“Hard Times is the best country noir I’ve read in a long while. A knife-edged, cold-eyed story of love and hate at their most visceral, it’s worthy of a place of pride on the shelf next to William Gay and Daniel Woodrell.”—Scott Phillips, author of Ice Harvest and That Left Turn at Albuquerque Take a first look at…
Prologue “Will it hurt?” Patty Cakes paused, the tattoo needle in her hand, looking at the man who lay facedown on the table. He was as white and hairless as a worm. She could have lied to him, but she never did that. “Yes,” she said. The man took a long time before he…
Excerpt On the three-hour drive to Boise, we said little, our attention locked on the radio crackling news reports every twenty minutes. No word of famous people disappearing, or shootouts in the woods. During the hunt, we had set part of an abandoned town on fire, and I supposed that smoke from the inferno would…
Prologue LAST APRIL IN UPSTATE NEW YORK The man grabbed a towel, wiped his face, and caught sight of his re-flection in the bathroom mirror. He felt odd. Not himself. His smile was strong and dazzling, but his eyes were couched and wary. He had holding-back eyes. He went downstairs. The house was old. The…
Chapter 1 When you’re a detective, certain things come with the job. Getting shot at, for example, or tossing a man twice your size over your shoulder. From time to time, there might be a little light burglary. If you’re with the special branch of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, you can add to the…
Get an early look at the gorgeous cover of The Dark Heart of Florence (Minotaur Books, March 2021), by critically acclaimed author Tasha Alexander. Read on for an excerpt of the latest Lady Emily mystery that transports readers to the legendary city of Florence, where Lady Emily and Colin solve a murder with clues leading…
Chapter 1 A BITING JANUARY WIND BLEW into the taproom as the front door to Nitro opened and a group of skiers traipsed inside. They were loaded down with gear—expensive puffy parkas in an array of bright colors, ski goggles, boots, and poles. A slightly overweight guy with a pinched face and an entitled…
Prologue EARLY SUMMER, 1939 The light was positioned to simulate ten in the morning. The urban canyons of the capital of the German Empire shimmered blindingly white. But nothing moved, everything seemed suspended, frozen solid in an eternal winter. It would be a while until the daily chaos of Berlin reached those corners. At this…
1 A New Brand of Danger A stir moves through the Pride House Group Home, and seconds later adolescent faces pig against the muggy front window. Evan, at twelve, still has not hit his growth spurt. He jockeys for position and loses, Charles Van Sciver’s elbow knocking him to the rear of the pack. A…
Student, 23, missing in Munich Munich (LR)—The Munich police are searching for clues relating to the whereabouts of Lena Beck, 23, from Munich-Haidhausen. According to eyewitnesses, the student was at a party on Tuesday night in the Maxvorstadt district until around 5 a.m. On the way home she telephoned a friend. Her cell phone has…
