Since he first hitched a ride out of Lubbock, Texas, at the age of sixteen, singer-songwriter and Flatlanders band member Joe Ely has been a road warrior, traveling highways and back roads across America and Europe, playing music for "2 hours of ecstasy" out of "22 hours of misery." To stay sane on the road, Ely keeps a journal, penning verses that sometimes morph into songs, and other times remain "snapshots of what was flying by, just out of reach, so to savor at a later date when the wh...

The young seeker of Joe Ely's REVERB is the son of "pioneers who came seeking freedom who found so much of it that they couldn't handle it." He lives in Lubbock, Texas, a town that exists in "a normal state of static chaos." It is the so-called Summer of Love and 18-year-old Earle hitchhikes the road and rides the rails with only his guitar. He is on an odyssey to find himself.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A former star athlete turned deputy coroner is drawn into a brutal, complicated murder in this psychological thriller from a father-son writing team that delivers “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King).Natural causes or foul play? That’s the question Clay Edison must answer each time he examines a body. Figuring out motives and chasing down suspects aren’t part of his beat—not until a seemingly open-and-shut case prove...

“[A] riveting novel with a vivid sense of place . . . Anyone who enjoys a well-written, fast-paced, noirish thriller with a great aha! moment shouldn’t miss The Forgotten Man.”—The Boston GlobeIn an alleyway in Los Angeles, an old man, clutching faded newspaper clippings and gasping his last words to a cop, lies dying of a gunshot wound. The victim claims to be P.I. Elvis Cole’s long-lost father—a stranger who has always haunted his son.As...

Twenty of America's best mystery short stories from 2011, selected by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author.The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made t...

“Evanovich…with a dash of CSI.” – Publishers Weekly (review of Lucky Stiff)Everyone Has a Hidden TalentFor Lucky O’Toole it’s murder…solving it.Surviving in Sin City takes cunning, a pair of five-inch heels, and a wiseass attitude. Lucky has mastered them all and has a pair of legs she uses to kick butt and turn heads.As the Chief Problem Solver for the Babylon, Las Vegas’s most over-the-top destination, mischief is...

This story collection explores the violent underbelly of America's heartland: "A dark, hard-boiled debut . . . no doubt about it, Frank Bill can write." — Kirkus ReviewsWelcome to heartland America circa right about now, when the union jobs and family farms have given way to meth labs, backwoods gunrunners, and bare-knuckle brawling. Frank Bill's southern Indiana is haunted with the deep, abiding sense of place, and his people are men and women pre...

"Intense and elegiac…devastatingly agile." — New York Times Book ReviewThe year is 1968. The world is changing, and sixteen-year-old Jon Mosher is determined to change with it. Racked by guilt over his older brother's childhood death and stuck in the dead-end town of Brewster, New York, he turns his rage into victories running track. Meanwhile, Ray Cappicciano, a rebel as gifted with his fists as Jon is with his feet, is trying to take care of his baby bro...

A hobby turns deadly…In Baited, it’s been a long, hot, summer for PI Julie Collins. With her partner Kevin off on assignment, she’s lured into taking a case involving a missing fisherman. Nothing about the man’s disappearance is as it seems. Although Julie is no stranger to the dark currents that churn below the surface, can she count on her friend Jimmer, and her lover Tony Martinez, to keep her from getting in too deep?An original Julie Collins n...

Ten tales of suspense...Raw Deal: A married man plots to murder a coworker who is pregnant with his child...Engine Trouble: A young woman has engine trouble on the interstate, and encounters an escaped serial killer...The Practical Joke: A rich playboy cooks up an elaborate practical joke on his friends, but it backfires...The Doll Makers: A couple camping in an isolated area encounter evil elves...The Blizzard: An identical twin pretends to be his morally upright brother when he cheats on...

In 1967 Panorama Beach, is awash with dirty money: Developer money, drug money, vice money, and green-deputy Tommy “Mustang” Sawtell might just be the last untouched lawman in north Florida. But Mustang is about to be tested as he investigates his first suspicious death, a “floater” found in a pond under the Sky Bucket ride, from which the deputy believes he fell, jumped – or was thrown. But the deputy doesn’t know why Sheriff “Big” Bass has personally assigned him to the case, there are s...

James Brown. John Brown's raid. Brown v. the Topeka Board of Ed. The prizewinning author of Blue Laws meditates on all things "brown" in this powerful new collection.“Vital and sophisticated ... sinks hooks into you that cannot be easily removed.” —The New York TimesDivided into "Home Recordings" and "Field Recordings," Brown speaks to the way personal experience is shaped by culture, while culture is forever affe...