Books published by Cutting Edge Publishing

The gritty, hard-edged novel of sex, crime, and corruption in 1970s Atlanta...and the man who is paid to hide it all... by Ralph Dennis, author of the legendary Hardman series of detective novels.Vince Gorman is a ruthless lawyer with flexible morality who makes problems go away for David Wardlaw, an Atlanta real estate developer and the owner of the city's pro basketball team. Wardlaw doesn't care how Vince fixes things...as long as it gets done. But now Vince is in over his head... covering up a possibly fatal hit-and-run by the team's hard-partying star shooter... and competing with Wardlaw's rivals to bribe, blackmail and intimidate the corrupt politicians who award the city's rich construction contracts...all while desperately scrambling to keep his own life of dark secrets, relentless womanizing, and soul-rotting compromises from crashing down around him. This is an edited and revised version of a book previously published in 1975 under the title Atlanta.Praise for Ralph Dennis:"Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment." New York Times"His prose is muscular, swift and highly readable. " Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap & Leonard novels, the basis for the hit TV series."Exceptional characterization, strong and vigorous prose, and a glimpse into a place and time that has long since disappeared." Mystery Scene Magazine"An underappreciated master." Robert J. Randisi, founder of the Private Eye Writers of America."Straight-up, hardboiled crime fiction, written in a tight, evocative voice with a wicked, dark sense of humor." Lee Goldberg, #1 New York Times bestselling author of True Fiction and Lost Hills.

"Exceptional characterization, strong and vigorous prose, and a glimpse into a place and time that has long since disappeared." Mystery Scene Magazine"Dennis may not have made literature of Hardman, but he damn sure touched on it more than a time or two," Joe R. Lansdale, New York Times author of the Hap & Leonard series The eighth novel in the legendary Hardman series. Ex-cop Jim Hardman and ex-NFL player Hump Evans will do anything for a buck, short of murder. But this time, that's exactly the service that Hardman is offering. He's posing as a hitman in a sting being run by his only friend left on the Atlanta PD. The scam goes fatally wrong and Hardman becomes the guy with the target on his back..."A lightning-paced crime story packed with irreverence and loads of action." Publishers Weekly"Among the best series books around. The dialogue is marvelously realistic." Philadelphia Daily News "Ralph Dennis has mastered the genre and supplied top entertainment." The New York Times"Hardman is not your typical PI. He is not that good looking; a bit on the pudgy side in fact. His methods are unorthodox, and he often plays both sides of the law when working a case. But these and other genre-defying characteristics are what captures and holds our fascination." Bookgasm This new edition includes an Afterword from author Robert J. Randisi, founder of the Private Eye Writers of America