It's been three years since Mustafa Bahdoon, one-time leader of the Southside Killaz, saved his fugitive son Adem from the clutches of pirates in Somalia. But when Mustafa is asked to rescue a young girl from the gang's sex trafficking empire, he returns from retirement to seize control once again. But his coup ignites a vicious gang war on the streets of Minneapolis. Meanwhile, still haunted by guilt over the girl he left behind in Somalia, Adem reprises the role of Mr Mohammed, legendary pirate negotiator. But the CIA is on his tail and he soon finds himself unwillingly enmeshed in a deadly campaign against organised crime. Half a world apart, survival for both father and son depends upon telling friend from enemy, truth from lie, and their own true selves from the roles they must play. ONCE A WARRIOR is the highly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS.  

Nordic crime - American style "Hey, Manny here. I'm a cop in Duluth, Minnesota. Vacation paradise in the summer, but some of the longest, coldest winters in the USA, with more snow and ice in one blizzard than most people see in a lifetime. And we all know what happens to people during long, cold winters. They die. They commit suicide or start fights out of pure boredom or because they're depressed, worried that the sun will never return. Or they get killed. If you want to make sure the person you've killed won't be found, just drop them under the ice of Lake Superior. Not much ever floats up from its depths again. Well, except this one morning ..." When a dead woman is fished out of Lake Superior, Manny Jahnke is there to discover the baffling truth: The "woman" in the ice is biologically a man. Before he can learn more, the corpse sinks back into the water, pulling Manny's partner along with it. Both disappear under the ice, never to be seen again. Now Manny has a missing...

From Publishers WeeklyMerle Johnson's past is catching up with him in this enjoyable, if unremarkable, novel from Smith (Psychosomatic). A drummer for the 1980's heavy metal band Savage Night, Cal Christopher quits the music scene in 1990, burns down his mansion and fakes his own death, leaving his band-mates mid-tour and facing bankruptcy. Fourteen years later, living as "Merle" in New Orleans, he's tracked down by ex-lead singer Todd Delacroix, who tries to blackmail him into a band reunion. When he finds Todd laid out in his hotel room, surrounded by bottles of booze and a suicide note exposing Merle's true identity Merle grabs the note and goes on the run from the cops, the press, the IRS and a couple of mystery men. Faces from the past resurface, including former bandmate Doug, who is dying of AIDS, and his sister Alison, Merle's old flame. It all leads up to a messy surprise ending that defies rational explanation, winding down much too fast much too easily. Nevertheless, it's a fun read about drugs, rock and roll, brawls and banging (drums, groupies and otherwise). A portion of the book's proceeds go to Katrina charities.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description80's band Savage Night was living the hair-metal fantasy when they discover they're in debt while touring overseas. To avoid the IRS, The Drummer shaves his head-banging locks and fakes his own suicide. Fifteen years later, the Singer has tracked him down in hopes of convincing him to come out of hiding for a reunion tour.

Product Description"Because Lydia didn't have arms or legs, she shelled out three thousand bucks to a washed up middleweight named Cap to give her ex-husband the beating of his life." But the beating turns to murder, and the murder into lust and desperation between Lydia and an underworld clean-up man. Meanwhile, overgrown frat boy car thieves take up cop killing as a side hobby. When these paths cross, a horror show of violence unfolds as they all slide into a hell of their own design, surrounded by the neon and noise of the casino strip on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Violent, vivid, life at hyper-speed. This debut novel from the editor of Plots with Guns is a noir nightmare that asks how much is too much in a relationship, and what is the cost of leaving? Ken Bruen calls it "the darkest song I've ever read".

Product DescriptionA collection of Anthony Neil Smith's earliest short stories, written between 1997-2005 and published in a variety of journals, full of dark humor, bizarre characters, holy rollers, and even a Civil War era ghost.Stories include "Javaphobia", "Backslide", "Bitter Soul", "Ahead of the Game",“Nobody’s Killing Anybody Here”, “January Second” , “Everyone Grieves in a Unique Way” ,“Bad for Business” ,“My Worst Days” ,“To Hear Jesus” , “Chile” and “My Best Friend’s Girl."Plus, two bonus stories - "Crotch-Rockets" and "Cramp" - only in this custom tweaked edition.

Product DescriptionA new novel by the author of PSYCHOSOMATIC, YELLOW MEDICINE, and HOGDOGGIN'. Smith presents his homage to one of his favorite detectives, Nero Wolfe, but written for the "internet porn" generation. Octavia VanderPlatts is wealthy, powerful, and "comfortable with her weight"--or to hear her say it, a "rich fat b." Her IQ is at the genius level, and she uses it to manipulate and frighten anyone who tries to get in her way. She controls an empire built on discrimination lawsuits won against some of the nation's top companies. On top of that, Octavia doesn't care one wink what people think of her. So when she offers her old friend poetry professor Mick Thooft some help in his impending divorce, he smells an ulterior motive. Maybe because Frances didn't invite Octavia to the wedding for fear of her clearing the buffet. Not only does Octavia want to help, but she's got evidence--plenty of scandalous photos. That's not Mick's style, so he turns her down flat...until he discovers that Fran's trying to take their home based on a near-perfect forgery of his signature. After that he and Octavia charge forward, but soon find they're in deeper than they realized--robot pens, swinger clubs, and a blackmail scheme that holds an entire college faculty hostage. Just when Mick and Octavia are on the cusp of victory, it all goes terribly wrong. Mick is framed for murder and someone targets Octavia's immense wealth and secret backyard greenhouse full of exotic marijuana. With no one on their side except Octavia's butler Jennings, her new personal chef Harriet, and their "Amazon Warrior" lawyer Pamela, Octavia and Mick must find a way to turn the tables before they end up broke, humiliated, and in prison.

