Crime and mystery: hard-boiled crime, noir fiction

Book SynopsisShort stories of subtle menace and Lydia Davis-esque humor.On the eve of an important battle, a colonel is visited in his tent by an indigenous woman with a message to pass on. A man sets about renovating the house of his childhood, and starts to feel that he might be rebuilding his own life in the process. At a private clinic to treat the morbidly obese, a caregiver has issues of her own…These are stories of immigration, marginality, history, intimacy and obsession. They each present their own distinctive view of the world through the lives of their respective characters – who are as dissimilar as they are complex – and the profound transformations they undergo. As reflections on the uncontrollable nature of life, as depictions of how even the most innocent detail can become a threat, these stories do not offer neat endings but rather remain open to the reader’s sense of inquisitiveness.Southerly is a perfect introduction to what has been called ‘the Consiglian logic of story-telling’ (Cabezón Cámara), in which events don’t always occur sequentially, and where the reader quickly learns to tiptoe between the tiniest of details, as if walking through a minefield.Trade Review"Employing a language that is sharp, concise and visceral, it proves his talent as a natural storyteller and as a social chronicler and poet of some refinement." —Morning Star"There is a timeless quality to Consiglio’s prose...a storyteller of rare ingenuity." —Splice"Glimmering." —Publishers Weekly"[Consiglio] carves out a singular space by focusing on characters who do not quite have a place of their own." —Full Stop"His stories are told with dispassionate realism while being varnished with a surrealist gloss, creating his own in-between style...Occasional poetic turns reminiscent of Pablo Neruda erupt within the narrative." —Culture Trip**********Praise for Jorge Consiglio"A moving testament to the beauty and banality of human relationships." —Publishers Weekly"A masterpiece that refuses to stay still." —Culture Trip"Fate could be likened to a pointillist painting by Seurat, with each dab of colour and each descriptive passage contributing to what is finally a beautifully structured and brilliantly shimmering whole." —New York Magazine (The Strategist UK)"In the realm of fiction, an author has total authority over their characters, and they can inject interactions with meaning and pattern-play in a way therapists warn us not to in our day to day lives. It takes a particular level of craftsmanship to do this at the level of the sentence, with the effortlessness that Consiglio seamlessly achieves, and to sweep a reader so tenderly into the progress." —White Review"A muted and unhurried novel that insists on the validity of the imperfect present." —Kirkus"The beauty of this novel...is that it provides no answers, but many questions. It can be reflected upon, re-read, and reconsidered." —BookBlast"The language of Fate has teeth and claws." —Books and Bao"Fate is a rich tapestry of language, a sharp depiction of the vagaries of fate and a thoughtful meditation on the human condition." —The Monthly Booking"Consiglio’s writing aches with poetry through its attention and complexity." —The Skinny"Packed full of sensuality and written in fresh, candid prose." —The Quietus"Employing a language that is sharp, concise and visceral, it proves his talent as a natural storyteller and as a social chronicler and poet of some refinement." —Morning Star"There is a timeless quality to Consiglio’s prose...a storyteller of rare ingenuity." —Splice"His stories are told with dispassionate realism while being varnished with a surrealist gloss, creating his own in-between style...Occasional poetic turns reminiscent of Pablo Neruda erupt within the narrative." —Culture Trip"[Consiglio] carves out a singular space by focusing on characters who do not quite have a place of their own." —Full Stop

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Book SynopsisAn aspiring TV journalist faces a shattering moral dilemma and the prospect of losing her career and her life, when she joins an impetuous photographer in the Middle East. A shocking, searingly authentic thriller by award-winning ex-CNN news executive Sarah Sultoon.‘Shocking and visceral, this novel deals with the horrors of war … a brave, important and utterly compelling book’ S J Watson ‘Gritty, hard-hitting and often harrowing … a hugely exciting voice in crime fiction’ Victoria Selman‘A powerhouse writer’ Jo Spain––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––An act of mercyOr the ultimate betrayal…Who decides?Samira is an up-and-coming TV journalist, working the nightshift at a major news channel and yearning for greater things. So when she’s offered a trip to the Middle East, with Kris, the station’s brilliant but impetuous star photographer, she leaps at the chanceIn the field together, Sami and Kris feel invincible, shining a light into the darkest of corners … except the newsroom, and the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to care as much as they do. Until Kris takes the photograph.With a single image of young Sudanese mother, injured in a raid on her camp, Sami and the genocide in Darfur are catapulted into the limelight. But everything is not as it seems, and the shots taken by Kris reveal something deeper and much darker … something that puts not only their careers but their lives in mortal danger.Sarah Sultoon brings all her experience as a CNN news executive to bear on this shocking, searingly authentic thriller, which asks immense questions about the world we live in. You'll never look at a news report in the same way again... ‘A powerful story of the brutality of front-line journalism. Authentic, provocative and terrifyingly relevant’ Will Carver ‘A gritty, jarring page-turner’ Peter Hain ‘Passionate, disturbing storytelling at its best’ James Brabazon ‘You won't read another book like this in 2022! Raw, authentic, powerful ... you won't see the end coming!’ E C Scullion ‘Brilliantly conveys both the exhilaration and the unspeakable horror of life on the international news frontline’ Jo Turner ‘Astute and penetrating, evoking feelings that are long lasting and hard to shake off … Sarah Sultoon is a new and welcome voice in what can be a very crowded genre’ Random Things through My Letterbox ‘A masterclass in storytelling and cinematic in scope’ Live & Deadly ‘Brutally honest, extremely thought-provoking, stark and vivid … impossible to put down’ Jen Med’s Book ReviewsPraise for The Source**Winner: Crime Fiction Lover Best Debut Award**‘A brave and thought-provoking debut novel. Sarah Sultoon tackles a challenging and disturbing subject without sensation, and her sensitive handling, tight plotting and authentic storytelling make for a compelling read’ Adam Hamdy‘A taut and thought-provoking book that’s all the more unnerving for how much it echoes the headlines in real life’ CultureFly‘A tense thriller, a remarkable debut, heartbreaking, but ultimately this is a story of resilience and survival’ New Books Magazine‘A powerful, compelling read that doesn’t shy away from some upsetting truths … written with such energy’ Fanny Blake‘Tautly written and compelling, not afraid to shine a spotlight on the darker forces at work in society’ Rupert Wallis‘So authentic and exhilarating … breathtaking pace and relentless ingenuity’ Nick Paton Walsh, CNN‘A powerful, intense whammy of a debut that is both uncomfortable and exhilarating to read … Thought-provoking, tense, and expressive’ LoveReading‘A gripping, dark thriller’ Geoff Hill, ITV‘A cleverly constructed story that offers an authentic view behind the scenes in a British newsroom … an original and wholly engaging debut. Definitely a name to watch’ Crime Fiction Lover‘My heart was racing … fiction to thrill even the most hard-core adrenaline junkies’ Diana Magnay, Sky News ‘Unflinching and sharply observed. A hard-hitting, deftly woven debut’ Ruth Field‘With this gripping, fast-paced debut thriller, it’s easy to see what made Sultoon such a great journalist’ Clarissa Ward, CNN ‘A hard-hitting, myth-busting rollercoaster of a debut’ Eve Smith‘I could picture and feel each scene, all the fear, tension and hope’ Katie Allen For fans of Holly Watt, Sarah Vaughan, Laura Lippman and Karin Slaughter

