Bøker av Dana King

Russell Arbuthnot isn't just a ham, he's the whole pig. Detective Nick Forte figures-along with everyone else-the bodyguard assignment he's picked up is a publicity stunt for Arbuthnot's one-man show, to perk up flagging ticket sales. When the actor turns up dead after all, Forte is faced with the kind of publicity he can do without and decides, when a bodyguard's client is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what he thought of him. He was your client and you're supposed to do something about it.

School is back in session in Penns River, which means it's football season in Western Pennsylvania. The Penns River team is loaded after a few substandard campaigns and the town is so revved up a new gambling ring opens to allow PR supporters to put their money where their hearts are. The "entrepreneur" responsible has no idea how to set point spreads and nowhere to look for help; it's not like Vegas handles small town high school football games. The vast majority of money put down is on the locals-who bets against their own kid, or the one next door?-and the team covers all the spreads; the cash paid to winners far exceeds what the operation takes in. Only organized crime offers loans to cover the shortfall, which opens the door to a whole new world of problems, including murder. If only this was the only problem facing detective Ben "Doc" Dougherty and his fellow police officers but ¿ A motorcycle gang is solidifying its position in town. ¿ A civilian ride-along sparks controversy and an official complaint that re-opens an old wound for the department. ¿ A baby shower turns violent. ¿ A routine investigation leads to signs of possible police corruption. ¿ Doc's cousin, Chicago-based private investigator Nick Forte-a man not prone to leaving things as he found them-comes to town to visit his parents. Welcome to Penns River, where incomes rarely increase and crime rarely decreases. This would be bad enough if it were the same old crimes, but the changing criminal landscape constantly demands more from a police department in transition. Critical Acclaim for The Spread: "Dana King writes in a gritty crime noir style with a modern flair all his own. His books grab you from the first page and don't let you go." -Terrence McCauley, award-winning author of thrillers, crime and westerns "Readers who like police procedurals will love Dana King's The Spread-the latest in his Penns River Crime series-and they will have to know, page after page, what happens next! " -G. Miki Hayden, Writers Digest mystery and thriller writing instructor and author of the how-to Writing the Mystery "If Joseph Wambaugh and Ed McBain adopted a child and raised him in the 87th Precinct, that kid would grow up to be Dana King. The Spread is a joy for people who love to watch police work and hear cops talk." -Tim O'Mara, author of the Raymond Donne series and creator of "Murder in Halifax" "Dana King is an attentive student of the crime novel who knows the formula: how to end a chapter with a cliff hanger, how to write snappy, wise-cracking dialogue, when to introduce intriguing and quirky characters, and to surprise the reader with a plot twist. If you enjoy crime fiction, but want something a bit more challenging and, in my opinion, much more inventive and artful, this is the novel for you. The Spread will broaden your notion of what a crime novel can do." -Ron Cooper, author of All My Sins Remembered "Plot is king in The Spread. Sharp, crisp characters, and dialogue that snaps to a snare-drum cadence move the reader through this hard-rushing police procedural." -Joe Ricker, author of All the Good in Evil

It's been a tough winter in Penns River and things aren't getting any better. A major snowstorm looms as a police officer shoots and kills a man after a bar fight. There are four complicating factors: 1. No weapon is found on the dead man. 2. The cop is Black; the victim is white. 3. The victim is not just white; he's a white supremacist. >Fellow travelers from several neighboring states converge on the town for the funeral as an even bigger snowstorm roars in with them. While the Penns River police try to keep the lid on, the Allegheny Casino holds a poker tournament. One hundred players each put up $10,000 in cash. The winner walks away with all of it. In cash. The situation is fraught enough without the local cops having to answer every call as if it might be the start of a riot. Meanwhile, business as usual goes on. Domestic calls still require attention. Traffic accidents increase in the snow. The police department is in transition as older officers leave, their slots filled by either new officers fresh out of the academy, or those who followed the new chief to Penns River from Boston and have big-city attitudes about small town situations. Detective Ben "Doc" Dougherty is still getting used to his sergeant's stripes as he's pulled into the streets for riot duty and must confront the idea some of his peers may be more sympathetic to the incoming agitators than they are to some of those they swore to protect and serve. The weekend will stretch the department to its breaking point as events converge to a violent conclusion. Praise for White Out "In his latest Penns River crime novel-White Out-talented author Dana King reminds us again that in those small towns and cities, sneeringly called 'flyover country, ' the problems and challenges of the outside world often come to play a deadly visit. In White Out, a shooting involving a Black officer and a seemingly unarmed white supremacist sets off the proverbial spark that threatens to become an inferno. With protestors and counter-protestors arriving, along with the news media and agitators, the strained police department desperately works to keep the peace as an approaching snowstorm and a casino poker tournament complicates matters even further. A gritty crime novel that deserves wide attention." -Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author "It's been a long time since I read a book that pulled me along as urgently as Dana King's latest Penns River novel White Out. King writes about his cops and their town with the kind of real affection that has you not just wanting, but needing, to know what happens to them next-and there's plenty happening in this fast moving, deftly written thriller. Highly recommended." -J.D. Rhoades, bestselling author of the Jack Keller series and the Cade and Clayborne historical thrillers "We've all heard the stories of White cops shooting and killing unarmed Black men. But what happens when the scenario flips? In White Out, Dana King kills in this gripping behind-the-badge drama. One cop I know wonders how Dana is able to get it so right." -John DeDakis, Novelist, Writing Coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer"

Vicki Leydig thought she was going to have a few drinks with her friend Mary. She didn't expect Doug Stirnweiss to offer her a ride home, and she sure didn't expect to watch a stranger blow Doug's head off in the parking lot. Penns River police don't have much to go on until Detective Ben "Doc" Dougherty interviews casino employees and learns of drug deals going down in and around the property. Leads show promise and fall apart with depressing frequency until the local prosecutor turns a minor charge into a statement that leads Doc and the rest of the police force to a surprising conclusion, though not before tragedy strikes one of their own.Meanwhile, Pittsburgh mob boss Mike Mannarino faces increasing pressure from his bosses in New York, so much so he's thinking of reaching out to Chicago for protection. What the rest of his crew has to decide is whether Chicago is the only other organization Mike might make an arrangement with.It's another week in Penns River, with distractions that range from petty vandalism to a bridge jumper keeping the cops' full attention away from the critical task at hand.Praise for TEN-SEVEN:"Consistently one of the best in the business. As good as any I've ever read. Dana King, to quote Don Kirkendall of Men Reading Books, is 'top-shelf entertainment.' Ten-Seven keeps that ball rolling." -Charlie Stella"Dana King's latest novel Ten-Seven returns his readers to Penns River in a propulsive mystery thriller that showcases his ear for dialogue, penchant for wry humor, and mastery of the police procedural, all while his finger is firmly on the pulse of America's Rust Belt. Ten-Seven is the perfect novel for fans of Elmore Leonard and Tana French and will leave his readers hungrily awaiting the next installment." -Eryk Pruitt, Anthony Award-nominated author of What We Reckon"Ten-Seven is a prime example of the kind of small-town procedural that tells you as much about the town and its denizens as it does the crime at hand. The kind of solid plotting and characterizations I love in another favorite Pennsylvania crime writer, the great KC Constantine." -Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest and The Walkaway