Books published by Down & Out Books

You want heartfelt sensitive stories about the mid-life crisis of a middle-class white guy? How about ironic tales of suburban marriages where the love has faded? Yeah, if that's what you want, pick up some other book, because Crooked Roads, Alec Cizak's first short story collection, is not for you. This book is about real humans in the real streets of cities and small towns. People who are messed up, people at the edge of things-at the edge of sanity, at the edge of morality, at the edge of legality. Criminals, the homeless, the depraved, the perverted, and just normal folk at the end of their rope. Go ahead, pick it up, give it a read. We dare you. Praise for CROOKED ROADS: "With fists pounding against cliché and convention, Alec Cizak creates prose that is bold...and bloody." -David Cranmer, author of Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles, and publisher of Beat To a Pulp Books

A Crime Novella. When two young girls disappear with a trunk-load of pot, unaware their payload has been packed with an extra five kilos of cocaine, a lovable loser persuades a sociopathic killer to pursue them across Northern California on a violent, twisted goose-chase that ends in a horrific place none of them could have foreseen. Praise for PIGGYBACK: "Piggyback restores noir to its dark kingdom, a rollicking pumping novel of losers, psychos, stone killers, idiotic amateur rip-off artists, and a road-movie of a story that is as fast as it is beautifully written. Think Don Winslow's Savages meets Christopher Cook's Robbers and you have the dark read of the year." -Ken Bruen, two-time Shamus Award-winner "Piggyback is a wild frenzy of drugs, violence, and crazy plot twists. Somebody needs to make the film version." -Tony DuShane, author of Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk

Picking up from where our last issue left off, we have another group of crime stories written especially for us. Starting with ex-police detective Lissa Marie Redmond whose short fiction has appeared in anthologies like Akashic's Buffalo Noir and whose debut novel will be out in February 2018, we move along to novelist Andrew Welsh-Huggins, author of the Andy Hayes PI series. Then we have a chilling new tale by short story specialist Nick Kolakowsi, followed by this issue's featured writer, Bill Crider, who takes us to Blacklin County, Texas, where he treats us to a new story starring everyone's favorite sheriff, Dan Rhodes. Tim Lockhart's debut novel came out earlier this year amidst a lot of buzz and he's here with a very dark tale indeed. Next we offer a taste of J.J. Hensley's fast-paced writing with an airborne story as we await the premiere of a new series early next year. Our trip to the past brings us to the legendary writer Carroll John Daly and his no-holds-barred character Race Williams, who never shot any man that didn't deserve it. We close out the issue with a story strong with irony by Ben Boulden. Throw in a terrific column by J. Kingston Pierce and you've got another issue of Down & Out: The Magazine.

Back in '68 they made killer music...now their music is killing them. It's been thirty years since Joe Portugal put his electric guitar away. Maybe that's one reason he's suffering a serious case of the mid-life doldrums. Then Joe stumbles upon a chance to put the band he was in as a teenager back together. And maybe his life too. All he has to do is find the lead guitarist, who hasn't been seen since the 70s. But when he starts to look, it's quickly clear that someone doesn't want to see a reunion tour...someone who's very handy with a gun. Praise for the Joe Portugal mysteries: "I love reading Nathan Walpow books...a solid, intelligent mystery...add Walpow's marvelous sense of humor and you'll see why he's winning new fans ever day." -Jan Burke, Edgar Award-winning author "Snappy Chandleresque dialogue." -Los Angeles Times "Joe's wry sense of humor will convert readers into loyal fans." -Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine "This guy is a hell of a writer." -Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series

"The stories in this breathless and relentless collection are rendered in a voice both elegant and manic, as if we're seeing the world through a surreal and yet precise kaleidoscope, one that both celebrates and condemns our foibles and follies. Satirical and cutting as Jonathan Swift, hectic and skewed as Van Gogh, bitter and morbid as Poe, the stories collected in The Selected Letters of the Late Biagio Serafim Sciarra show us that all is not well in Paradise, that the savage wealth of America has created a land of lunacy. Perhaps only Gogol and Barthelme have written stories this fantastically brutal and beautiful. George Williams is one of the finest minds and writers of our generation." -Eric Miles Williamson