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Book SynopsisDetective Moralès becomes immersed in a chilling case set on the icy seas of Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands, in the midst of a brutal seal hunt. A breathtaking, atmospheric, race-against-the-clock thriller… **Number One bestseller in Canada****Shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best French Crime Book** 'A shocking, exquisitely plotted mystery set in the brutal seas off Quebec. The writing is sublime … you can feel the sting of salt on your cheeks' Gill Paul ‘Detective fiction [with] a dreamily poetic cast’ Sunday Times 'Unique, stylish Canadian Noir … absolutely superb' Kjell Ola Dahl _________________________________________There’s only one thing more deadly than the storm… Fisheries officer Simone Lord is transferred to Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands for the winter, and at the last minute ordered to go aboard a trawler braving a winter storm for the traditional grey seal hunt, while all of the other boats shelter onshore. Detective Sergeant Joaquin Moralès is on a cross-country boat trip down the St Lawrence River, accompanied by Nadine Lauzon, a forensic psychologist working on the case of a savagely beaten teenager with Moralès’ old team in Montreal. When it becomes clear that Simone is in grave danger aboard the trawler, the two cases converge, with startling, terrifying consequences for everyone involved… The award-winning author of The Coral Bride returns with an atmospheric, race-against-the-clock thriller set on the icy seas in the midst of a brutal seal hunt, where nothing is as it seems and absolutely no one can be trusted. For fans of Louise Penny, Ann Cleeves, Emma Stonex and Annie Proulx _________________________________________ ‘From the very beginning I had a feeling of tragic inevitability … the sense of isolation, both physical and emotional, pours from every page’ Jen Med’s Book Reviews ‘Beautiful prose, simple yet powerful, and a boatload of suspense … an absolute winner’ From Belgium with Booklove ‘Thrums with rhythm and tears at the heart … the best Detective Moralès yet’ Live & Deadly What Readers are saying…***** ‘Breathlessly gripping’ ‘Masterful storytelling’ ‘The suspense is palpable’ ‘If you like Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series, you’ll LOVE this’ 'No one does atmospheric quite like Roxanne Bouchard' ‘Intricate, beautiful and compelling' ‘Gloriously shocking’ Praise for Roxanne Bouchard:**WINNER of the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best French Crime Book** **Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger** 'A haunting murder mystery about how human nature is every bit as dangerous and inscrutable as the sea draws out its suspense to the very last moment' Foreword Reviews 'A police procedural like no other – marvel at the clever plotting' Crime Fiction Lover 'An absolute joy to read, with as much tension as there is poetry' Le Journal de Montréal 'With a cast of characters you'll engage with and love and a mystery that will have you on edge, Bouchard pulls you into her world wonderful' Michael J. Malone 'Roxanne Bouchard is reinventing the crime novel' Quebec TV ‘Lyrical and elegiac, full of quirks and twists' William Ryan 'Asks questions right from page one' Quentin Bates 'A tour de force of both writing and translation' Su Bristow

