Two to tango. #2

DeKoks maverick personality certainly makes him a compassionate judge of other outsiders and an astute analyst of antisocial behavior. The New York Times Book Review Baantjer has created an odd police detective who roams Amsterdam interacting with the widest possible range of antisocial types. This series is the answer to an insomniacs worst fears. The Boston Globe Baantjers laconic, rapid-fire storytelling has spun out a surprisingly complex web of mysteries. Kirkus Reviews DeKok is a careful, compassionate policeman in the -tradition of Maigret; crime fans will enjoy this . . . Library Journal Its easy to understand the appeal of Amsterdam police detective DeKok. The Los Angeles Times Renowned mystery author A.C. Baantjer brings to life Inspector DeKok in another stirring potboiler full of suspenseful twists and unusual conclusions. In The Geese of Death , DeKok takes on Igor Stablinsky, a man accused of bludgeoning a wealthy old man and his wife. To DeKoks unfailing eye the killing urge is visibly present in the suspect during questioning, but did he commit this particular crime? All signs point to one of the few remaining estates in Holland. The answer lies within a strange family, suspicions of incest, deadly geese and a horrifying mansion. Baantjers perceptive style brings to light the essences of his characters, touching his audience with subtle wit and irony. A.C. Baantjer is one of the most widely read authors in the Netherlands. A former detective inspector of the Amsterdam Police, his fictional characters reflect the depth and personality of individuals encountered during his 38-year career in law enforcement. Brewer has created a passel of unique and hilarious characters and thrown them into a page-turning plot that had me laughing out loud despite a hail of bullets. Chicago Sun-Times Think of Hunter S. Thompson meeting James M. Cain meeting . . . James Ellroy to get some sense of what this book is like. Mystery News With characters you love to hate and hate to love, readers will be cheering for the killer-for-hire and the down-on-his-luck former cop who is chasing her. Albuquerque Journal When a contract killer bumps off a high roller in a Las Vegas casino, a tangle of romance, gambling, and gunplay follows. The killer, Lily Marsden, is a mysterious and cold woman who is a true professional. But soon, the casino owner, his henchmen, and the victims two -brothers are on Lilys trail. Former Chicago cop Joe Riley is pursuing Lily, too. She cost him his job as a homicide investigator when suspicion of a bookies murder fell on him. Joe is certain Lily killed the bookie, and hes tracked her across the country to Vegas. Throw in some local cops, a playboy, a new widow, a rug merchant, a harridan, and a couple of idiot gamblers named Delbert and Mookie, and the mixture soon boils with intrigue and murder. Add a dash of romance as a strange magnetism develops between Lily and Joe, dust the whole concoction with Steve Brewers trademark humor, and you end up with Bullets a crime novel you wont soon forget. Steve Brewer spent 22 years in the newspaper business before turning to fiction full-time in 1997. A weekly humor column he writes for the Albuquerque Tribune is distributed nationally by Scripps Howard News Service. He lives in Redding, California with his wife, two sons and a dog named Elvis.

“This sparkling debut fires volleys of one-liners . . . Romping good stuff.”—Daily Mail

“An original and highly readable debut for journalist-turned-gumshoe, Nick Madrid. But a word of warning: never let this man house-sit if you value your pets.”—Lynne Truss

“Made me laugh out loud and wince in sympathy at both the violence and the humiliation meted out to the narrator . . . enormous fun.”—Val McDermid

Tom Sharpe meets Raymond Chandler in No Laughing Matter, a humorous and brilliant debut that will keep readers on a knife’s edge of suspense until the bittersweet end.

When a naked woman flashes past Nick Madrid’s hotel window, it’s quite a surprise. For Nick’s room is on the 14th floor, and the hotel doesn’t have an outside elevator. The management is horrified when Cissie Parker lands in the swimming pool—not only is she killed, but she makes a real mess of the shallow end.

In Montreal for the Just For Laughs festival, Nick, a journalist who prefers practicing yoga to interviewing the stars, turns gumshoe to answer the question: did she fall or was she pushed? The trail leads first to the mean streets of Edinburgh and then to Los Angeles, where the truth lurks among the dark secrets of Hollywood.

Peter Guttridge is the Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at Southampton University and teaches creative writing. Between 1998 and 2002, he was the director of the Brighton Literature Festival. Since 1998, he has been the mystery reviewer for The Observer, one of Britain’s most prestigious Sunday newspapers. He lives in Sussex on the edge of the South Downs National Park.

'Brilliant one-liners, lightning action, lots of suspense and very funny-self-deprecating Madrid is fast becoming my favorite hero.'-Good Housekeeping (UK)

Journalist Nick Madrid finds himself up the proverbial creek-the Amazon-without a paddle when he’s dispatched to South America to report on a Rock Against Drugs tour.

As if monstrous spiders, piranhas, kidnapping and tiny, spiky fish that swim up a stream of urine to lodge where a man least wants a tiny, spiky fish to lodge aren’t enough, Madrid is drawn into the mystery of who is trying to kill the tour’s headlining, larger-than-life, pain-in-the-posterior rock megastar Otis Barnes.

Madrid soon discovers that the murdering queue forms on the left for Mr. Barnes. The question is: Can he prevent Barnes’ date with death at the final concert at Machu Picchu?