May, lonely caretaker and small-time weed dealer, has spent years trying to hunker down and hide from her damaged past. As a destructive nor'easter takes aim at her sleepy island home of Folly, May tries to hunker down once more after the island is evacuated. But death is in the air - not just from the storm, but from others on the island driven by darker demons - and May finds that this time, there's nowhere to hide. Praise for MAY: "Every page has a lovely line, something to savor, even as the story uneasily slips under your skin. There's beauty in the violence in this novella about loneliness and the lengths people go to free themselves from its grasp. You read May and imagine Marietta Miles sitting at the edge of the abyss, peering into it and scribbling into her notebook." -E.A. Aymar, author of You're As Good As Dead "Marietta Miles is a unique voice in modern noir, a writer of such dark scenes that only the power of her words can provide the light that releases the reader into a world where hope remains. Showcasing a Southern sensibility that reminds at times of Flannery O'Connor, Miles continually reveals further breadth (and depths) to her characters. A book of dark charms, May adds to the staggeringly beautiful intoxication delivered by last year's Route 12." -Rob Pierce, author of Uncle Dust and With The Right Enemies "May will haunt you long after you close the cover. Its every page is fraught with peril. Its every word oozes with tragedy You know it's coming, but you won't dare look away, lest you miss one of the freshest, most scintillating voices in Southern crime fiction." -Eryk Pruitt, author of Dirtbags and What We Reckon "May is gripping and yet poignant. May Cosby and the people around her struggle against the present and the past, trying to piece together a life that's worth living. Set along the fragile Folly Island of North Carolina as a frightening storm approaches, May looks back upon her choices and does her best to come to terms with them. Extremely atmospheric and at times heart-wrenching, May is a story of choosing to leave the wreckage of the past and search for hope in the future." -Jen Conley, author of Cannibals "Marietta Miles's May is an unfiltered, provocative deep-dive into the bleak life of an extraordinarily complex woman. Utterly engrossing and relentlessly heartbreaking, Miles's sharp, powerful storytelling will have you rooting for May fiercely right up until the very end." -Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep, Freak, and Wonderland

Jon Catlett, a misanthropic literary obsessive, is facing the loss of the only thing in the world he loves; his used bookstore, a haven for fellow weirdos, outcasts, misunderstood geniuses and malcontents. Jon has several other problems, the least of which are his love affair with a bi-polar femme fatale heiress to a thriving northern steel company or the exponentially growing opiate habit he has developed. When Jon, during a deal gone wrong, accidentally kills a fellow drug addict, getting away with murder turns out to be the least of his worries. The steps he and Paul, the obsessive-compulsive manager of Jon's store, must take to cover up the killing result in the two cornering Louisville's blossoming heroin trade. From West End gangbangers to dirty cops and crusading narcotics detectives, Jon and his unstable partner in crime must dilute their morals and thicken their skin if they are to have any hope of surviving the lucrative but deadly life they've stumbled upon. Praise for THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS: "Poetic, down trodden and nihilistic, Jonathan Ashley treads through parts of the human psyche that others fear for one black tar mind-f**k-ride of a novel." -Frank Bill, author of Crimes in Southern Indiana and Donnybrook "Ashley breaks our hearts, he breaks all the rules and, most importantly, he breaks our expectations of what a simple crime story can be. He shatters it, in fact, leaving readers craving another deadly taste-much like the lost souls in this chilling, amazing story." -Patrick Wensink, author of Broken Piano for President "We live in a capitalistic society, yes, but nobody said doing business is easy or even enjoyable. Jonathan Ashley makes this point quite well in The Cost of Doing Business. Of course when the business is the heroin trade, the stakes are life and death, but is the suspicion, the betrayal, the plotting and scheming, all that different than what goes on in the corporate world? Louisville bookstore owner Jon Catlett leaves his used volumes of Yeats behind to get into the drug trade and make some real money, and the result is blood-filled mayhem. He never loses his sense of literate irony, though, taking us through a fast, unpredictable novel with equal parts darkness and humor. A very confident debut." -Scott Adlerberg, author of Spiders and Flies

Angel Luis Colón invites you on a short tour of the world as a literary mix tape to that strange Goth girl with the lazy eye who still wants nothing to do with you; no matter how good that fedora looks on your head. So what's in store for your brain? Follow three major moments in the life of gambling addict and mafia muscle Sean Clarke as he goes from soft-hearted kid to full-blown bastard to broken old man. Thrill at the short-lived and incredibly violent courtship, marriage, and honeymoon of Hank and Annie. The set of the country's most popular trash TV talk show is appropriately trashier than what makes the air. Beards make absolutely terrible trophies. Sometimes you'll crawl through the fire and smoke for a chance at a semi-decent score and a way out of working in a place called "Meat City". All that along with even more violence, revenge, Lee Van Cleef, light sex crimes, and cannibals than you can shake a stick at!