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Book SynopsisA disenchanted man struggles to get beyond the first chapter of the books he’s writing, and to separate fact from fiction in his own life. His friend’s suicide changes everything … The mind-blowing, heart-rending new thriller from cult bestselling author Will Carver. ‘Ambitious, dark and funny … a compelling and thought-provoking book from a highly talented writer. Bravo!’ Mike Gayle ‘One of the most exciting authors in Britain’ Daily Express 'Unflinching, blunt and brutal, Carver's originality knows no bounds. Simply brilliant' Sam Holland _________________________________________ Eli Hagin can’t finish anything. He hates his job, but can’t seem to quit. He doesn’t want to be with his girlfriend, but doesn’t know how end things with her, either. Eli wants to write a novel, but he’s never taken a story beyond the first chapter. Eli also has trouble separating reality from fiction. When his best friend kills himself, Eli is motivated, for the first time in his life, to finally end something himself, just as Mike did… Except sessions with his therapist suggest that Eli’s most recent ‘first chapters’ are not as fictitious as he had intended … and a series of text messages that Mike received before his death point to something much, much darker… _________________________________________ ‘Gave me nightmares … I loved it’ S J Watson ‘Brutal and brilliant' Lisa Hall 'Challenging, perceptive and unexpectedly enlightening' Sarah Sultoon 'Will Carver is a unique writer. I loved Suicide Thursday' Greg Mosse ‘A smart, stylish writer’ Daily Mail 'Carver's trademarked cynicism and contemptuousness run rampant here … [a] dark, dangerous novel' Jack Heath ‘One of the most compelling and original voices in crime fiction’ Alex North Praise for Will Carver ‘Deliciously fresh and malevolent story-telling’ Craig Sisterson ‘Weirdly page-turning’ Sunday Times ‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review ‘Arguably the most original crime novel published this year’ Independent ‘This mesmeric novel paints a thought-provoking if depressing picture of modern life’ Guardian ‘Most memorable for its unrepentant darkness…’ Telegraph ‘Unlike anything else you’ll read this year’ Heat ‘Incredibly dark and very funny’ Harriet Tyce ‘Wickedly fun’ Crime Monthly ‘Will Carver’s most exciting, original, hilarious and freaky outing yet’ Helen FitzGerald ‘Vivid and engaging and completely unexpected’ Lia Middleton ‘Dark in the way only Will Carver can be … oozes malevolence from every page’ Victoria Selman ‘Move the hell over Brett Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk … Will Carver is the new lit prince of 21st-century disenfranchised, pop darkness’ Stephen J. Golds ‘Carver truly at his best’ Sarah Pinborough

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Book SynopsisA pregnant Sam Shephard investigates the murder of an expectant mother in Dunedin, as it becomes clear that the killer is ready to strike again … Queen of New Zealand Crime, Vanda Symon, returns with a shocking, twisty new Sam Shephard thriller… 'From the opening pages, this story left me gasping for breath' Michael Robotham ‘Chillingly intense with a finely honed sense of place … Vanda Symon knows Dunedin and brings it vibrantly to life in this fast-paced thriller’ Craig Robertson ‘An excellent thriller, definitely one of the best of this year. Vanda Symon is a master of characterisation, plot and dialogue … I loved every moment’ Liz Nugent 'New Zealand's modern Queen of Crime' Val McDermid _________________________________ A killer targeting pregnant women.A detective expecting her first baby… The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave. Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer’s actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy. For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that no one is safe and the clock is ticking… _______________________ ‘Dark, chilling and utterly heartbreaking. A highly emotive and compelling thriller’ Michael Wood ‘New Zealand's answer to Siobhan Clarke’ The Times 'The Edinburgh of the south has never been more deadly' Ian Rankin ‘From the ominous and shocking beginning to the heart-pounding ending, Expectant had me in its grasp’ Nikki Crutchley 'A sassy heroine, fabulous sense of place, and rip-roaring stories with a twist. Perfect curl-up-on-the-sofa reading' Kate Mosse 'Fans of The Dry will love Vanda Symon' Red Magazine ‘A wonderful storyteller’ Helen FitzGerald Praise for Vanda Symon ***SHORTLISTED for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger*** ***SHORTLISTED for Best Paperback in the Barry Awards*** 'If you like taut, pacy thrillers with a wonderful sense of place, this is the book for you' Liam McIlvanney 'Vanda Symon's work resembles Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series she knows how to tell a good story and the NZ setting adds spice' The Times 'Atmospheric, emotional and gripping' Foreword Reviews 'A plot that grabs the reader's attention with a heart-stopping opening and doesn't let go' Sunday Times 'It is Symon's copper Sam, self-deprecating and very human, who represents the writer's real achievement' Guardian ‘Edgy, thrilling and terrifyingly realistic’ Lisa Hall ‘All the thrills of a brilliantly plotted crime novel with some interesting moral questions woven between the words. Fast, furious and intense' Helen Fields 'Completely gripping … a poignant study of how our society shapes unlikely saints and monsters' Eve Smith

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Book SynopsisHamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley becomes involved in the horrifying, chilling search for a violent serial killer targeting dancers from a club … the first book in an award-winning, wildly original, addictive series… ‘Such a revelation’ Laura Lippman ‘Gruesome and assured, Buchholz’s work remains as persuasive as ever’ Barry Forshaw, Financial Times ‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet ‘Unpredictable, shocking and funny … Simone Buchholz is my favourite German crime writer’ Mark Sanderson,The Times **WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger** ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city’s red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs. Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she’s working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer? Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end. As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone… ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver ‘The coolest character in crime fiction … Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue ‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour’ New Zealand Listener ‘Dark, atmospheric, and complex, with often surprisingly emotional … a classy piece of fiction from an author who never disappoints’ Jen Med’s Book ReviewsPraise for the Chastity Riley series: 'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly 'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews ’Lyrical and pithy' Sunday Times 'Fierce enough to stab the heart' Spectator 'A real blast of adrenaline' Big Issue 'Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space' Financial Times 'A stylish, whip-smart thriller' Russel McLean

