Books by Professor Dana (Medical University of South Carolina) King

Penns River rarely sees two homicides in a year. Two in little over a week is almost too much for the police force to handle. The assigned detectives - Ben Dougherty, a former MP and Penns River native, and retired Pittsburgh cop Willie Grabek - find links to bind the two cases, but their investigation is complicated by the involvement of private investigator Daniel Rollison, a retired spy on a suspect's payroll who is really working for himself. Pittsburgh mob boss Mike Mannarino also lives in Penns River and has more than a passing interest in the case. The two cops' savvy competes with the limitations of their small town's resources and the interference of Rollison and Mannarino in a story that shows identifying a killer and proving it are separate things. Praise for WORST ENEMIES ... "You're going to be surprised and delighted. It's a great book, and I recommend it unreservedly." - Leighton Gage, author of the Inspector Mario Silva series "By the end, WORST ENEMIES was miles from Strangers On a Train ... When a crime novel goes above and beyond a mere interpretation of a classic, the reader is left as satisfied as the author." - Benjamin Sobieck, author of Cleansing Eden and The Writer's Guide to Weapons "I finished reading this book on a gurney in an Emergency Room with crying kids, a car accident victim and a loud drunk keeping me company, and barely noticed them. If that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is!" - New Mystery Reader

A new casino is opening in the rural town of Penns River, Pennsylvania but just where the money is coming from no one really knows. Is it Daniel Hecker, bringing hope to a mill town after years of plant closings? Or is the town's salvation really an opening for Mike "The Hook" Mannarino's Pittsburgh mob to move part of their action up the river? Or could it be someone even worse? When the body of a drug dealer is dumped on the casino steps shortly before its grand opening, Detectives Ben Doc Dougherty and Willie Grabek have to survive their department's own inner turmoil and figure out not only who's behind the murder, but what it means to whoever is behind the operation itself. Between the cops, the mob, and the ex-spook in charge of casino security (Daniel Rollison, a man with more secrets than anyone will ever know), GRIND JOINT is a mesmerizing mix of betrayal, police action, small town politics, sudden violence and the lives of the people of a town just trying to look after itself. Praise for GRIND JOINT ... "King has created vividly drawn characters, a plot the late Elmore Leonard would appreciate, and dialogue that hits all the right notes. Let's hope GRIND JOINT is the first in a new series chronicling life and crime in the Alleghenies." - Booklist "One of the best novels I've read this year. Period." - Les Edgerton, author of Bomb, The Bitch and The Rapist "I cannot remember a book I've read - including anything by Elmore - where the cops sounded more like cops, tricking suspects, stumbling with women, smart-talking the tough guys, and finally getting out of a big shootout with brains, brawn, and guts." - Jack Getze, author of the award-winning Austin Carr series