Shayna Billups left Tommy Ruzzo and Seatown, Florida in smoking ruins before escaping to New Orleans. She's slinging rum drinks at a pirate-themed dive bar when a treasure map grabs her attention. All alone and thirsting for adventure, Shayna follows the clues to North Carolina where she assembles a band of drug-dealing pirates to wage war on a murderous mayor and his blood-thirsty biker gang. As the bodies pile up, Shayna wonders if Ruzzo will find her before she ends up in Davy Jones' Locker.

The three novels in Waiwaiole's dark and dangerous Wiley series chronicle the tragic twists and turns in the lives of two old friends after those lives have completely gone off the rails in Portland, Oregon. In LEON'S LEGACY, Waiwaiole goes back to where it all began - back when Wiley and Leon were high school kids pursuing the state basketball championship. Unfortunately, it was also the year that the crack gangs from California began to sink their talons into Portland's inner city, a juxtaposition that threatens not only their hoop quest but also their lives. An inner-city high school teacher and basketball coach when this actually occurred in Portland, Waiwaiole has a wealth of first-hand exposure to this story and the writing chops to deliver it convincingly. Praise for LEON'S LEGACY "Lono Waiwaiole writes with a command you don't see much anymore. He is the opposite of the winking hard-boil writer of today. He writes authentically and knowingly about America's underclass, the streets and being an outsider. Leon's Legacy is an unexpectedly honest novel about a violent teenage world, peopled with intensely believable characters whose upside down humanity will grab you." -Kent Harrington, author of The Red Jungle and Rat Machine

When rare photos¿ a scandalous diary¿ and a beautiful woman all go missing at once¿ the stage is set for three challenging cases for Henry Swann. It begins with an offer to partner up with his slovenly¿ unreliable frenemy¿ Goldblatt. The disbarred lawyer-turned-"facilitator" would provide the leads and muscle¿ while Swann would do all the fancy footwork. A lost diary by a free-loving Jazz Age flapper is worth enough to someone that Swann takes a beat down on an abandoned boardwalk. Pilfered photos of Marilyn Monroe propel him deep into the past of an alcoholic shutterbug¿ his wife; and he's hired to search for a lonely writer's runaway girlfriend. The cases converge and collide in a finale that lifts the curtain on crucial¿ deadly facts of life for everyone-including Swann himself. Praise for Swann's Lake of Despair... "Smart, satisfying, even profound, this is exactly what every mystery reader is looking for: A terrific story, full of wit and originality, and a master class in voice. Charles Salzberg is a true talent, and his Henry Swann is a classic - complex, hilarious, and completely charming." -Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark award winner for The Other Woman, Agatha winner for The Wrong Girl

The drugs are missing and four lives are about to collide. Clyde just wanted to make a little extra cash on the side to raise his new baby. Now his life and the lives of his wife and newborn daughter are in jeopardy. Brent just wanted to do his job and be left alone. Now he's in a race against time for his life. Sean just wanted to escape the crime he committed in Detroit. Now he's stumbled into another. The money he embezzled is nothing compared the load of narcotics that fell into his lap. And Skeeter? Well, Skeeter wants the drugs back, and he'll use any means necessary to get them. When these four are let loose on a mad scramble to locate the drugs, they cut a path of mayhem and bloodshed across Virginia. Inept would-be criminals clash with ruthless drug dealers in a violent weekend where no one is safe. The only certainty: Everyone is in over their heads. "Hard boiled pulp, hot off the press. The writing team of JB Kohl and Eric Beetner give the middle finger to polite crime writing and splatter the pages of Over Their Heads with foul mouthed, two-fisted action delivered in a hail of bullets. Neo-noir, transgressive fans will cheer. Drawing room mystery readers may need smelling salts. Don't say you weren't warned." -Anonymous-9, author of Hard Bite and Bite Harder "Over Their Heads is a stripped down hot-rod of a novel. JB Kohl and Eric Beetner keep things fast and tight, with a gasp or a laugh on pretty much every page as an assortment of would-be badasses try to track down some missing drugs. It's a comedy of errors, scored with the sound of gunfire." -Jake Hinkson, author of The Big Ugly "Over Their Heads is a real tour-de-force from the writers that brought you One too Many Blows to the Head. A full-blown crime noir that will keep you on the edge of your seat!" -Bill Craig, author of the Marlow Key West Mysteries and the Decker P.I. mysteries