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Book SynopsisA young woman starts experiencing terrifying premonitions of people dying, as it becomes clear that a family curse known only as The Murmurs has begun, and a long-forgotten crime is about to be unearthed… ‘Malone is the master of twists, turns and the unexpected … a master of his craft’ Herald Scotland ‘A fine, atmospheric chiller couched in Malone’s customary elegant prose’ Douglas Skelton ‘A master storyteller at the very top of his game, Michael J. Malone weaves the most exquisite tale … mesmeric and suspenseful’ Marion Todd ________________ In the beginning there was fear. White-hot, nerve-shredding fear. Terrifying premonitions of deaths. And then they started…The Murmurs… On the first morning of her new job at Heartfield House, a care home for the elderly, Annie Jackson wakens from a terrifying dream. And when she arrives at the home, she knows that the first old man she meets is going to die. How she knows this is a terrifying mystery, but it is the start of horrifying premonitions … a rekindling of the curse that has trickled through generations of women in her family – a wicked gift known only as 'the murmurs'… With its reappearance comes an old, forgotten fear that is about to grip Annie Jackson. And this time, it will never let go… A compulsive gothic thriller and a spellbinding supernatural mystery about secrets and small communities, about faith, courage and self-preservation, The Murmurs is a startling and compulsive read from one of Scotland’s finest authors… ________________ ‘Poetic and beautifully crafted, this is a chilling and compelling read’ Caro Ramsay Praise for Michael J Malone 'Vivid, visceral and compulsive' Ian Rankin ‘A gothic ghost story and psychological thriller all rolled into one. Brilliantly creepy … a spine-tingling treat' Daily Record ‘Prepare to have your marrow well and truly chilled by this deeply creepy Scottish horror … A complex and multi-layered story' Sunday Mirror ‘A beautifully written tale, original, engrossing and scary… a dark joy' The Times 'A deeply satisfying read' Sunday Times 'A fine, page-turning thriller' Daily Mail ‘Unsettling, multi-layered and expertly paced’ CultureFly

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Book SynopsisHotel Beresford: a grand old building, just outside the city, where any soul is welcome, and strange goings-on mask explosive, deadly secrets. A chilling, darkly funny sequel to Will Carver's bestselling The Beresford… ‘Superbly paced and remarkably inventive, a book that demands to be read in a single sitting’ M.W. Craven ‘Delightfully dark and wickedly inventive … with characters that stick around long after the final page is turned, whether you want them to or not’ S J Watson ‘Multi-layered and masterfully written, this darkly humorous tale will both shock and entertain’ Heat magazine Book of the Month ______________ There are worse places than hell… Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome. Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can't keep his hands to himself. Now he's tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle's broken ashtray. The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall. Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal. When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much, much darker… For fans of Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, Jennifer Egan and Jonathan Franzen __________________ ‘From the wondrous mind of Will Carver … a tour de force that covers life, death and everything beyond’ David Jackson Praise for Will Carver ‘One of the most exciting authors in Britain’ Daily Express 'A smart, stylish writer' Daily Mail ‘Incredibly dark and very funny’ Harriet Tyce ‘Unlike anything you’ll read this year’ Heat ‘Impossibly original, stylish, sinister and heartfelt’ Chris Whitaker ‘Weirdly page-turning’ Sunday Times ‘Ambitious, dark and funny’ Mike Gayle ‘A highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review ‘Oozes malevolence from every page’ Victoria Selman ‘Arguably the most original crime novel published this year’ Independent ‘Mesmeric’ Guardian ‘Memorable for its unrepentant darkness…’ Telegraph ‘Perceptive and twisted in equal measure’ CultureFly ‘Pitch-dark, intelligent and utterly addictive' Michael Wood 'Unflinching, blunt and brutal' Sam Holland ‘Equally enthralling and appalling’ James Oswald ‘One of the most compelling and original voices in crime fiction’ Alex North

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Book SynopsisCan everyone’s favourite insurance mathematician, Henri, combine the increasingly dangerous world of adventure parks with the unpredictability of blended-family life? He’s about to find out in the final instalment of the hilarious, nail-biting Rabbit Factor Trilogy. 'A joyous, triumphant conclusion to Tuomainen’s trilogy … the comic thriller of the year' Sunday Times THRILLER OF THE YEAR ‘Quirky crime capers don’t come more left field than the Rabbit trilogy … extremely funny, with a wicked line in social satire’ Daily Mail ‘One of those rare writers who manages to deftly balance intrigue, noir and a deliciously ironic sense of humour’ Vaseem Khan _______ Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter… As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process… Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count. In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher… Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results… Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell ––––––––– Praise for the Rabbit Factor Trilogy: ‘Finland's greatest export’ M.J. Arlidge ‘The funniest writer in Europe’ The Times ‘Thrilling and warmly human. In these uncertain times, what better hero than an actuary?' Chris Brookmyre ‘Delightfully funny’ Guardian ‘Unlike anything else out there' The Times ‘A thrilling and hilarious read’ Liz Nugent ‘Charming, funny and clever, this is a novel to cheer up anyone who is finding life a little tough’ Literary Review ‘A delight from start to finish’ Big Issue 'Original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald ‘A coruscating comedy’ Sunday Times 'You don’t expect to laugh when you’re reading about terrible crimes, but that’s what you’ll do when you pick up one of Tuomainen’s decidedly quirky thrillers' New York Times ‘A refreshing change from the decidedly gloomier crime fiction for which Scandinavia is known’ Publishers Weekly Right up there with the best’ Times Literary Supplement ‘A thriller with black comedy worth of Nabokov’ Telegraph

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Book SynopsisLondon, 1891. Deliveries. Opium. Regret. The only three things twenty-one-year-old Gabriel Ashmore’s life consists of until four murder victims are found in the increasingly criminal city, all marked with the same black veins. Gabriel is connected to all four. He delivered Erebus to them, a new opium variant on the market, after being forced to provide for his family following the brutal death of his mother four years ago. Fearing his involuntary part in the murders, he becomes embroiled in an amateur investigation led by the wealthy aspiring detective Alexander Wakefield, supported by the Leader of the Opposition, Lord Benedict Granville. However, when they witness the fifth death, they realise nothing is as it seems in the city of veils and shadows. Truths become twisted, secrets are revealed and it soon becomes clear they are not dealing with a single killer, but the greatest criminal plot London has ever seen. 'A darkly enchanting and engrossing read – kept me hooked from start to finish.' James Brogden, critically acclaimed author of Bone Harvest

