Bøger udgivet af Down & Out Books

When a young girl is abducted in a historic New England town in 1981, a family seeks full and total revenge, unwittingly setting in motion several decades worth of wicked lies and betrayal. Flash-forward thirty years, and the reader follows the Chief of Police, Box Sullivan, and his niece, Michelle, a ranger at iconic Walden Pond, two people who, on the surface, appear to be admirable, upstanding citizens. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes evident that both have plenty of hidden secrets and dark pasts which often intertwine with that kidnapping from decades earlier. They each share histories rife with trauma and deceit, as well as similar personalities bent on revenge. When a mysterious skull is discovered by two boys fishing in Walden Pond, and then Michelle's husband later disappears, the suspicion and finger-pointing escalate, and along with it, the tension and suspense. Told in alternating points of view, this literary mystery dives into the psychology of murderous betrayal, familial loyalty, and the extraordinary lengths people will resort to in the pursuit of self-preservation. Twists, turns, and ruthless back-stabbing fill these chapters, keeping the reader guessing and on edge until its unexpected and dark conclusion. Praise for RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES: "Right Between the Eyes is a riveting, twist-filled exploration of violence, memory, and family. With its richly complex characters and vivid sense of place, this is a novel that will stay with you long after you turn the last page." -Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road "A propulsive tale of blackmail and murder rendered in spare, hard-hitting prose. Sanders does a masterly job revealing how a family's closely-held secrets can echo across generations like a gunshot across a midnight lake." -Dennis Tafoya, author of Dope Thief "With a New England setting and the ghosts of Thoreau, Emerson, and Alcott coloring the background, Scott Loring Sanders weaves a tale of family secrets. Good people do bad things, and by the end, you are rooting for them to get away with it. Equal parts Stephen King's Castle Rock and SA Cosby's modern noir." -Jim Winter, author of the Holland Bay thrillers "With terrific pacing, intriguing characters, and skillful buildup of suspense, Sanders thrusts the reader into the dark and grisly past of two sisters in New England and their police officer uncle; a past filled with ominous secrets that threaten to destroy the conspiratorial bonds that unite them. Set in Concord, Massachusetts, where Henry David Thoreau penned his famous philosophical musings, Sanders has crafted a thriller every lover of crime fiction will enjoy to the hilt. A must-read." -Michael Bruce Blackwell, author of Wildlife on the Serengeti "With great risk, clean prose and precise execution, Scott Loring Sanders has created not only a feast for crime fiction aficionados, but also a revelation for all book lovers-proving himself undeniable with this dark, brooding and bloody family drama. Highly recommended." -Nolan Knight, author of The Neon Lights Are Veins and Beneath the Black Palms "This dark and troubling tale of two generations of the Sullivan family operating on multiple sides of the law raises many unsettling questions about the nature-and price-of loyalty at all costs, and is one of the most gripping novels I have read in years." -Nathan Singer, author of Transorbital&a

A bestselling author wakes up on a train and has no idea how he got there. When he finds himself accused of throwing a fellow author off the balcony of a New York City high-rise apartment building, he now must battle not only memory loss, but he must also fight for his very life. From New York Times and USA Today bestselling Thriller and Shamus Award-winning author Vincent Zandri comes a novel of deception, murder, and double-crosses that only Alfred Hitchcock could concoct. Praise for Books by Vincent Zandri: "Sensational...masterful...brilliant." -New York Post "(A) chilling tale of obsessive love from Thriller Award-winner Zandri...Riveting." -Publishers Weekly "...Oh, what a story it is...Riveting...A terrific old school thriller." -Booklist "Starred Review" "Zandri does a fantastic job with this story. Not only does he scare the reader, but the horror show he presents also scares the man who is the definition of the word "tough." -Suspense Magazine "(The Innocent) is a thriller that has depth and substance, wickedness and compassion." -The Times-Union (Albany) "The action never wanes." -Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel "Gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting." -Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author of Six Years "Tough, stylish, heartbreaking." -Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of Savages and Cartel "A tightly crafted, smart, disturbing, elegantly crafted complex thriller...I dare you to start it and not keep reading." -MJ Rose, New York Times bestselling author of Halo Effect and Closure "A classic slice of raw pulp noir..." -William Landay, New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob

