Bøger udgivet af Down & Out Books

There''s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn''t the food selection that attracts customers, it''s the illegal weapons available with the special order. <br> <br>Each episode of <i>Guns & Tacos</i> features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life''s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag. <br> <br>Episode 16: <i>Refried Beans and a Snub-Nosed .44</i> by Hugh Lessig <br>Episode 17: <i>Two Steak Taco Combos and a Pair of Sig Sauers</i> by Neil S. Plakcy <br>Episode 18: <i>A Smith & Wesson with a Side of Chorizo</i> by Andrew Welsh-Huggins <br><br>Episodes 13-15 are featured in Guns + Tacos Vol. 5.

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 2, the second entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is a crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor. Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn't often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century. Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finn is a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you've finished reading every story, you'll know that you've been "slipped a Mickey." The nineteen contributors, including some of today's most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include: Trey R. Barker, John Bosworth, Michael Bracken, Scott Bradfield, S.M. Fedor, Nils Gilbertson, J.D. Graves, James A. Hearn, Janice Law, Hugh Lessig, Gabe Morran, Rick Ollerman, Josh Pachter, Robert Petyo, Stephen D. Rogers, Albert Tucher, Joseph S. Walker, Sam Wiebe, and Stacy Woodson.

Armand Cole kills a snitch. He is supposed to take him to Monticello''s infamous Pier 9, but a snowstorm forces him to leave the body on the freeway. A related murder at the pier is assigned to the MPD''s Special Investigations squad. For Jessica Branson, this means she gets to do something she hasn''t done in years: Real police work. But she must do so under the former Internal Affairs officer who sent her into exile. <br><br>Armand is soon the point man for the drug operation''s money man, a suave businessman named Rufus King. He is ordered to keep an eye on a stubborn dealer, an arrogant boy named Baggy, who has turned the city''s Holland Bay neighborhood into his own fiefdom. Branson finds her squad has been given a new mandate: Clean up Holland Bay. While Armand runs afoul of dealer Baggy, Branson is nearly killed in an explosion that also puts her erstwhile partner in the hospital. <br><br>Branson soon zeroes in on Ralph Smithers, the city''s drug lord. Armand tries to curry favor with Smithers, but soon becomes enmeshed in a tug of war for power between Smithers and King. In a sudden explosion of rage and betrayal, open conflict erupts over the course of an evening. Each man wants Armand to kill the other, while Branson leans hard on Smithers. <br><br>As Smithers''s grip frays, Branson, against orders, chases down leads, including a busted dealer, a drug lab operator ready to come in from the cold, and a woman brutalized by Smithers. Armand is soon in the middle of carnage the city has not seen since its Mafia days. As the night drags on, the fate of the city falls to Armand as he must decide which of his two overlords must die. <br><br>The two will end up at Pier 9 as rivalry comes to a head. <br><br>Praise for HOLLAND BAY: <br><br>"Jim Winter has written a novel that like a fine whiskey, just gets better and better with time." -Ken Bruen, bestselling author of the Jack Taylor series <br><br>"Drug dealers, cops, departmental politics in a beaten-down city. Fans of <i>The Wire</i> will love <i>Holland Bay</i>." -Dana King, two-time Shamus Award nominee and author of the Penns River crime series