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Book SynopsisDCI Matthew McCallum is a cultured copper, overseeing major crime for Police Scotland in Edinburgh and surrounding areas. A few months from retirement, he is hoping for a quieter life, but another case of murder hits his desk, closely followed by two more cases. A man hanging in his house, a woman brutally stabbed to death and an arson attack on a community centre stretch his team to the limit. Devil symbology is left at each crime scene, leading them to conclude that they have a serial killer on their hands. Just as the situation threatens to get out of control, they catch a break and apprehend a suspect. However, it soon becomes clear that the person they have in custody is only one small part of a dark and disturbing plan. The killing doesn’t stop, leading Matthew and his team on a wild and frightening journey to discover the real reasons behind the murder spree. Will Matthew be able to crack The Devil’s Code?

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Book SynopsisWinner, 2018 Anthony Award for Best Anthology and Winner, Bronze Medal, 2017 Indie Book Awards for Anthologies, Foreword Reviews. Noir meets diverse voices and transforms the genre into an over-the-top, transcendental psychedelic thriller ride of pulpy goodness in THE OBAMA INHERITANCE, a collection of fifteen stories of conspiracy noir curated by editor and award-winning African-American crime novelist Gary Phillips.

In the tradition of satirical works of Swift and Twain, with nods to the likes of William Burroughs, Asimov and Philip K. Dick, these tales contain vigilante First Ladies, Supreme Court judges who can clone themselves, gear-popping robots of doom, and races of ancient lizard people revealing their true master plan … and these are just the tame ones mashed up in the blender of fake news bots, climate change is but a hoax by the Chinese and humans roamed with dinosaurs.In an era where the outlandish and fantastic has permeated our media 24/7, where mind-bending conspiracy theories shape our views, THE OBAMA INHERITANCE writers riff on the numerous fictions spun about the 44th president of the U.S. Although Obama himself does not appear in most of these stories, contributors spin deliberately outlandish and fantastic twists on many of the dozens of screwball, bizarro conspiracy theories floated about the president during his years in office and turn them on their heads.THE OBAMA INHERITANCE editor Gary Phillips is a critically acclaimed author of mystery and graphic novels (Peepland, Violent Spring, and Warlord of Willow Ridge). Raised in South Central Los Angeles, Phillips draws on his experiences from anti-police abuse community organizing and anti-apartheid activism. He was the chair of the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color committee, and is president of the Private Eye Writers of America.Contributors include famed crime-detective author and essayist Walter Mosley, professor and former Department of Justice attorney Christopher Chambers (Sympathy for the Devil), noir raconteur Andrew Nette, actor and novelist Danny Gardner (A Negro and an Ofay), former Maine assistant attorney general Kate Flora (Death in Paradise), award-winning playwright and novelist Désirée Zamorano, and the Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master Robert Silverberg.Trade ReviewWinner, 2018 Anthony Award for Best Anthology Winner, Bronze Medal, 2017 Indie Book Awards for Anthologies, Foreword Reviews "Resistance takes many forms, particularly in the current political climate. Few methods of protest are as cheerfully strange and purposefully bizarre as THE OBAMA INHERITANCE." —The Washington Post “It's a commonplace these days to say that real life has become so unpredictable that it outstrips anything anyone could dream up in fiction. I think I'm guilty of having made that banal observation a few times. But that was before I read The Obama Inheritance, a collection of 15 stories so sly, fresh and Bizarro World witty, they reaffirm the resiliency of the artistic imagination.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh Air "Truth may be stranger than fiction, but why should the conspiracists have all the fun of creating fake narratives? ... Yet, running beneath the book’s mockery of conspiracy fanatics, the unspoken question that I raised earlier persists: Why are there so many outlandish conspiracy theories about the Obamas? The answer, I believe, can best be detected as this book’s authors do, through the lens of identity — and I’m not talking only about race.” —Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune “Top 15 Recommended Fall reads!! . . . Still relevant.” —Newsweek “Stories that are often humorous, always entertaining, and mostly non-political, and that make use of the more absurd conspiracies surrounding Barack Obama and his presidency.” —Mystery Scene Magazine "There will no doubt be an abundance of interpretive, critical, but dryly academic books examining Barack Obama’s two-terms as President. Phillips’s story anthology stands a testament to how these same years inspired the artistic imagination. Regardless of your political views, THE OBAMA INHERITANCE belongs on the shelf of every reader who enjoys imaginative stories of the contemporary world.” —Bookgasm "Surreal, silly and sometimes shocking, the stories in “The Obama Inheritance” succeed in delivering a heady mix of thoughtful satire.” —The Press Herald “Some short story collections are eclectic. Some are ambitious. Some are utterly mad. This one is all three.” —San Francisco Book Review "Fast-paced, humorous, twisty piece of noir pulp." Cascadia Subduction Zone Literary Review “High-octane creativity at work. . . . Some of these stories are laugh-out-loud funny, while others are immensely disturbing simply because you know that somewhere, someone actually believes this ridiculousness for real.” —Manhattan Book Review "Pulp fiction for the post-Obama era . . . Readers who enjoy political satire in its many varied forms will certainly enjoy this collection." —ALA Booklist "Fifteen authors known for genre writing, many of color, take right wing tales and transform them into their own righteous pulp. ... Who thought being militant could be this fun?” —The Hard Word “A fun read.” —Washington Independent Review of Books “Writers take on the racist backlash against President Barack Obama in genres as diverse as spy thriller, noir mysteries and science fiction. ... Still relevant.” —Newsweek “Intriguing theme anthology . . . Truly excellent.” —Publishers Weekly “A mashup of genre fiction . . . imagines the consequences of white supremacist politics on American society.” —Kirkus Reviews "Wildly inventive, and smarter than the entire GOP combined, The Obama Inheritance is rich with tales to keep a reader up late into the night. Look at this Murderer's Row of talent! You can't go wrong. On top of that this book is a hell of a lot of fun." —Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

