Between Wrecks and The Half-Mammals of Dixie "Ron Cooper was born and raised on the edge of the swamp, and that curious upbringing shows through in just the right places. A mystery and love story to boot, All My Sins Remembered is a red-hot ball of iron marvel." -William P. Baldwin, author of Charles Town and The Hard to Catch Mercy "Cooper combines philosophical reflection with a rural setting, working-class characters, an engaging storyline, and vernacular to create a rare, pleasurable experience for the reader...a lesson in what a good novel of ideas can and should achieve aesthetically." -American Book Review "Ron Cooper has his own unique voice, and what a marvelous, darkly comic voice it is. He is an immensely talented writer." -Ron Rash, author of The Risen and Serena "Cooper is a superb writer, and a daring one too." -Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World and The Realm of Last Chances "A prose style that snaps like garters." -Fred Chappell, author of I am One of You Forever and Look Back All the Green Valley
<i>This year, the fireworks will be red hot...</i> <br><br>Skates Farrington is a changed man. Gone are the smart suits, the dull meetings and the extra pounds. Nowadays, he gets his thrills at the skate park and from whatever substances his dealers send his way. The only thing missing from his life is his ex-wife. She''s shacked up with a respectable partner in an isolated farm and striving to create the perfect life. Skates is convinced that she will come back to him when she sees his new self, but when attempts to win her heart all over again are thrown back in his face, he decides a little gentle persuasion is in order. Now he can include murder and abduction among his new-found skills. <br><br>DI Oliver Wilson, leading the investigation, has more than a few things on his mind. The case and imminent arrival of his third child should be at the forefront of his thoughts, but the arrival of a sequence of unusual gifts is making him nervous. The packages are sending him a message, he just can''t work out what they''re trying to say. <br><br><i>Ain''t That A Kick In The Head</i> is the explosive follow up to <i>Let It Snow</i> and <i>My Funny Valentine</i>. <br><br>Praise for AIN''T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD: <br><br>"Nigel Bird knows his characters inside and out-what they want, how they think, how they grow and how they fail. <i>Ain''t that a Kick in the Head</i> might be his best work yet. A convincing, engrossing portrayal of what life is like for cops and criminals alike." -Chris Rhatigan, All Due Respect Books publisher <br><br>"One of my favourite contemporary crime fiction series." -Colman Keane, <i>Col''s Criminal Library</i>
Clay Moloney, a cynical reporter with a regional Australian newspaper, is expecting an easy Sunday at work when the body of a young woman washes up at the Bay of Martyrs. The death is an inconvenience for Clay, who''s content filing obituaries and re-writing government press releases on the new multi-million-dollar airport. <br><br>But the more he digs into the Bay of Martyrs incident, the more he realises the girl''s death is not a case of misadventure, despite what the police tell him. Clay becomes obsessed with the murder investigation, putting himself and his colleague Bec, an Irish-born photographer, in danger. Will Clay achieve justice for the young student, or will those in power stop him before he uncovers the truth? <br><br>Master of "tartan noir" Tony Black collaborates with Australian author and reporter Matt Neal to create a thrilling criminal case of murder and corruption set on Australia''s south coast. <br><br>Praise for BAY OF MARTYRS: <br><br>"This is one hell of a read. Two authors is a tricky gig and most times results in a desultory effect. But here are two writers so in sync that it is seamless. A get-in-yer-face, down and dynamic read that grips and enthrals. Tony Black at the very height of his terrific talent and now with a double act to enrich his solid rep." -Ken Bruen, author of <i>The Guards</i> and <i>Priest</i> <br><br>"<i>Bay of Martyrs</i> is a piece of perfectly-crafted Australian coastal noir, from the body on the remote beach that sparks journalist Clay Moloney''s obsession, to the cast of bent cops, developers and a politician on the make. A dark gem from the first wave of Aussie mysteries that''s sweeping the world." -Jock Serong, author of <i>The Rules of Backyard Cricket</i> and <i>On Java Ridge</i> <br><br>"This was a great read. Really cool, interesting and unusual locales, with a fast-paced thriller narrative and some very sexy lead characters. Highly recommended." -Tony Cavanaugh, author of <i>Promise</i> and <i>Dead Girl Sing</i>
Jay Desmarteaux raised a whole lot of hell in New Jersey after he was released from prison after 25 years for the murder of a rapist bully at his school. Now he's on the run in his home state of Louisiana, where he traces his roots to an evil family tree that's grown large and lush, watered with the blood of the innocent. Jay's hunt for his parents will take him to the doors of stately plantation homes built by the enslaved, through the deadly and gorgeous heart of the bayou, to his greatest nightmare-a cell in the infamous state prison, where his only escape is the wildest show in the South-the Angola Prison Rodeo. Scarred and shell-shocked, Jay Desmarteaux faces his deadliest adversaries yet: the demons within himself and the brutality wrought by his privileged ancestors. The Boy from County Hell is coming home... Praise for THE BOY FROM COUNTY HELL: "Thomas Pluck's The Boy From County Hell is raucous and rollicking, just like The Pogues song it adapts its name from. There are echoes of James Lee Burke, Barry Gifford, and Joe R. Lansdale, but Pluck's book burns hot and bright with its own indomitable punk spirit. Joyous, wild, dark fun." -William Boyle, author of City of Margins, A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, The Lonely Witness, and Gravesend "Blistering, violent, and written with Technicolor flourishes that are Pluck's unmistakable signature. The Boy from County Hell is a hell of a book." -Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase "Pluck has crafted a hard-charging thriller that stomps the pedal from page one and never lets up. Crackling with exciting characters and language that pops off the page, The Boy From County Hell is a mad tale of rage, retribution, and no small helping of heart and soul. I loved it." -Bill Loehfelm, author of the Maureen Coughlin series "Wow. The Boy from County Hell by Thomas Pluck is as wild as a night in a cage with an amorous monkey. So smart and tense and relentless. Pluck decides on his premise, and stays true to it until the rowdy end, but the real star here is his control of style, both hardboiled and poetic at the same time. Impressed." -Joe R. Lansdale "The Boy from County Hell is a harrowing and at times deeply philosophical journey through the heart of rage. Thomas Pluck is our trustworthy tour guide through that undiscovered country. With deft prose and an eye towards redemption and revelation Pluck accomplishes an amazing feat. We find ourselves feeling sympathy for the boy from county Hell" -SA. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of Razorblade Tears
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