From Valley Girls to Valley of the Dolls, the L.A. Woman has captured our imagination and redefined the fairer sex. CJ Parker is our lifeguard, Lucy Arnaz, our studio executive, Angelyne, our reality star, and the Black Dahlia, our murder victim. L.A. neighborhoods have spawned the Beverly Hills housewife, the Hollywood starlet, the Van Nuys dominatrix, the Santa Monica Surf Betty and the Manson girls, to name a few. LADIES' NIGHT, an anthology by Sisters in Crime Los Angeles, includes stories by Julie G. Beers, Julie Brayton, Sarah M. Chen, Arthur Coburn, L.H. Dillman, Bengte Evenson, Cyndra Gernet, Andrew Jetarski, Micheal Kelly, Susan Kosar-Beery, Jude McGee, Gigi Pandian and Wendall Thomas. The anthology is edited by Naomi Hirahara, Kate Thornton and Jeri Westerson. Award winning L.A. crime novelist Denise Hamilton wrote the introduction.

In the Bakken oil field of North Dakota, they call the new guys "worms." Ferret is a worm from Alabama, trying to kickstart a new life for his family, while back home his in-laws whisper break-up songs in his wife Dee Dee's ear. His boss, a shadowy old guy called Pancrazio, drags in Ferret, Gene Handy, and two roustabouts from Oklahoma to deal with a new meth empire on the prairie. Meanwhile, a reservation cop keeps a close eye on the big picture. All Ferret wants is some easy money and the love of his family. But he quickly finds out that there's danger around every corner, in every drill, truck and train car. And if the machines or chemicals don't get him, then the other roughnecks will. Because beneath the dirt and grease, nobody is what they seem. Praise for WORM: "Years from now, Smith will be viewed as one of the best writers of our generation-he's just not capable of writing anything but a fantastic novel." -Les Edgerton, author of The Bitch, The Rapist and The Genuine, Plastic, Imitation Kidnapping "Worm is a tremendous achievement in the portrayal of duplicity and greed in the oil boom. Smith hasn't lost his fastball and he's aiming it right at the reader's head again, the way it should always be." -Benoit Lelievre, Dead End Follies "Smith pushes the characters hard and their flaws are ruthlessly exposed...it brings forward unlikely heroes who emerge from the mire when it becomes deep enough." -Nigel Bird, author of Southsiders "Smith's prose is memorable and cutting; the term you serve in this book with these men is one of pure pleasure." -Rusty Barnes, author of Reckoning and Rednedk "Be entertained, but also be warned. There is a definite human cost to every barrel pulled out of the ground, something Smith makes clear with every blow in Worm." -Ben Sobieck, author of The Invisible Hand

Eddie and Sunny have never had anything in life save for each other's love. For months they've lived out of their car with their young son, and the stress of it all has driven pregnant Sunny to the point she wants to ditch Eddie and her kid and vanish from the life Eddie's tried so futilely to build for them in rural North Carolina. When they stop at an abandoned service station, the point is just to survive another night in their car. But inside they discover a marijuana grow operation, cash, and a stockpile of weapons. As they leave, the owners arrive and Sunny is forced to shoot the dealers to save her family. Eddie and Sunny become fugitives of the law and the drug dealers' kin and are separated with each believing the other has been killed in an act of retribution. Eddie & Sunny is the story of a family finding its soul, but to do so they have to lose one another first. It is a story of hope, love, and the American Dream. It is the great American novel set to a crime fiction soundtrack.

