FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
“Salzberg has perfected the existential crime novel.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha, and Mary Higgins Clark Award-Winning Author
“From one absorbing character to another, this is a gripping and totally rewarding read.”
—David Swinson, author of The Second Girl and Crime Song
“Salzberg is a superb wordsmith, with an honest ear for dialogue, and a delight in plot twists. If you’re not already a Salzberg fan, read this book; you will become one.”
—Michael Sears, Edgar Award Nominee and Shamus Award Winner for Black Friday
SECOND STORY MAN
By Charles Salzberg
Is a serial criminal good at his job? Are the detectives who hunt him determined to win? How different are these three calculating personalities or is the only thing that sets them apart whether they operate inside or outside of the law?
In Charles Salzberg’s critically-acclaimed literary thriller Devil in the Hole, detective Charlie Floyd was obsessed with catching an abominable murderer. Now not-so comfortably settled into being recently retired, he is abruptly drawn back into the game by Cuban-born Miami police detective Manny Perez, who is on a mission to catch a notoriously elusive thief. Knowing how attached Floyd can become to a suspect, Perez is going to enjoy watching him work in Salzberg’s new crime novel, SECOND STORY MAN (March 26th, 2018; Down & Out Books; $17.95; ISBN 978-1-946502-55-1) due out in Spring 2018.
“I am a thief. Not just a run-of-the-mill, knock you over the head and steal your wallet thief, but the best damn thief in the whole goddamn world,” is how the infamous Francis Hoyt describes himself. He doesn’t leave a trail—paper or otherwise—and he always thinks ten steps ahead of the authorities and his sketchy business associates. He smirks in the face of apprehension, taking on more intricate and dangerous jobs just to prove how great he is at his work.
To Catch a Thief
Working together as an unlikely team, Perez and Floyd act on a rumor that Hoyt is about to depart the wealthy homes of Florida to begin a string of robberies in the northeast. Confident they are hot on their prey’s trail, the two detectives embark on their quest only to have Hoyt elude their grasp time and time again.
“When we find him…who’s going to be good cop and who’s going to be bad cop?”
“With Francis Hoyt, we will both have to be bad.”
Hoyt, realizing he is being pursued, deftly plans a scheme that pinpoints his location in several places at once, but never his actual whereabouts. As Floyd and Perez sniff around Hoyt’s shady friends and associates, Hoyt’s manic pride is fueled by his success at eluding capture.
Will his overfed ego and pride be the end of his story? Does a man so consumed by power still have friends who can save him from himself? Or is he too far gone for help?
SECOND STORY MAN is the perfect complement to a competitive culture where success is everything and the ends always seem to justify the means. With humor, suspense, intrigue, and while looking through a window into the human psyche, Charles Salzberg delivers a gripping cat-and-mouse tale. His contemporary noir-style makes SECOND STORY MAN a crime novel that fans of the genre will be eager to read.
About the Publisher
Founded in 2011, Down & Out Books is an independent publisher of award-winning literary and crime fiction based in Tampa, Florida.
About the Author
Charles Salzberg is a novelist, journalist, and acclaimed writing instructor. He is the author of the Henry Swann detective series, including Swann’s Last Song which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel and Devil in the Hole, which was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine. He has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Hunter College, the Writer’s Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a Founding Member. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, New York Magazine, and GQ. He lives in New York City.
SECOND-STORY MAN | By Charles Salzberg | Published by Down & Out Books
Release Date: March 26, 2018 | ISBN 978-1-946502-55-1
Trade Paperback $17.95 | E-Book $7.99 | 284 Pages
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