Former academic now veteran Deputy Sheriff Blevins Bombardi tries to solve a freakish murder of a cryptozoologist seeking the elusive Skunk Ape in a national forest in north central Florida. He is distracted, though, by struggles with his inner demons: heavy drinking, depression, suicidal thoughts, and torment from the recent murder of his wife for which he was responsible. Also, his daughter ran away two years before when her mother was killed and may have joined up with a vagabond cult that moves with the seasons around the country and is now camping nearby in Florida, and he has spent countless hours traveling from state to state trying to find her. In the meantime a category five hurricane rushes toward Florida in the unlikely month of February, the bears and monkeys (an odd piece of Florida history) in the national forest are mysteriously slaughtered by arrows, and politicians and evangelists join forces in a push to privatize all public lands. When a bizarre and perhaps severely mentally disturbed ex-con shows up insisting that Bombardi help him locate a former lover (who may be imaginary), the Deputy Sheriff may have to step far outside the law to restore any order to his off-balance world. All My Sins Remembered joins Ron Cooper's previous novels as part mystery, part philosophical inquiry, and part tragi-comedy. Winner of a Florida Book Award. Praise for ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED: "Please meet Major Blevins Bombardi, a deputy in the middle-of-nowhere central Florida, a man unknowingly haunted by the first line of Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus. He's part Spencer from Robert B. Parker's detective novels, and part TV's House. All My Sins Remembered is a fast-paced whodunit-or whodunabunchofthings-with a cast of secondary characters worthy of any swamp-dweller chronicle." -George Singleton, author of Between Wrecks and The Half-Mammals of Dixie "Ron Cooper was born and raised on the edge of the swamp, and that curious upbringing shows through in just the right places. A mystery and love story to boot, All My Sins Remembered is a red-hot ball of iron marvel." -William P. Baldwin, author of Charles Town and The Hard to Catch Mercy "Cooper combines philosophical reflection with a rural setting, working-class characters, an engaging storyline, and vernacular to create a rare, pleasurable experience for the reader...a lesson in what a good novel of ideas can and should achieve aesthetically." -American Book Review "Ron Cooper has his own unique voice, and what a marvelous, darkly comic voice it is. He is an immensely talented writer." -Ron Rash, author of The Risen and Serena "Cooper is a superb writer, and a daring one too." -Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World and The Realm of Last Chances "A prose style that snaps like garters." -Fred Chappell, author of I am One of You Forever and Look Back All the Green Valley

<i>This year, the fireworks will be red hot...</i> <br><br>Skates Farrington is a changed man. Gone are the smart suits, the dull meetings and the extra pounds. Nowadays, he gets his thrills at the skate park and from whatever substances his dealers send his way. The only thing missing from his life is his ex-wife. She''s shacked up with a respectable partner in an isolated farm and striving to create the perfect life. Skates is convinced that she will come back to him when she sees his new self, but when attempts to win her heart all over again are thrown back in his face, he decides a little gentle persuasion is in order. Now he can include murder and abduction among his new-found skills. <br><br>DI Oliver Wilson, leading the investigation, has more than a few things on his mind. The case and imminent arrival of his third child should be at the forefront of his thoughts, but the arrival of a sequence of unusual gifts is making him nervous. The packages are sending him a message, he just can''t work out what they''re trying to say. <br><br><i>Ain''t That A Kick In The Head</i> is the explosive follow up to <i>Let It Snow</i> and <i>My Funny Valentine</i>. <br><br>Praise for AIN''T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD: <br><br>"Nigel Bird knows his characters inside and out-what they want, how they think, how they grow and how they fail. <i>Ain''t that a Kick in the Head</i> might be his best work yet. A convincing, engrossing portrayal of what life is like for cops and criminals alike." -Chris Rhatigan, All Due Respect Books publisher <br><br>"One of my favourite contemporary crime fiction series." -Colman Keane, <i>Col''s Criminal Library</i>

Clay Moloney, a cynical reporter with a regional Australian newspaper, is expecting an easy Sunday at work when the body of a young woman washes up at the Bay of Martyrs. The death is an inconvenience for Clay, who''s content filing obituaries and re-writing government press releases on the new multi-million-dollar airport. <br><br>But the more he digs into the Bay of Martyrs incident, the more he realises the girl''s death is not a case of misadventure, despite what the police tell him. Clay becomes obsessed with the murder investigation, putting himself and his colleague Bec, an Irish-born photographer, in danger. Will Clay achieve justice for the young student, or will those in power stop him before he uncovers the truth? <br><br>Master of "tartan noir" Tony Black collaborates with Australian author and reporter Matt Neal to create a thrilling criminal case of murder and corruption set on Australia''s south coast. <br><br>Praise for BAY OF MARTYRS: <br><br>"This is one hell of a read. Two authors is a tricky gig and most times results in a desultory effect. But here are two writers so in sync that it is seamless. A get-in-yer-face, down and dynamic read that grips and enthrals. Tony Black at the very height of his terrific talent and now with a double act to enrich his solid rep." -Ken Bruen, author of <i>The Guards</i> and <i>Priest</i> <br><br>"<i>Bay of Martyrs</i> is a piece of perfectly-crafted Australian coastal noir, from the body on the remote beach that sparks journalist Clay Moloney''s obsession, to the cast of bent cops, developers and a politician on the make. A dark gem from the first wave of Aussie mysteries that''s sweeping the world." -Jock Serong, author of <i>The Rules of Backyard Cricket</i> and <i>On Java Ridge</i> <br><br>"This was a great read. Really cool, interesting and unusual locales, with a fast-paced thriller narrative and some very sexy lead characters. Highly recommended." -Tony Cavanaugh, author of <i>Promise</i> and <i>Dead Girl Sing</i>