Winner of the 2016 Shamus Award for Best Original Paperback PI Novel! Private Investigator Jacob Diamond and San Francisco Detective Sergeant Roxton Johnson are famous for not getting along. Cats and dogs. Oil and water. Liston and Ali. Jake and Rocky. When an assistant district attorney is murdered in his high-rise apartment building, and Johnson suspects his lieutenant may have something to do with it, he can think of no one else to turn to for help-no one he can trust-except Jake Diamond. If the mismatched duo can avoid stepping on each other's toes long enough-they may be able to stop circling the runway and land on the villain's doorstep. Lieutenant Laura Lopez, Detective Ray Boyle, Joey Clams, Vinnie Strings and Darlene Roman are all back in the first new Jake Diamond escapade since Counting to Infinity. "Jake Diamond is back and it feels like the return of an old friend. One of my all-time favorite PI series-Circling the Runway is the best yet."-Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning author The Lock Artist "Think it is impossible to find a new take on the wise-cracking San Francisco PI? Meet Jake Diamond and think again. Jake and his crew-both the good guys and the bad guys-are sharp and smart, convincing and complex."-SJ Rozan, Edgar Award-winning author (as Sam Cabot) of Skin of the Wolf "J.L. Abramo's Circling the Runway offers the swagger and strut of Raymond Chandler, the skintight plotting of James M. Cain and smart-ass one-line humor smacking of Mickey Spillane."-Jack Getze, author of Big Money and Big Mojo "In Circling the Runway, J.L. Abramo is shooting at us again-and he's doing it from every shadow and hidden doorway, from every window and passing car. And damned if every bullet doesn't hit its mark perfectly."-Trey Barker, author of Death is Not Forever and Exit Blood "J.L. Abramo's Circling the Runway takes up where Black Mask boys like Hammett, Gardner, and Carroll John Daly left off. It's loaded with tough guys and hard-boiled action-emphasis on the hard."-David Housewright, Edgar Award-winning author of Unidentified Woman #15 "Jake Diamond returns after a ten-year hiatus, and his reappearance is well worth the wait. Abramo offers yet another smart, funny and action packed installment to his award-winning series with Circling the Runway."-The Denver Review

When ex-sheriff Ken Burke is attacked and winds up in an unusual coma, the former hitman Sangster finds himself pulled into the world of Voodoo in order to save his friend. Sangster discovers he has stepped into a hornet's nest as the search leads him through a myriad of French Quarter Voodoo businesses, a Catholic church, a mysterious Voodoo priest in the bayou while avoiding the next would-be hitman wanting to take Sangster out. "Leave it to master-storyteller Robert Randisi to come up with a soulful new spin on the hitman genre. Sangster is a unique addition to the ranks of killers for hire." -Max Allan Collins, creator of QUARRY "As many excellent hitman novels as there have been over the years...you wouldn't think there would be much left to do with the sub-genre. But you'd be wrong, as Robert J. Randisi...proves quite handily. -James Reasoner, author of Texas Wind "...an ambitious, fast-paced thriller that plunges readers headlong into the world of professional hitmen...author Randisi promptly throws some fresh twists into his tale that amp up the excitement and suspense all the more." -Wayne D. Dundee, author of the Joe Hannibal PI series

Featuring Work By: Dickey Betts, Sherman Alexie, Willy Vlautin, Vicki Hendricks, Chris Hedges, Chris Offutt, Jason Isbell, Daniel Woodrell, Patrick Michael Finn, Joseph D. Haske, Steven Huff, Eric Miles Williamson, Ron Cooper, Esther G. Belin, Michael Gills, Larry Foundation and Mark Turcotte Stray Dogs is a collection of writers, poets and songwriters who write about the America that does not exist in the glossy magazines, the Hollywood blockbuster or the corporate novel. These are highway songs and gutter poems, whiskey-soaked and sun scorched stories for the forgotten and lost. This is the other side of the electric American night.