27 Days is a taut and topical political thriller narrated in laconic noir fashion by veteran LA PI Nick Crane. In the spring of 2019, Nick is on the run in the Pacific Northwest, pursued by a cabal of wealthy right-wing power brokers and domestic terrorists (the Principals) led by Marguerite Ferguson and Desmond Cole. Nick has clashed with Marguerite and her crew in the past, and she wants him abducted so that she can personally "close his eyes forever." Things get worse. Nick's close friend and business partner Bobby Moore is kidnapped by Marguerite and the Principals. Nick is then informed that he has twenty-seven days to surrender to Marguerite. If he does not turn himself in, Bobby will be sent to Scorpion prison in Egypt to be tortured and murdered. If Nick surrenders, however, Bobby will be released. Help appears in the form of a young, idealistic female FBI agent named Carrie North who wants to arrest Marguerite for conspiring to commit domestic terrorist operations against the United States. Nick and Carrie join forces and the race against time to rescue Bobby Moore begins. And what a race it is! Marguerite and company are the toughest foes Nick has ever faced and he must dig down deeper than ever before to have any chance of surviving. Praise for 27 DAYS: "Moore skillfully delivers in the rat-a-tat, take-no-prisoner style of Spillane and Hammett, daring you to turn the page and see what happens next." -Charles Salzberg, Two-Time Shamus Award nominee for Swann's Last Song and Second Story Man "Patrick H. Moore has crafted a gripping neo-noir thriller. The characters ignite your curiosity, and the story compels you to keep turning the pages. PI Nick Crane, hard on the outside, compassionate within, is truly a justice warrior and is brilliantly suited for these uncertain times. Can't wait to see this as a TV series or movie. Haven't enjoyed a detective novel this much in a long, long time." -Max Myers, Award winning author of Boysie Blake: Problem Solver "Patrick H. Moore delivers a dark masterpiece here, a brawling, gunfire symphony dripping with ominous overtones. A contemporary western, a compelling and intricate mystery, a social allegory of the oldest sins of humankind-this book has it all. Take note: Patrick H. Moore has entered the big leagues." -John Nardizzi, Shamus Award finalist for The Burden of Innocence "Patrick H. Moore has done it again with 27 Days, his latest offering in the explosively entertaining Nick Crane series. This time Moore's complicated tough-guy PI Crane finds himself in the crosshairs of a domestic terrorist organization whose motto is Make America Safe Again. What follows is a blisteringly taut page turner with loads of engaging attitude plus blind side twists that Moore delivers with the authority of a pro investigator." -Michael D. Sellers, Award Winning Director of Eye of the Dolphin "Readers looking for unrelenting suspense and fascinating well-developed characters will find it all here, as the bodies pile up and the action cascades in unanticipated twists that will keep you riveted until the final page." -John Brown, Los Angeles Private Investigator "This red-hot page turner careens through the underworld of a divided America, sparing no one as Nick Crane races the clock against domestic terrorists. Wall to wall heart-pounding action, riveting dialogue, and a dark vision of our country, you'

Half of DC Police Detective Ezra Simeon's face is immobilized from a persistent case of Bell's Palsy-he must drink through a straw and eat carefully to avoid chewing through his own cheek. He has been detailed from robbery to the cold case squad while he heals. "How odd to dream with one eye open, like having one foot in reality," Sim muses in the dark, bluesy vein that is typical of his Chandler-esque narration. "That's what makes dreaming dangerous and why I moved my gun farther from the bed." Detective Simeon's half-frozen world begins to heat up when a friend from his Academy days drops dead of a heart attack, and Sim is tapped to replace him, detailed now to homicide, where he inherits the high-profile case of a murdered escort he alone thinks may be the victim of a serial killer. Praise for A DETAILED MAN: "A relentless tour of DCs most crime-ridden streets, with many beautifully written surprises, and darker than the deepest noir." -Madison Smartt Bell