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Book Synopsis***Editor's Choice, NEW YORK TIMES*** A literary coup d'etat, that ponders "What would the White House be like if U.S. Presidents of the past were not restricted by the time-honored hallmarks and traditional behavior of the office, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted, anytime and anywhere?" THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir pulls back the curtain on the “new norm” for America’s highest office, with a collection of bizarre new stories by a diverse group of renowned authors that take readers across the chasm of reality into an alternate universe—where Nixon takes a wacky psychedelic trip with Elvis Presley; where a time-traveling renegade targets members of the George Bush administration with disastrous results; where a spy seizes a sudden opportunity for power after Woodrow Wilson’s stroke. The stories are outlandish but—when it comes to the White House of today—no longer implausible. The line-up of award-winning authors includes Eric Beetner, Peter Carlaftes, Sarah M. Chen, Angel Luis Colón, S. A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Mary Anna Evans, Adam Lance Garcia, Danny Gardner, Alison Gaylin, Christopher Chambers, Kate Flora, Greg Herren, Gary Phillips, Alex Segura, Travis Richardson, S. J. Rozan, Abby Vandiver, and Erica Wright. In an era where the bar for what is acceptable has shifted beyond what the founding fathers ever imagined, THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT is a highly recommended unique creative act of resistance, and a must-have for fans of politics, noir, and speculative fiction. Trade Review***Editor's Choice, NEW YORK TIMES*** “The stories put arrows in the red ... [with] “Manchurian Candidate”-style Cold War paranoia ... exploitation ... actual history [and] first ladies who are the power behind the throne. ... The actual present is left until last, when [editor] Carlaftes himself appears for an audacious final story.” —The New York Times "One of the strangest, most exhilarating rides you’ll take in noir this year...Editor Peter Carlaftes brings together a talented group of contemporary noir luminaries, each author offering a unique vision of executive excess and intrigue." —CrimeReads “The Faking of the President is equal parts historical and hysterical. The assemblage of authors is uniformly talented. They each start with as many real facts as are necessary and then, unconstrained by anything except their imaginations, produce delightful riffs on reality. They are fake news.” —NY Journal of Books "Many of the 19 speculative stories in this highly entertaining anthology show U.S. presidents behaving badly, some with the same impunity as the current occupant of the White House. ... Fans of alternate history will have fun. This is the perfect diversion for those seeking a break from the more serious aspects of the election season." —Publishers Weekly “In many ways, the collection is a lot of fun. There’s a schadenfreude aspect to some of it . . . The Faking of the President offers a comical and twisted version of our history.” —Portland Book Review “The Faking of the President is a terrific burning barn of a book. Focused on the potential realities in past American presidencies (and a future glimpse) and written by 19 talented mystery writers who really know their American history, these great fictional takes on what could have happened, might have happened, and didn’t happen are really deep-dive marvels and often breathtaking wonders to take in. Then the real mind-bending occurs when you are inspired by the stories in The Faking of the President to imagine what directions we might have instead taken, and often tragically did not, particularly in the continuing saga of the most genetically twisted presidency we’ve yet experienced.” —Hot Indie News "The Faking of the President is a wild, rollicking ride through the corridors of power both past and present. These stories are dark, humorous and thoughtful; they take the presidency and its environs and turn it into a fun house of noirish story-telling. Get this book and read it during the presidential campaign to help keep your head on straight." —T.J. English, New York Times Best Selling author of Havana Nocturne and The Westies “Whether burrowing into archival gaps, forging extraordinary connections between pivotal milestones, or conjuring up wild (and wildly entertaining!) alternative histories, these slyly subversive what-ifs and cutting critiques hit their marks on presidencies past and present.” —Art Taylor, Edgar Award-winning author of The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74Table of ContentsTable of Contents Foreword By Peter Carlaftes Burning Love By Alison Gaylin Is This Tomorrow? By Angel Luis Colón Y2 Effin’ K By Gary Phillips Article 77 By Eric Beetner All Big Men Are Dreamers By Mary Anna Evans Reckless Disregard By Abby L. Vandiver 999 Points Of Light By S. A. Cosby The Dreadful Scott Decision By Greg Herren The Great Compromise Of 1901 By Erica Wright The Madison Conspiracy: Dolley Madison’s Zinger By Christopher Chambers Long Live Long By Kate Flora Mother Of Exiles By S. J. Rozan Services Rendered By Nikki Dolson In Mother We Trust By Sarah M. Chen Andrew Jackson Beats Death By Adam Lance Garcia Old Pharaoh By Danny Gardner The Camelot Complex By Alex Segura The Event That Didn’t Happen By Travis Richardson But One Life To Give By Peter Carlaftes About The Contributors