Crimespree Magazine's Jon and Ruth Jordan provide the best coverage for the crime fiction aficionado in each jam packed issue. In addition to serving up the magazine, they have also dined with the best the crime community has to offer. Therefore, they felt it was time for a cookbook! "Tired of the same old knuckle sandwich? Check out the killer new recipes in the Crimespree cookbook." -Robert Crais "I don't like to brag, but no one knows more about eating than I do. No one." -Laura Lippman

After three years and fifty-nine releases-some old, some new-Down & Out Books thought it was cause for a celebration. This anthology is a sampling from twelve authors published by Down & Out Books. The contributions include six brand new stories, three excerpts from forthcoming novels and three previously published stories. The line-up of Down, Out and Dead is impressive-Anonymous-9, Trey R. Barker, Rob Brunet, Tom Crowley, Frank De Blase, Les Edgerton, A.C. Frieden, Jack Getze, David Housewright, Bill Moody, Gary Phillips and Robert J. Randisi.

Bouchercon has been the annual gathering-in of mystery readers and writers, all of us fans of the genre, since the very first event in 1970 in Santa Monica, CA. In 2014, Bouchercon celebrates a return to the California beach, this time Long Beach, with an anthology of short stories by a roster of talented writers. You'll never think of sun, sand, or picnics the same way again. All proceeds from this anthology support the Long Beach Public Library Foundation. As writers, readers, and fans, we know how important a strong vibrant library system is. No matter what we write or read, across category and genre, we all agree on this: librarians rock! The collection is edited by Dana Cameron and features stories by Patricia Abbott, Al Abramson, Roger Angle, Craig Faustus Buck, Bill Cameron, Judith Cutler, Ray Daniel, Jeffery Deaver, Phillip DePoy, Sharon Fiffer, Delaney Green, Eldon Hughes, Tanis Mallow, Edward Marston, Krista Nave, Gigi Pandian

A mix of Cajun gumbo, a couple tablespoons of kinky sex and a dash of unusual New Orleans settings and you wind up with Les Edgerton's latest romp fest! Pete Halliday is busted out of baseball for gambling and travels to New Orleans to make his fortune hustling. Five years later, he's deep in debt to a bookie and in cahoots with Tommy LeClerc, a Cajun with a tiny bit of Indian blood who considers himself a red man. Tommy inveigles a reluctant Pete into one scheme after another, the latest a kidnapping scheme where they'll snatch the Cajun Mafia King and hold his amputated hand for some serious jack. Along the way, Pete is double-crossed by Tommy and falls in love with part-time hooker and full-time waitress Cat Duplaisir. With both the Italian and Cajun mobs after them, a chase through Jazz Fest, a Tourette's outbreak in a black bar and other zany adventures, all seems lost. Fans of Tim Dorsey's character Serge Storms, and readers who enjoy Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen, will enjoy this story. Praise for THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING: "A hard-driving, relentless story with grab-you-by-the-throat characters." -Grant Blackwood, New York Times bestselling author "The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping is not for the faint of heart, and that's just one of its selling points. If you like crime fiction that cracks wise while offering a peek into the darker recesses, this is the book for you." -Bill Fitzhugh, author of Pest Control and The Exterminators "… a dark crime comedy that will have you laughing from page one. It crackles with manic energy and mad thrills. If you're looking for a different kind of edgy crime novel, this is the one to grab." -Bill Crider, author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries "Les Edgerton's latest book is the real deal, and has everything to keep you turning the pages. It's a caper, full of fun and high-jinx, but it's also bitter-sweet, engendering a full range of emotions. You'll smile, you'll wince, you'll laugh out loud, and sometimes you'll even cringe, but you'll come away from the read feeling thoroughly satisfied and entertained. A terrific read." -Matt Hilton, author of the bestselling Joe Hunter thrillers