Jay Desmarteaux raised a whole lot of hell in New Jersey after he was released from prison after 25 years for the murder of a rapist bully at his school. Now he's on the run in his home state of Louisiana, where he traces his roots to an evil family tree that's grown large and lush, watered with the blood of the innocent. Jay's hunt for his parents will take him to the doors of stately plantation homes built by the enslaved, through the deadly and gorgeous heart of the bayou, to his greatest nightmare-a cell in the infamous state prison, where his only escape is the wildest show in the South-the Angola Prison Rodeo. Scarred and shell-shocked, Jay Desmarteaux faces his deadliest adversaries yet: the demons within himself and the brutality wrought by his privileged ancestors. The Boy from County Hell is coming home... Praise for THE BOY FROM COUNTY HELL: "Thomas Pluck's The Boy From County Hell is raucous and rollicking, just like The Pogues song it adapts its name from. There are echoes of James Lee Burke, Barry Gifford, and Joe R. Lansdale, but Pluck's book burns hot and bright with its own indomitable punk spirit. Joyous, wild, dark fun." -William Boyle, author of City of Margins, A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, The Lonely Witness, and Gravesend "Blistering, violent, and written with Technicolor flourishes that are Pluck's unmistakable signature. The Boy from County Hell is a hell of a book." -Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase "Pluck has crafted a hard-charging thriller that stomps the pedal from page one and never lets up. Crackling with exciting characters and language that pops off the page, The Boy From County Hell is a mad tale of rage, retribution, and no small helping of heart and soul. I loved it." -Bill Loehfelm, author of the Maureen Coughlin series "Wow. The Boy from County Hell by Thomas Pluck is as wild as a night in a cage with an amorous monkey. So smart and tense and relentless. Pluck decides on his premise, and stays true to it until the rowdy end, but the real star here is his control of style, both hardboiled and poetic at the same time. Impressed." -Joe R. Lansdale "The Boy from County Hell is a harrowing and at times deeply philosophical journey through the heart of rage. Thomas Pluck is our trustworthy tour guide through that undiscovered country. With deft prose and an eye towards redemption and revelation Pluck accomplishes an amazing feat. We find ourselves feeling sympathy for the boy from county Hell" -SA. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of Razorblade Tears

<i>Can Moonlight and his Elvis impersonator sidekick survive a murderous gang of Hollywood obsessed Russian mobsters? </i> <br><br>Dick Moonlight can''t help himself. Moonlight, the private detective known as Captain Head-Case due to the piece of bullet lodged in his brain, should be grateful for his current job. But when it becomes clear the cash-starved brain surgeon he''s been hired to drive around is protecting his son from a rape conviction, Moonlight becomes disgusted. <br><br>Worse, when the charges turn into a case of "reckless murder," Moonlight''s the only one trying to keep the kid from the electric chair, though the young lady-a state senator''s daughter-clearly committed suicide. Then Moonlight and his unwilling assistant, a fat Elvis impersonator who owes him money, stumble into a much bigger plot and are soon dodging Hollywood obsessed drug-running Russian thugs, corrupt government officials, and the specter of Moonlight''s recently deceased girlfriend. <br><br><i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Vincent Zandri delivers another fast-paced thriller in the ITW Thriller and PWA Shamus Award-winning Dick Moonlight PI series, offering readers plenty of wry humor, bullets, car chases, and Scarface references. For fans of Michael Connelly, Don Winslow, Joe Lansdale, Eric Beetner, Frank Zafiro and more. <br><br>Praise for the Books by Vincent Zandri: <br><br>"A riveting story...oh, what a story it is: grisly, surprising, and page-turningly suspenseful. A terrific old-school thriller." -<i>Booklist</i> (starred review) <br><br>"Zandri writes strong prose that rarely strains for effect, and some of his scenes...achieve a powerful hallucinatory horror." -<i>Publishers Weekly</i> <br><br>"Captures readers'' attention from the opening scene...creates a story that...is hard to tear away from once a reader is hooked." -<i>BookPage</i> <br><br>"Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant." -<i>New York Post</i> <br><br>"The action never wanes." -<i>Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel</i> <br><br>"Gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting." -Harlan Coben, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author <br><br>"A satisfying yarn." -<i>Chicago Tribune</i> <br><br>"Vincent Zandri nails reader''s attention." -<i>Boston Herald</i> <br><br>"(Zandri) demonstrates an uncanny knack for exposition, introducing new characters and narrative possibilities with the confidence of an old pro...Zandri does a superb job interlocking puzzle pieces." -<i>The San Diego Union-Tribune</i> <br><br>"Tough, stylish, heartbreaking." -Don Winslow, bestselling author of <i>Savages</i> <br><br>"A thriller that has depth and substance, wickedness and compassion." -<i>The Times-Union (Albany) </i>