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Book SynopsisIn the lively, but desperate world of D.C.'s underbelly, a Black homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after a wealthy ex-government official sets him up to take the fall for a brutal crime he didn’t commit. Christopher Chambers, author of A Prayer for Deliverance and Sympathy for the Devil (NAACP Image Award nominee) brings a 21st-century take on hardboiled noir tales in SCAVENGER, a gripping thriller underscored by themes of race, homelessness, hustling, and the savagery—and salvation—of the human psyche. The novel centers on Dickie Cornish, a Black streetwise survivor living in a homeless camp near D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Framed for the murder of two of his closest friends and facing life in prison, Dickie crosses paths with wealthy ex-Homeland Security Secretary, Jamie Bracht. Bracht offers him a chance at a new life if Dickie can navigate an underground world to uncover a prize Bracht will stop at nothing to acquire. As Dickie searches, SCAVENGER tracks its way through an underground population of Washington, D.C., where hustlers, drug addicts, homeless, and undocumented immigrants jostle for crumbs while trying to survive. Chambers paints a portrait of D.C. from the ground up, with back-alley streetscapes, gentrification clashes, and unexpected encounters between politicians and bottom-rung natives—all set against a soundscape of patois, street Spanish, and D.C. slang. A hopeless amateur detective at first, Dickie quickly learns the ropes of being a sleuth in a cat-and-mouse game of greed, deceit, double-crossing, and murder. As Washington City Paper notes: "Like Hammett with San Francisco or Chandler with Los Angeles, Chambers’ mystery is as much about Washington as it is about the amoral monsters who prey on ordinary people and the lone gumshoe who takes them on.” Trade Review“Christopher Chambers brings to life not only an unforgettable character but also the gritty DC streets he inhabits. … A deeply realistic noir mystery with a social conscience.” —Hill Rag Magazine “Novels written from the perspective of homeless substance users don’t come along every day. When they do, it’s a good idea to pay attention, since they offer a window into the casual cruelty of our social economy, which much fiction eschews. … Like Hammett with San Francisco or Chandler with Los Angeles, Chambers’ mystery is as much about Washington as it is about the amoral monsters who prey on ordinary people and the lone gumshoe who takes them on.” —Washington City Paper “A really good book ... which really nails Washington in the current environment. [Christopher Chambers] knows the city well.” —George Pelecanos, author, The Man Who Came Uptown “[A] no-holds-barred crime novel . . . a 21st-century twist on traditional hardboiled noir.” —Publishers Weekly “[SCAVENGER] is told in a voice that is distinctive, expressive, and is unafraid to challenge readers who may find the street patois hard to interpret. That's kind of the point. Dickie Cornish's world is far from most readers' lived experience, and it is his compelling voice and the dialogue of a vast cast of memorable street characters that helps immerse the intrepid armchair traveler in a world that's mostly invisible but just around the corner and down the alley from DC's halls of power.” —Reviewing the Evidence “[SCAVENGER] is gritty, raw, and lays bare the dirty consequences of political decisions on the lowest rungs of the population. The character comes from darkness to fight through darkness to defeat more powerful darkness…. Chambers gives a great thriller-mystery story and dares to embrace different ways of telling it.” —Jay Wilburn, author, The Dead Song Legend “In Washington, D.C., a Black man living in a homeless camp near the Smithsonian is framed for the murder of two of his closest friends. He faces life in prison. But when he meets an ex-Homeland Security Secretary, things start turning around. Sort of. He can avoid the life sentence—if he helps the former government official find a missing woman using the network of the streets and the underground world of undocumented immigrants.” —Betches "Chambers is a talented storyteller and is slick and savage in his delivery...Now he delivers another scary world, scarier still because of the many truths that will resonate long after you read the final word." —Dolores Barclay, former Arts Editor, The Associated Press “Chris Chambers’s Scavenger is a clever mystery told with wry wit and a vivid second-person style that straps you in for its roller coaster ride. You open this book and that voice starts speaking to you and you want to hear what it has to say. Simply put: this is a damn a good read.” —Mat Johnson, author of Incognegro, Pym and Loving Day “Christopher Chambers never disappoints. The adrenaline hits the reader on page 1 and doesn't let up for, oh, 350 pages. Scavenger is witty, profane, propulsive, and gripping. It turns DC into a hardboiled wonderland." —Victor LaValle, New York Times bestselling author, The Changeling “Chris Chambers has created a wholly original character that exists in a world at once familiar but startlingly brutal.” —S. A. Cosby author, Blacktop Wasteland “SCAVENGER is as hard and unflinching as noir gets—an immersive portrait of life on the streets in Trump’s America. Yet, in the person of Dickie Cornish, Chambers has delivered a voice of idiomatic, hard-won radiance—and a truth-seeker equal to all the lies and all that lies ahead.” —Louis Bayard, author, Roosevelt's Beast and Mr. Timothy “Literary cinema verite, Chambers delivers a sly, slick and twisty hardcore mystery well worth the read.” —Gary Phillips, author, Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem “Chambers comes out of the box swinging hard in this fast-moving, down-and-dirty crime novel that kicks up the tarp on the sleazy, duplicitous, double-dealing underbelly of our nation’s capital. Into this shadowy knot of deceit walks unconventional detective, Dickie Cornish, a homeless, down on his luck survivor for whom the stakes couldn’t be higher, or the risks greater. Two thumbs up for Chambers!” —Tracy Clark, author of Borrowed Time, winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award “Scavenger is a clever mystery told with wry wit and a vivid second-person style that straps you in for its roller coaster ride Simply put: this is a damn good read.” —Mat Johnson, author, Incognegro, Pym, and Loving Day “In SCAVENGER, Christopher Chambers shows us a Washington D.C. we've never seen through the eyes of a sleuth unlike any we've ever met. A harrowing noir odyssey through contemporary America." —Vince Keenan, Editor, Noir City magazine; co-author, Design for Dying and Script for Scandal