The brutal throat-slashing murder of Crawford Academy's football coach has the city on edge. The fact that his body was found in the gay section of Jefferson Park has created more than a few whispers about the macho coach. That creeps social worker Duffy Dombrowski out enough, but not nearly as much as the fact that the kid he's counseling said he wanted to slit the coach's throat the day before. Now Duffy is assigned to the high school as a grief counselor, and before he can confront his client, the kid gets beaten into a coma by the captain of the football team. As the rumors of a high school sex club run rampant, murder becomes routine in Crawford-until a victim is someone close to Duffy. Everything points to the coach, his sex life, his players, and maybe to the coach leading the team into a different arena. Duffy is not so sure. Add in a new love affair with TJ Dunn, a concussion that might drive Duff out of the boxing game, and the daily challenges of Al the basset hound and you have the fastest paced, most complex and culturally challenging Duffy mystery yet. Praise for the Duffy Dombrowski Mysteries: "The Vegas Knockout is a funny book, full of engaging characters that cover the spectrum of human likeability. What makes it more than a piece of fluff is how Schreck uses Duffy's love of boxing to stand in for any devotion truly held. Duffy's success is in his journey, just as the greatest fun in The Vegas Knockout is in the reading." -Dana King, author of the Penns River Crime Novels "Out Cold floored me with a quick one two of the serious and seriously funny. Schreck's unique blending of the absurd and the sublime along with his rather oddball cast of characters makes Out Cold a great read." -Reed Farrel Coleman, two-time Shamus Award winning author of Empty Ever After "Out Cold is a fast, funny, rip-roaring read, and Shreck's wit and humor shines through on every page. But what I love most about Schreck's creation, Duffy Dombrowski, is the decency and dignity with which he treats the unforgettable cast of loonies, addicts, and criminals who parade through his office. I haven't cared this much about a protagonist in a good long while. Duffy is real hero and a true original." -Blake Crouch, author of Abandon "Fresh, intense and funny, Schreck's second mystery to feature unrepentant Elvis fan and dog lover Duffy Dombrowski packs a knockout punch." -Publishers Weekly, for TKO "Refreshingly iconoclastic." -Kirkus Reviews, for TKO "TKO is fast-paced, authentic, and funny as hell. Social worker and journeyman boxer Duffy Dombrowski is a workingman's hero, and I want him in my corner!" -Sean Chercover, author of Trinity Game "Not since Carl Hiassen's Tourist Season debut has there been a novel with such superb comic timing and laugh-out-loud lines." -Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-winning author of The Guards, for On the Ropes "An Everyman with a big heart and a wicked jab, Duffy Dombrowski may well be the new Spenser. I can't wait for Round Two." -Marcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself, for On the Ropes

Fentanyl. The latest scourge of Monticello's street. A detective, a street-level dealer, and an ambitious police official, it will weave its way through their lives and change their fates. For Detective Jessica Branson, it makes the house she can't afford unlivable and unrentable. When her tenants overdose, one fatally, her career teeters toward a crash. For Marcus Lincoln, it's the latest product, his ticket to the top of the Game as he moves up in the gang that still rules the city's Holland Bay neighborhood. But one man stands in his way, and Linc holds a grudge. Between making his anger known and building his new empire, he finds himself on the bad side of the city's drug lord. For Derek Roberts, the drug becomes a major headache and a political football as he navigates between two ambitious candidates for mayor. But it's also an opportunity to reach one of his longtime goals: Getting rid of Jessica Branson. An imprisoned drug boss, a scheming council member, and a former Amish man running a junkyard complicate matters. But it all ties together when a maligned breed of dog kills a little girl in the neighborhood of Beaumont Heights. Praise for The Dogs of Beaumont Heights: "Sets up on page one and never lets up." -Colin Campbell, author of the Jim Grant Thrillers "Fast-paced and meticulously detailed, Jim Winter's spicy new crime novel crackles with intensity. He does a tremendous job of pulling together the tangled threads of his complex story in a thoroughly satisfying manner." -Patrick H. Moore, author of 27 Days "Winter knows how to mix and match, and the thrills come quickly. Definitely a novel for today that suits its readers who like their action a little uncivilized." -G. Miki Hayden, Writer's Digest University mystery and thriller writing instructor "The Dogs of Beaumont Heights will keep you turning pages into the wee morning hours, through your coffee, out the door, and on breaks at work. A great addition to the thriller lover's library shelf." -Susan Wingate, award-winning author of How the Deer Moon Hungers "Winter dishes up a compelling cast of characters on various sides of the law, a strong sense of place, and a gritty, twisty plot to weave an explosive tale of corruption and violence that burns hot from start to finish." -Andrew Welsh-Huggins, author of the Andy Hayes PI series "Winters' work smacks of McBain and Wambaugh, but there's a modern street-level tenor here-a wide aperture aimed squarely at the probing tendrils of unabated drugs and corruption." -Matt Phillips, author of Accidental Outlaws "A first-class crime story where local politics is rife with backroom deals, the police force is buried in corruption, and organized crime is on the rise. At the epicenter is Jessica Branson, a shrewd, attractive, no-nonsense detective who gets results." -Jonathan J. Brown, author of the Lou Crasher thrillers "With a fast-paced plot where the stakes increase with every turn of the page, Jim Winters has written a scorching Midwest crime epic where sociopathic drug dealers, opportunistic cops, and crooked politicians all feed from the rotting underbelly of a city in crisis." -Chuck Marten, author of Bad Guy Lawyer "Winter weaves a masterful tale of gritty, urban suspense. No one is clean; everyone has a secret.

