8 Tales of Noir is just what the title would lead you to expect, eight stories about the darker side of the human condition. Six short stories lead in to two novella length tales.•Two desperate men at a standoff on a residential inner-city street...•A high school prank with unexpected - and deadly - results...•When you grab the wife of a small-time construction company owner for ransom, make sure he's not from the family...or smarter than you...•A man intent...

Common sense tells Cattleya Hoskin that her drowned reporter ex-husband wouldn't have gone out night-fishing by himself in the middle of an investigation. The unaccommodating local authorities see it differently. In an effort to prove them wrong, Cattleya enlists the help of her private investigator friend, Schwartz, to follow through with Dave's investigation—theft from the power grid in a small Ohio town.The inquiry is complicated by crooked contractors, a menacing white van, and ...

When an autopsy finds traces of the banned insecticide Chlordane in the anointing oil on the corpse of a local big-wig, Pittsburgh police bring Lupa Schwartz, an outspoken non-believer, into an investigation focused on a well-liked local clergyman. Worried that the police are planning to use him as a political fall-guy, Schwartz coerces Cattleya Hoskin, a magazine reporter with a connection to his family's past, to chronicle his process and squelch any misgiving that his world-view influen...

Humanity has a hidden name, a "secret cord" known and feared in our unconscious minds for millennia. Uttered for the first time in human history, it has the power to control our very essence, altering us at the cellular level and changing us into mindless reapers intent on sharing the irresistible name; transforming all who hear and calling them to join the danse.In the first year since the start of the zombie apocalypse, Andrew Moore and his young daughter have struggled to survive...

"He destroyed everything of mine." Eric said as tears filled his sunken eyes. "He destroyed my life. He broke my future, so I broke his windshield. I shouldn't have to pay for that."The last person Eric Dadjov would have expected to confide in was the bounty hunter sent to take him to court, but his wife has betrayed him leaving his life is in shambles. A careless moment purging his anger has led to formal charges. When he learns that he might have more in common with the forlorn bo...

A legal loophole may free a killer, unless a motive can be established in the execution-style murder of a local councilman.Lupa Schwartz usually unmasks killers, but what-to-do when the killer, already unmasked, has an ace-in-the-hole to use at trial? The DA thought he had an airtight case against George Bond, a local farmer who stood to lose millions due to a fracking ban; but that motive, and therefore that case seems to be slipping away. Shot and left for dead, Councilman Ed Soi...

How can you find common ground when a loved one no longer believes in God?Without ever insisting that atheism is the correct conclusion, Believe It strives to bridge the disconnect between the devout and the debunkers. Featuring quotes and arguments found throughout the history of skepticism from Epicurus to Sam Harris and beyond, Believe It lays out a line of reasoning and analysis designed to illuminate the thinking that inspires a godless worldview. Broken down into three parts, ...

Lina Forman has an assumed name, a vendetta, a résumé of varied skills, and the knowledge to make her a force to fear.Known in the criminal underground as The Bartering Angel, a mysterious "fixer" whose help keeps the bad guys out of trouble, she assumes the name Lina when she arrives in the Pittsburgh area in 2005. When the son of a local drug runner murders a convenience store clerk during a botched thrill robbery, Lina must keep him out of jail to prove her worth to the local cri...

8 tales of Noir is just what the title would lead you to expect, eight stories about the darker side of the human condition. Six short stories lead in to two novella length tales.• Two desperate men at a standoff on a residential inner-city street...• A high school prank with unexpected - and deadly - results...• When you grab the wife of a small-time construction company owner for ransom, make sure he's not from the family...or smarter than you...• A man intent...

This box set contains all of the Lupa Schwartz novels and novellas which have been released since the first. The entire series; Extreme Unction, Common Sense, Fair Play, Shared Disbelief, and Five Secrets; tells the story of Cattleya Hoskin, journalist for Gamut Magazine who moves from Cleveland to Pittsburgh to chronicle the investigative caseload of Lupa Schwartz, the outspoken PI with a love for women, classic cars, comedy movies, and good meat; and a strong disdain for religion, bad pa...

Humanity has a hidden name, a “secret cord” known and feared in our unconscious minds for millennia. Uttered for the first time in human history, it has the power to control our very essence, altering us at the cellular level and changing us into mindless reapers intent on sharing the irresistible name; transforming all who hear and calling them to join the danse.In the first year since the start of the zombie apocalypse, Andrew Moore and his young daughter have struggled to surviv...

Pittsburgh PI Lupa Schwartz is out of his element, coerced into helping local police flush out a serial killer re-enacting the history of human sacrifice and martyrdom. Lacking the right skills to handle the case alone, he has been forced to give his chronicler a much larger and more dangerous role than her normal one as his Watson.Gamut Magazine reporter Cattleya Hoskin has covered Lupa's work on many occasions, but his dependence on her in this case is unsettling. Asked to help su...