What could possibly go wrong when the backwoods Libidos Motorcycle Club hires a high school dropout to tend a barn full of high-grade marijuana? Plenty, it turns out. In a world where indoor plumbing's optional and each local wacko is more twisted than the last, drug money draws reprobates like moths to a lantern. From loveable losers to gnarly thugs and law-and-order wannabes, every last one of them has an angle-their best shot at being stinking rich. And with their own warped ideas about right, wrong, and retribution, the Libidos aren't far behind. "Brunet's hilarious caper [is] populated with a motley collection of unforgettable would-be heroes, all scrabbling for a piece of the action. Thoroughly entertaining!" -Owen Laukkanen, Anthony-, Barry-, ITW-, and Spinetingler-nominated author of The Professionals, Criminal Enterprise, and Kill Fee "One of the wildest romps you'll ever go on...the cast is right out of a John Waters movie and with more unexpected twists and wrong turns than a blind rat on crack running a maze. This book rocks!" -Les Edgerton, O. Henry-, Edgar Allan Poe, and Spinetingler-nominated author of The Bitch and The Genuine, Imitation Plastic Kidnapping "If Carl Hiaasen were Canadian and enjoyed partaking in a little Class D substance for recreation, then you'd have an idea of what Stinking Rich has for you between its covers." -Todd Robinson, Anthony-nominated author of The Hard Bounce

"Gordon Gekko meets Janet Evanovich in this wry and winning caper-Jack Getze does it again!" -Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award winning author of Truth Be Told Wall Street's miasmal garbage washes up on the Jersey Shore when a small time broker falls in love: Is he attracted to the beautiful lady-or her brother's inside information? Held spellbound by a steamy, auburn-haired woman with a dubious past and a get-rich-quick, insider trading scheme, Austin Carr knocks down a beehive of bad-acting Bonacellis, including the ill-tempered "Mr. Vic" Bonacelli, who wants his redhead back, and local mob lieutenant Angelina "Mama Bones" Bonacelli, architect of a strange and excruciating death trap for the fast-talking stockbroker she calls smarty pants. To survive, Austin must unravel threads of jealousy, revenge and new affections, discover the fate of a pseudo ruby called the Big Mojo and slam the lid on a pending United States of America vs. Austin Carr insider trading case. Can Austin and his Jersey Shore mouthpiece possibly out maneuver the savvy U.S. District Attorney from Manhattan? Will anything matter for Austin ever again if Mama Bones flips that switch?

Some say he's a serial killer. Others say he's a vigilante doing what police can't or won't do. What's certain is that Dean Drayhart, a paraplegic, will soon sit on death row for killing hit-and-run-drivers in Los Angeles. But not if the Mexican Mafia gets hold of him and those he loves first. Dean may be broken in body but his fierce spirit is determined to protect his pet monkey named Sid and girlfriend Cinda-out there running hard and fast from the law. Hardboiled, funny, relentless, and unexpectedly tenderhearted BITE HARDER delivers riotous action all the way to a bombshell climax that could only have been written by Anonymous-9, the self-declared mad scientist of crime fiction. "Bite Harder is part screwball comedy, part killer crime story entirely unlike anything else out there. It is unique and vicious and bloody funny but what kept me turning pages deep into the night was its heart. I loved Hard Bite, and Bite Harder is even better, stronger, wilder." -Josh Stallings, Beautiful, Naked & Dead, Anthony Award nominee "Brilliant, brutally funny, so real you can taste it. Starring the finest serial-killing helper monkey in all fiction." -Douglas Lindsay, author of The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson, soon to be a major motion picture starring Emma Thompson and Robert Carlyle

Three years ago, Sangster, a hitman, woke up and discovered he had a soul and decided to retire to New Orleans. Now, his former life has finally caught up with him. And they want him back or the alternative is his death. To truly escape his past, Sangster must decide between saving his soul or eliminating the threat the only way he knows how. "Randisi is a masterful writer . . ." -James W. Hall "Randisi is a master of the genre. He's one of the best." -Michael Connelly "A skilled, uncompromising writer, Randisi knows which buttons to press-and how to press them." -John Lutz

East Bay Grease, Eric Miles Williamson's now classic first novel, has received worldwide acclaim as one of the great depictions of working-class America in the latter half of the 20th century. The story of T-Bird Murphy, born in the tumultuous 1960s and raised in the ghettoes of Oakland by his mother, who rides with the Hell's Angels, his father, who is an ex-convict, and the father figures who range from musicians to construction workers, East Bay Grease is a novel of dignity, honor, and courage that has been compared to the works of John Steinbeck, Jack London, and Upton Sinclair. Praise for EAST BAY GREASE: "Williamson's writing becomes transcendent. His prose cuts loose in torrid rhythms that evoke the peril and exuberance of jazz." -The New York Times Book Review "A confident debut, an arresting, often harrowing read." -The London Times