Nobody Understands How Rancid the Human Race Really Is Until You've Worked in a Garbage Dump! When Dick Moonlight PI begins seeing a beautiful but married APD Narco Unit Detective, he realizes he's up for trouble should her waste management tycoon husband find out about it. But when three dead bodies, all of whom were the employees of the Fuscilli Waste Management Company show up inside the Albany County Landfill, Moonlight realizes that Mary's husband could in fact be a three-time murderer. Enter Chief Detective Nick Miller who, knowing he's conducting an affair with the suspect's cop wife, employees Moonlight to investigate the murders. Knowing that what Miller is also silently asking is for the headcase gumshoe to investigate Mary for what she might know, Moonlight is hesitant at first. But the ever instant Miller gives Moonlight an ultimatum. Either investigate the case or his affair with the narco detective will be exposed to the general public. For fans of Michael Connelly, Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker, Charlie Huston, and more, New York Times and USA Today bestselling Thriller and Shamus Award winning author Vincent Zandri's Moonlight Runs is a thriller that will keep you guessing with every turn of the page.

When Karl, the schizophrenic, ex-GI with post traumatic issues shows up on Duffy's caseload talking about governmental conspiracy predictions Duff takes it in stride. When Karl's terrorist predictions start coming true and he prattles on about the motives of defense contractors, security firms and the profits of war, Duff begins to pay attention. But when Duff suffers his own traumatic brain injury getting knocked out in the ring, Karl doesn't look so crazy any more. With his own sanity on the line Duffy, Al and Karl travel across the country to foil the terrorists at the Notre Dame football opener and the Columbine-type massacre. Oh yeah, and in the meantime there s that evil basset hound puppymill to deal with. Step into the ring for round three and join Duffy, Al the basset hound, that collection of lovable drunks, the Fearsome Foursome for their greatest adventure yet. Pull up a bar stool, crack a cold Schlitz, let Elvis light up the jukebox and get ready for the most therapeutic social worker moonlighting as a pro boxer. When Duffy hears the bell everyone should keep their guard up. Praise for OUT COLD: "Out Cold floored me with a quick one two of the serious and seriously funny. Schreck's unique blending of the absurd and the sublime along with his rather oddball cast of characters makes Out Cold a great read." -Reed Farrel Coleman, two-time Shamus Award winning author of Empty Ever After "Out Cold is a fast, funny, rip-roaring read, and Shreck's wit and humor shines through on every page. But what I love most about Schreck's creation, Duffy Dombrowski, is the decency and dignity with which he treats the unforgettable cast of loonies, addicts, and criminals who parade through his office. I haven't cared this much about a protagonist in a good long while. Duffy is real hero and a true original." -Blake Crouch, author of Abandon "Tom Schreck will knock you to the mat with a sucker punch of laughs. Out Cold is an expert one-two combination of humor and humanity." -Mario Acevedo, author of Jailbait Zombie

It's been a tough winter in Penns River and things aren't getting any better. A major snowstorm looms as a police officer shoots and kills a man after a bar fight. There are four complicating factors: 1. No weapon is found on the dead man. 2. The cop is Black; the victim is white. 3. The victim is not just white; he's a white supremacist. >Fellow travelers from several neighboring states converge on the town for the funeral as an even bigger snowstorm roars in with them. While the Penns River police try to keep the lid on, the Allegheny Casino holds a poker tournament. One hundred players each put up $10,000 in cash. The winner walks away with all of it. In cash. The situation is fraught enough without the local cops having to answer every call as if it might be the start of a riot. Meanwhile, business as usual goes on. Domestic calls still require attention. Traffic accidents increase in the snow. The police department is in transition as older officers leave, their slots filled by either new officers fresh out of the academy, or those who followed the new chief to Penns River from Boston and have big-city attitudes about small town situations. Detective Ben "Doc" Dougherty is still getting used to his sergeant's stripes as he's pulled into the streets for riot duty and must confront the idea some of his peers may be more sympathetic to the incoming agitators than they are to some of those they swore to protect and serve. The weekend will stretch the department to its breaking point as events converge to a violent conclusion. Praise for White Out "In his latest Penns River crime novel-White Out-talented author Dana King reminds us again that in those small towns and cities, sneeringly called 'flyover country, ' the problems and challenges of the outside world often come to play a deadly visit. In White Out, a shooting involving a Black officer and a seemingly unarmed white supremacist sets off the proverbial spark that threatens to become an inferno. With protestors and counter-protestors arriving, along with the news media and agitators, the strained police department desperately works to keep the peace as an approaching snowstorm and a casino poker tournament complicates matters even further. A gritty crime novel that deserves wide attention." -Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author "It's been a long time since I read a book that pulled me along as urgently as Dana King's latest Penns River novel White Out. King writes about his cops and their town with the kind of real affection that has you not just wanting, but needing, to know what happens to them next-and there's plenty happening in this fast moving, deftly written thriller. Highly recommended." -J.D. Rhoades, bestselling author of the Jack Keller series and the Cade and Clayborne historical thrillers "We've all heard the stories of White cops shooting and killing unarmed Black men. But what happens when the scenario flips? In White Out, Dana King kills in this gripping behind-the-badge drama. One cop I know wonders how Dana is able to get it so right." -John DeDakis, Novelist, Writing Coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer"