Peter Guttridge is the Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at the University of Southampton and teaches creative writing. His career was launched when he wrote a comic piece for a British magazine about his woeful experiences attempting to busk in New Orleans when he could neither sing nor play guitar. This same magazine sent him on a dizzying range of assignments, from going on a tour of Scandinavia with a rock band to performing as a male stripper in London’s Soho. He has written about music, film, literature and the comedy industry for The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Observer and The Sunday Times. He lives in Sussex on the edge of the South Downs National Park.

This sparkling debut fires volleys of one-liners . . . Romping good stuff. Daily Mail An original and highly readable debut for journalist-turned-gumshoe, Nick Madrid. But a word of never let this man house-sit if you value your pets.Lynne Truss Made me laugh out loud and wince in sympathy at both the violence and the humiliation meted out to the narrator . . . enormous fun.Val McDermid Tom Sharpe meets Raymond Chandler in No Laughing Matter , a humorous and brilliant debut that will keep readers on a knifes edge of suspense until the bittersweet end. When a naked woman flashes past Nick Madrids hotel window, its quite a surprise. For Nicks room is on the 14th floor, and the hotel doesnt have an outside elevator. The management is horrified when Cissie Parker lands in the swimming poolnot only is she killed, but she makes a real mess of the shallow end. In Montreal for the Just For Laughs festival, Nick, a journalist who prefers practicing yoga to interviewing the stars, turns gumshoe to answer the did she fall or was she pushed? The trail leads first to the mean streets of Edinburgh and then to Los Angeles, where the truth lurks among the dark secrets of Hollywood. Peter Guttridge is the Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at Southampton University and teaches creative writing. Between 1998 and 2002, he was the director of the Brighton Literature Festival. Since 1998, he has been the mystery reviewer for The Observer , one of Britains most prestigious Sunday newspapers. He lives in Sussex on the edge of the South Downs National Park. "Nick Madrid isn't exactly thrilled when his best friend in journalism - OK, his only friend in journalism - the "Bitch of the Broadsheets," Bridget Frost, commissions him to spend a night in a haunted place on the Sussex Downs, and live to tell the tale. Especially as living to tell the tale isn't made an urgent priority." "But fortunately, or unfortunately, Nick stumbles on a hotter story when he discovers a dead man hanging upside down - a la Tarot card - from an ancient oak. It's quite possible that the nearby New Age Conference Center has something to do with it, or to The Great Beast, the Hollywood movie about Aleister Crowley, filming down in Brighton." New Age meets the Old Religion as Nick is bothered, bewildered, but not necessarily bewitched by pagans, satanists, and a host of assorted metaphysicians. Seances, sabbats, a horse-ride from hell, and a kick-boxing zebra all come Nick's way as he obstinately tracks a treasure once in the possession of Crowley. Nick Madrid isn't exactly thrilled when his best friend in journalism-OK, his only friend in journalism-the Bitch of the Broadsheets, Bridget Frost, commissions him to spend a night in a haunted place on the Sussex Downs and live to tell the tale. Especially as living to tell the tale isn't made an urgent priority. But Nick stumbles on a hotter story when he discovers a dead man hanging upside down from an ancient oak. Why was he killed? Is there a connection to the nearby New Age conference centre? Or to The Great Beast, the Hollywood movie about Aleister Crowley, filming down in Brighton? New Age meets The Old Religion as Nick is bothered, bewildered but not necessarily bewitched by pagans, Satanists and a host of assorted metaphysicians. Seances, sabbats, a horse-ride from Hell and a kick-boxing zebra all come Nick's way as he obstinately tracks a treasure once in the possession of Crowley.

Bullets is Brewer's breakout book, reviewers have compared him to: Leonard, Block, Cain, and Ellroy.

Library Journal

The author of the Bubba Mabry (Dirty Pool) and Drew Gavin (End Run) series begins his first stand-alone mystery with a contract hit in Las Vegas-by a highly effective, careful, and cold-hearted woman named Lily. Her hit initiates a complicated set of subplots: Joe Riley, a retired detective from Chicago on a personal mission, recognizes Lily's modus operandi; the owner of the hotel where the hit occurred orders a hit on the hitter; the victim's twin brothers start their own search; and two gamblers peeved at Joe look for him. Needless to say, lots of violence ensues, though tempered with humorous situations and Joe's in-your-face attitude. For most collections and fans of hard-boiled tales. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

"Journalist Nick Madrid finds himself up the proverbial creek - the Amazon - without a paddle when he's dispatched to South America to report on a Rock Against Drugs tour." "As if monstrous spiders, piranhas, kidnapping and tiny, spiky fish that swim up a stream of urine to lodge where a man least wants a tiny, spiky fish to lodge aren't enough, Madrid is drawn into the mystery of who is trying to kill the tour's headlining, larger-than-life, pain-in-the-posterior rock megastar Otis Barnes." Madrid soon discovers that the murdering queue forms on the left for Mr. Barnes. The question is: Can he prevent Barnes' date with death at the final concert at Machu Picchu?

the First New Dekok Mystery In Two Years By The Netherlands Most Widely Read Author.

library Journal

did Igor Stablinsky Bludgeon A Wealthy Old Couple To Death? Or Did The Geese Of Death Have Something To Do With It? Inspector Dekok Stars In A Work By One Of The Most Widely Read Authors In The Netherlands (known As The Dutch Conan Doyle) And A Former Police Inspector. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

When a naked woman flashes past journalist Nick Madrid's 14th floor hotel window, it's quite a surprise as the hotel doesn't have an outside elevator. Did she fall or was she pushed? To find out, Nick must follow a trail which leads from the Edinburgh Festival to Hollywood