<b>Old-Time Mountain Song</b> <br><br>There''s a place in Tennessee, just across the line, <br>No one ever goes up there, it''s too rough a climb, <br>You won''t find the name or place wrote on any map, <br>Folks down here ''round Shelton''s Trace calls it White Oak Flats. <br><br>Hazel Taylor was my wife, and I loved her so, <br>We was married on Shelton''s Trace, fifteen years ago, <br>Now I lie here all alone, wonderin'' on the past, <br>Wonderin'' why she left our home to go to White Oak Flats. <br><br>I don''t know how he looked at her, I don''t know what he said, <br>I don''t know what he could have done, to turn poor Hazel''s head, <br>Never in her darkest hour, could she imagine that, <br>She''d agree to go with him, up to White Oak Flats. <br><br>I can see the rocky trail up the mountain side, <br>I can see poor Hazel, now, lying by his side, <br>Folks down here still talks about how it come to pass, <br>Nothing but the silence now, up on White Oak Flats <br><hr><br>Hazel Tighrow is a woman born far back in the Appalachian Mountains, in the early decades of the Twentieth Century. who explodes all the stereotypes. Where she "should" be an unlettered drudge, ready to marry young, and produce ten children, she is, instead, a reflective, self-taught, well-read, and sensitive young woman, who desperately wants the freedom to grow into herself. <br><br>Still, because she is so aware, she knows whence she comes, and tries to fit-in as best she can. She eventually marries a caring young man, George Taylor, and does what she can to settle-in to the life of the mountains. <br><br>Listen to the author''s recording of the White Oak Flats song played on a fretless gourd-banjo, in the old two-finger style on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no-jwX_yw1Y">YouTube</a>. <br><br>

"All's great for sixteen-year-old actor Dalton Black as he portrays a teen killer on a crime reenactment show. That is, until he realizes someone is stalking him. When that someone turns out to be Homer Lee Varney, the man convicted of the murder, things take a dark turn, and Dalton is afraid for his life. What does Varney want? Some sort of twisted revenge? Or something even worse? Can Dalton and his drama friends discover the truth, before they become the killer's next victims? Stay tuned to find out!"--

Sometimes a man who goes missing should stay missing! When a savvy and sexy literary agent by the name of Suzanne Bonchance lures Dick Moonlight into searching for her missing star client-the boozing, poet laureate, Roger Walls-the PI with the piece of bullet in his brain finds himself waist-deep in a whole lot of trouble. But when a hot MFA in Writing student who claims to know Walls personally comes to his rescue, Moonlight not only becomes smitten with her charm, he falls head over heels with a young woman he barely knows. As the trail for Walls narrows, and the truths about everyone who has ever been involved with the world-famous writer are revealed, Moonlight wants only to run away as fast as his legs will take him. One thing he can't outrun, however, are bullets. For fans of action-packed mystery series-especially those of Robert Parker, Don Winslow, and Charlie Huston-comes the next installment in the 2015 ITW Thriller Award and PWA Shamus Award-winning Dick Moonlight, Private Investigator series.