"In hindsight I think we should have stayed in Boston." "Thought you always wanted to be Mr. Hollywood." >Los Angeles, California Titanic Productions has moved to Hollywood but the producer's problems don't stop with the cost of location services. When McNulty finds a runaway girl hiding at the Hollywood Boulevard location during a night shoot it brings back memories of his life in Crag View Orphanage. He takes the girl under his wing but after somebody breaks into the compound looking for her she runs away again. Between the drug cartel that wants her back and a hitman who wants her dead, McNulty must try and find her again before California wildfires race towards her hiding place. Praise for the books by Colin Campbell: "Very real. And very good." -Lee Child "There's nothing soft about Campbell's writing. If you enjoy your crime fiction hard-boiled, the Jim Grant series is a must read." -Bruce Robert Coffin, author of the Detective Byron series "A cop with a sharp eye, keen mind, and a lion's heart." -Reed Farrel Coleman "Campbell writes smart, rollercoaster tales with unstoppable forward momentum and thrilling authenticity." -Nick Petrie "Grim and gritty and packed with action." -Kirkus Review "The pages fly like the bullets, fistfights and one-liners that make this one of my favourite books of the year. Top stuff!" -Matt Hilton "An excellent story well told. A mixture of The Choirboys meets Harry Bosch." -Michael Jecks "Sets up immediately and maintains a breakneck pace throughout. Its smart structure and unrelenting suspense will please Lee Child fans." -Library Journal Review "This is police procedural close-up and personal. A strong debut with enough gritty realism to make your eyes water, and a few savage laughs along the way." -Reginald Hill

Sharp Knives & Loud Guns is the brand-new collection of Paignton Noir Case Files from cult crime writer Tom Leins, featuring the novelettes Slug Bait, Smut Loop and Sweating Blood. Traumatised and brutalised after a grisly encounter with a warped sex killer, Slug Bait finds cut-price private investigator Joe Rey licking his wounds at a decrepit caravan park on the cliff path high above Paignton. Violence has a way of finding Rey, however, and an altercation involving local amusement arcade tycoon Raymond Coody sees him dragged back into town-where his name is now on all of the wrong people's lips. Rey's reckless disregard for his own safety quickly wins Coody's trust, but his new associate harbours some dark secrets, and things are about to get very bloody, very quickly. Joe Rey has been hired by so many queasy middle-aged men in his time, an assignment from Frank 'The Wank' Farris barely registers. In Smut Loop Rey is forced to get reacquainted with Cherry, a middle-aged sex worker who has more unsavoury connections than he does. When she proposes an elaborate blackmail scheme, Rey is suckered in, but the job quickly spirals out of control-and they are forced to perform an unhinged job for an extremely powerful man. Rey is out of luck, and out of his depth. With friends like this, who needs enemies? After a series of violent misadventures, Joe Rey has blood on his hands and murder on his mind. Now working as a security guard at Paignton Cliffs Caravan Park, Rey finds himself dogged by unhinged cop Carver, who is desperate to know where the bodies are buried. When a sinister figure from Rey's past re-emerges, determined to force him to participate in a sick new game, Rey is forced to confront his past-if he still wants to have a future. As the temperature rises, so does the body-count, and Rey finds himself Sweating Blood. Will he see it through to the bitter end, or has his luck finally run out? Praise for SHARP KNIVES & LOUD GUNS: "Imagine Jim Thompson and Edward Lee had a baby and that baby did a bunch of steroids and meth. That's what Tom Leins' powerful pulp is like. Nobody, and I mean nobody, writes like Leins. He is the master of his own genre." -Andy Rausch, author of American Trash and Bloody Sheets "For hammer-to-face smashing, nothing could be better than Sharp Knives & Loud Guns. Viciously brutal and wickedly funny, to my mind this is the best Tom Leins book yet." -Rob Pierce, author of the Uncle Dust trilogy