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Book SynopsisTo some people, Pinnacle City is a glittering metropolis, a symbol of prosperity watched over by the all-star superhero team, the Pinnacle City Guardians. But beneath the glitz and glamour is a gritty underbelly, one still feeling the physical and economic damage of the superhero-villain battles of generations past, where the lower class—immigrants, criminals, aliens, sorcerers, and non-humans alike—jostle and elbow for scraps to scrape by on.Private investigator Eddie Enriquez is an ex-con and veteran with powers of his own who still bears the scars of his time as a minion for a low-level supervillain. Good work’s been hard to come by until a mysterious woman shows up at his office with a case the police and superheroes are ignoring: the suspicious death of a prominent non-human rights activist.Meanwhile, superhero Kimberly Kline, a.k.a. Solar Flare, has just hit it big, graduating to the Pinnacle City Guardians. With good looks, incredible superpowers, and a family name that opens doors, the sky is the limit. But in trying to make the world a better place . . . she’ll discover Pinnacle City isn’t as black and white as it once seemed.From the minds of Matt Carter and Fiona J. R. Titchenell, Pinnacle City is a pulpy, throwback noir of yesteryear, where two people from opposite sides of the track must team up to do good in a world full of bad.Trade Review“In this skillfully constructed secondary-world noir novel, having superpowers isn’t always so super, and everyone has something to hide. . . . By allowing everyone to be a little morally grey, Carter and Titchenell spin a superhero story with staying power.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Pinnacle City embraces its own weirdness, which is a good thing. Solid characters with believable emotional arcs and good worldbuilding propel this unlikely story forward." —Elitist Book Reviews “A rollicking take on the all-American superhero tale. It’s Stan Lee meets Dashiell Hammett, with just a little Clive Barker thrown in for good measure.” —Scott Kenemore, author of The Grand Hotel and Zombie, Ohio “Lively and endearing, funny and hip, Pinnacle City puts gumshoe to cape and in a fantastic adult alternate history throbbing with modern pop-cultural conflict and absurdities.” —Johnny Worthen, award-winning author of The Finger Trap“In this skillfully constructed secondary-world noir novel, having superpowers isn’t always so super, and everyone has something to hide. . . . By allowing everyone to be a little morally grey, Carter and Titchenell spin a superhero story with staying power.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A rollicking take on the all-American superhero tale. It’s Stan Lee meets Dashiell Hammett, with just a little Clive Barker thrown in for good measure.” —Scott Kenemore, author of The Grand Hotel and Zombie, Ohio “Lively and endearing, funny and hip, Pinnacle City puts gumshoe to cape and in a fantastic adult alternate history throbbing with modern pop-cultural conflict and absurdities.” —Johnny Worthen, award-winning author of The Finger Trap

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Book Synopsis"Delightfully twisty and chilling all at once — murder mysteries are rarely this fun." —Jonathan Whitelaw, The SunSir Lawrence Linwood is dead. More accurately, he was murdered—savagely beaten to death in his own study with a mediaeval mace. The murder calls home his three adopted children: Alan, an archeologist; Roger, an engineer; and Caroline, a journalist. But his heirs soon find that his last testament contains a strange proviso—that his estate shall go to the heir who solves his murder.To secure their future, each Linwood heir must now dig into the past. As their suspicion mounts—of each other and of peculiar strangers in the churchless town of Linwood Hollow—they come to suspect that the perpetrator lurks in the mysterious origins of their own birth.Trade Review“An immersive read with satisfyingly intricate plotting. Huang seamlessly incorporates issues that will resonate with twenty-first-century readers.” —Booklist (starred review)"Delightful and immersive." —Foreword Reviews (starred review)"[A] puzzle worthy of Golden Age detective fiction. Fans of historical mysteries and 1920s novels will welcome this twisted, complex story." —Library Journal (starred review)

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Book Synopsis“A fast-paced, smart debut novel that blends noir and Lovecraftian elements. If you like J.J. Abram’s alternate history Overlord, this book is for you.” —James Kestrel, author of Five Decembers1950. The Cold War simmers, and ex-GI Jack Waters is called in to investigate a fatal accident at a research lab in California. When Waters recognizes the victim, he realizes he must revisit his hidden past in World War II to solve a murder and prevent Nazi scientists from creating a terrible, new weapon in America.Blending noir detective fiction with post-WWII history, The Man from Mittelwerk builds from the facts of Operation Paperclip, the U.S. government’s secret recruitment of 1,600 top Nazi scientists, to pose a dark what-if scenario. Trade Review2023 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Finalist“The Man From Mittelwerk is a mind-bending thriller that will keep you turning pages." —D. Eric Maikranz, author of The Reincarnationist Papers“From the dark caves of a Nazi slave labor complex to sunny southern California, The Man from Mittelwerk delivers on all fronts. Snappy dialog, a fast-paced narrative, and complex moral questions all combine to make this hard-boiled thriller a winner. Superb!” —James R Benn, author of the Billy Boyle WWII mysteries"A thrilling, at times devastating, sci-fi noir adventure that juxtaposes Nazi human experimentation against modern pursuits of power." —Tal M. Klein, Author of The Punch Escrow"A compelling page-turner with a chilling what-if scenario drawn from the truth." —Rick Mofina, USA Today bestselling author of Her Last Goodbye“A fascinating blend of noir and cosmic horror focusing on a man seeking his brother, lost at war, while trying to hold on to the woman he loves.” —Bev Vincent, author of The Road to the Dark Tower and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion

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