Badge 112 is the story of a restless boy orphaned in high school, and his unlikely passage from juvenile delinquent to decorated police officer. When Peter Stipe finds his mother after her suicide, it leaves him scarred and isolated. After a couple of brushes with the law, his dad sends him off to Culver Military Academy to provide structure and discipline. In a whirlwind final summer, he found himself paired with the most beautiful girl on campus and clashing with the commandant. This pattern of behavior would define his years in high school. At 17, his father's sudden death from cancer cast him adrift. After beginning work in a warehouse, Stipe is soon befriended by a firefighter who'd lost his only son to combat in Vietnam. The father figure took the aimless youth under his wing, instilling a tireless work ethic while suggesting a career in civil service. Though his spell of misdirection continued, Stipe heeded the advice and found himself working for the Building Department, enforcing city codes and inspecting houses. Trained in every aspect of code enforcement, his laid-back style was effective with business owners, landlords and residents. But he saw the grim effects of poverty first hand, exposed to wretched living conditions. The homes and apartments he inspected were so filthy, he had to strip his clothes off outside when he got home. However, assignments all over town enabled him to learn Ann Arbor like the back of his hand. His skill in code-enforcement led to a personal recruitment by Ann Arbor's Police Chief to become an officer. A 29-year-old rookie, Stipe left his mark, combining instinct, orientation and superb fitness to catch criminals and save lives. He confronts the memory of his own mother's death by handling the suicides of several more victims, many to gunfire. His negotiation skills spare the lives of many more. While on the force, Stipe embarked on a series of high-profile arrests, high-speed pursuits, foot chases, bank robberies, hostage situations, homicides, life and death struggles and harrowing rescues. In 1994, a serial killer investigation exposed the strained racial tensions between the police and the public they serve. Stipe and the killer confront one another in court. Stipe's tactical training results in his assignment as the point man on the SWAT Team. He engages in a sequence of armed encounters, some at point blank range. The peak in his career is toppled by a turbulent marriage to an unfaithful wife, an ill-fated affair with an attractive partner, and the tragic drowning of two teenage girls, trapped in a submerged car. When the veteran officer bottomed out and became immune to hope and humor, he was rescued from the brink by a succession of intuitive patrol partners and the girl that sold him coffee. Badge 112 is about survival in the darkest corners of society, and about a cop turning tragedy and adversity into hope and redemption in the dim light of life on his patrol beat.

<i>If you can dream it, you can kill it.</i> <br><br>Mac Sexton is a good-looking teenager and up-and-coming force of nature who harbors a secret ambition: to become the Number One Serial Killer in America, if not the world. Born into a wealthy, robustly dysfunctional family in the Northeast, and choosing (It/It/Its) as preferred pronouns, Mac chronicles its grisly journey from abused child to apex predator in humor darker than a lump of anthracite. <br><br>Mac''s family is a veritable smorgasbord of warped souls. Its father, referred to by Mac sarcastically as "Dear Old Dad," is a powerful and well-thought-of figure in the community, a Yale alumnus whose achievements and privilege camouflage a secret life of gut-wrenching perversity. Mac''s mother is a gin-swilling socialite and all-around enabler who routinely turns a blind eye to her husband''s cruelty. Mac''s younger adoptive sister Morgan is a conniving 10-year-old, a pint-sized problem child from China with more issues than <i>Hustler</i>. Mac''s older brother Wally is an awkward loner bullied by their father and on a path of self-destruction, especially when he decides to follow in his father''s footsteps and use Mac for his personal enjoyment, not realizing that his younger sibling is morphing everyday into one of the most vicious creatures the Devil on a bad day has ever created-a twisted child with a high IQ, a streak of mean wider than the Mississippi and Styx combined, and an insatiable appetite for violence-a psychopath who considers Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacy as heroes and stellar role models. <br><br>From its days in an elite prep school wreaking havoc on wayward teachers, to its time spent in a hardcore "troubled teen" therapy program in the Utah desert where it finds itself eventually captured by a cult group of renegade Mormons, to its embittering enrollment as a student at Vassar and Amherst, Mac proves unflinching in its desire to rack up the body count of victims to stratospheric levels. <br><br>Dropping out of college, Mac heads to Maryland where it witnesses the murder of a bearded cross-dressing Good Samaritan before travelling to Richmond, Virginia, where an 85-year-old billionaire, smitten by lust and with a taste for wives and catamites, proposes marriage, much to the horror of the doddering old sugar daddy''s family. It is while travelling to Tennessee, under the guise of visiting Graceland to pay respects to Elvis instead of searching for fresh victims, that Mac''s BMW hits a deer, and a kindly old couple stops to render aid-an event that will prove pivotal for Mac, and definitely not for the better, thrusting the teen into a nightmarish world that will demand the utmost in survival skills and resolve, forcing it to use its unique skill set and bloodlust and can-do attitude to prove once and for all that it, and it only, deserves the title of Number One Serial Killer in America. A title for which no consolation prize is given for second place.