American crime - Nordic style! "Hey, it's me again, Manny. Are you surprised? It's the dress, right? You'll get used to it. So, when we last met, I'd been fired, assaulted, chased by cops and criminals alike, and coerced into a political conspiracy. This time, I'm working for the next governor of the state of Minnesota. Alongside Joel. Sort of. He's still adjusting to the new me. But corruption spreads like fire and somebody has to douse the flames ... Here's the thing. They say that knowledge is power. But nobody tells you that what you know can be the death of you." The CASTLE DANGER saga continues in THE MENTAL STATES as Manny and Joel work together doing what they do best: getting into deep trouble. State Senator Andrew Marquette looks like a shoo-in for the governorship - appealing to votes across the political spectrum - and he's brought Manny and Joel aboard to help steer the ship. But when one of Marquette's most trusted advisors goes missing, our heroes can't help but...

Billy Lafitte is back...Back from the brink of death.Back on the Gulf Coast, his home stomping grounds, looking to reunite with his beloved one last time.Back in the sights of DeVaughn Lagrenade, a former gangbanger whose brother was gunned down by Lafitte and his partner during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Back in the mind of his biggest nemesis, Franklin Rome, who swings into Lafitte's orbit in a most unusual way.Throw in a wild-eyed waitress looking for some violent kicks, an ambitious FBI agent slithering up the administrative ladder, a wannabe bad boy on Lafitte's tail with a young psychopath in the passenger seat, and you've got the makings of a rumble that only a prayer to Santa Muerte might help Billy survive.Cult crime-novelist Anthony Neil Smith is like a modern-day Charles Willeford. He doesn't just step over "the line," but drag-races past it and keeps on going. With this fourth novel in the Billy Lafitte...

From Publishers WeeklyThe squeamish will want to avoid this violence-laden sequel to Smith's Yellow Medicine (2008), in which terrorists framed Billy Lafitte, a former Minnesota deputy, for some gruesome murders. Now in South Dakota, Lafitte is serving as sergeant at arms for Steel God, the ruler of a biker gang whose control over his clan is coming under challenge as his health declines. After Lafitte gets an emergency message to return home, he crosses paths with the FBI agent he once assaulted, Franklin Rome, who's plotting revenge against him. Most of the action concerns the efforts of Rome, aided by his assistant, Joshua McKeown, to catch up with Lafitte, who accumulates additional enemies along the way. The book's brutality is exemplified by the blood sport that provides the title, which matches vicious dogs like rottweilers against helpless pigs. Fans of darkest noir will be most satisfied. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistDodging federal arrest warrants and his old nemesis (special FBI agent Franklin Rome), ex–rogue cop Billy Lafitte—introduced in Smith’s Yellow Medicine (2008)—abandons his job as enforcer for a motorcycle gang and rumbles back to Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota. Rome is squeezing Lafitte’s suicidal wife to lure him home, planning his own unauthorized revenge play. Lafitte thinks he’s riding his turquoise-blue chopper to the rescue, but violence and destruction follow in his wake. Smith’s version of Minnesota is no Lake Wobegon; the inhabitants are refreshingly made up entirely of the deranged, the damaged, and the doomed. If you can picture the intellectual and physical mayhem that might have resulted from a Jim Thompson and Harry Crews collaboration, you’d be on the right track. But Anthony Neil Smith is his own writer—and a very fine one, indeed. --Elliott Swanson

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From Publishers WeeklyDeputy Billy Lafitte's ethically-flexible approach to law enforcement has led to his dismissal from the force in Gulfport, Miss., and the break-up of his marriage in this well-written if grim contemporary noir from Smith (The Drummer). Through the intercession of his brother-in-law, Lafitte has found a new job in remote Yellow Medicine County, Minn., but his continuing corrupt ways land him in all sorts of trouble, with a trail of bodies following in his wake. His involvement with some meth dealers leads him to cross paths with some Malaysian terrorists, who are plotting to strike at America's heartland. The terrorists frame Lafitte for some gruesome murders, using the knife he'd gotten from his father to decapitate some of their victims. Smith deserves credit for taking a risk by creating a character like Lafitte, whose private code of honor-if any-is far more obscure than an antihero like Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistHave you ever wondered what would happen if a wiseacre southern deputy with vigilante overtones got himself transferred, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, to the frozen wastes of the Minnesota prairie? Probably not, but Smith, himself a Gulf Coast migrant to the northern flatlands, is determined to find out in this series debut that stars Deputy Billy Lafitte, a troubled transplant with a plethora of personal problems. His ex-wife and two kids, whom he professes to love devoutly, are sequestered by his in-laws Down South, leaving him no choice but to dally with a singer named Drew, who is unhappily but madly infatuated with a boyfriend of her own. That boyfriend ends up not only murdered but decapitated, and the last person with whom he can be placed is the deputy himself. Intent to clear himself, Deputy Billy is soon tangling with a drug mob and—not again!—terrorists (in Minnesota!). All in all, though, Smith has a powerful voice and delivers quite a romp, offering along the way a sort of Tony Hillerman glimpse into a part of the country that is not often the subject of crime fiction. --Steve Glassman