Description
Debt collector Matt Spears isn't having a good day. He's being framed by the cops over an alleged assault and has inexplicably found himself indebted to the blind, but ruthless gangster, Vincent Barbour. When Barbour’s supposedly dead niece, Emma, surfaces in a graphic sexual video on a porn site, he asks Matt to find her in exchange for wiping the slate clean. Within a matter of hours, Matt is plunged into a world of sex, blackmail and murder. Trying to unravel the mysteries of a troubled young girl's disappearance, he discovers the dark side of the porn industry, complicated family secrets, government corruption, sadistic gangsters, and narcissistic celebrities who all come together to find a girl who is simply ... missing.
Praise and Reviews
I'm very pleased that I happened upon this book on the Amazon forums!
This is an intricate, hard-boiled mystery, so gritty you'll be spitting asphalt.
Like the best noir writers, Crowther makes his characters likable
despite their dark and violent tendencies. (The character of Nathan
Draper in particular is one I hope to see more of.) The dialogue is
clever and works well. I also appreciated that the female characters
were believable.
There are a lot of characters who all play active roles, so it takes
some effort to keep track. Not only that, but there are twists and
turns you don't see coming. I stayed up well into the early morning
because of this compelling action.
If you pay close attention you'll figure the case out before the
end, but, like Matt Spears, you've got to work at it. That's how a good
mystery should be, and Crowther does not disappoint. I figured it out
about 3/4ths into the book, which, to me, is the perfect spot. So, good
show!
I also need to give quite a bit of credit to Crowther for some of
the best metaphors I've read. I grinned often at his descriptions, and
that's saying a lot from a word snob like me.
This was a great start to a series, and I can't wait to read the next installment!