Homecoming queen. Cheerleader. Heroin addict. Meadow Charles had all the promise in the world-and secrets to hide. Someone else tried to hide Meadow's secrets when they murdered her and left her body at the Parker County landfill. Five years later, the murder still reverberates through the Appalachian community. But now the man who confessed to the murder says he didn't do it, and he wants Henry Malone to prove it. Henry and his well-armed A.A. sponsor Woody quickly find themselves drawn into a world of money and drugs, prostitutes and corruptions, and at the center, one family's dark past-full of secrets someone's killing to keep hidden. Praise for SHE TALKS TO ANGELS: "James D.F. Hannah is the real deal... (He) shows with this book he has no trouble holding his own against Robert B. Parker and Lawrence Block." -Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes and Pariah "A wicked slice of pulpy, country noir!" -Joe Clifford, author of The One That Got Away and the Jay Porter series "Atmospheric and genuine, James Hannah's She Talks to Angels packs a powerful punch." -J. Carson Black, bestselling author of The Shop and Spectre Black "The dry dark wit, the terrible secrets that need to be unlocked, the action... One of the best traditional PI series out there for fans of guys like Elvis Cole, Spenser, and even Dave Robicheaux." -Jochem van Der Steen, Sons of Spade

The desert spares no souls. Set in the scorched and unforgiving deserts of the American Southwest, A Place for Snakes to Breed follows Weldon Holt's desperate search for his daughter Tammy, who is lost in the vicious landscape of interstate truck stop prostitution and its nightworlds "where the fruit of human trade is harvested by razor blades and cheap pistols." Weldon Holt knows these brutal roadways all too well. As an over-the-road truck driver he was once ruined by liquor and methedrine, and he vanished from his daughter's life. After a brief reconnection some fifteen years later, his daughter vanishes from his. Now, returning to the same roads that nearly killed him, Weldon must protect the sobriety he's maintained for over a decade as Tammy does her best to lay her own life to ruin. The violence of temptation does battle with Weldon's urgency to find and save Tammy at every mile marker he passes. The character of time is devoured as Tammy descends into her journey of hellish self-destruction and agony, where the threat of death thrums in every motel room she visits and in every hitchhiked ride she takes. Her body and spirit deteriorate in the pollution of alcohol and cheap stimulants as she escapes into a vaporous version of herself where no real self remains. Told with taut, vivid, and hallucinatory prose, A Place for Snakes to Breed explores the darkest expanses of human despair peopled by unforgettable characters who live and breathe on the page with complexity and emotional depth as they struggle to liberate themselves from the interstate's pythonic grasp. Praise for A PLACE FOR SNAKES TO BREED: "Finn writes with the precision and eloquence of Cormac McCarthy, an understanding of what Jack London called 'the submerged tenth, ' and the brutality of Nelson Algren and David Goodis. A Place for Snakes to Breed is a novel that will be studied by students and scholars, and serve as a model of how a book should be written for writers." -Eric Miles Williamson, author of East Bay Grease and Welcome to Oakland "Finn's sinewy sentences whose movements you will not predict (and which you will read several times to savor and to try to piece out how he got there) turns A Place for Snakes to Breed into much more than a story about a troubled youth on a journey through the underworld. This is the world of a gifted writer who knows that the impoverished, the defective, and the hopeless is as complex as that of the upper-class characters that populate so much best-selling drivel." -Ron Cooper, author of Purple Jesus and All My Sins Remembered