Download or read book The Big Machine Eats Stories written by Beau Johnson and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life has never been easy. Life has never been kind. It is always hungry. It is never full. Enter the struggles within the pages of The Big Machine Eats. Where fathers clash with sons, cannibals turn on cannibals, and sometimes sandwich meat is far from the worst choice a person can make. These stories, along with the continuing adventures of Bishop Rider, make up the bulk of this collection. They are not for the faint of heart. They are not for those who fail to believe one should get what one deserves. We must help ourselves. We must help those who find themselves unable. If not, it’s as the sign says: The Big Machine Will Eat. Praise for THE BIG MACHINE EATS: “Beau Johnson has put together a collection of stories so compelling that you will want to set aside a few hours each time you come to it. One just isn’t enough, and the next thing you know you’ll be grumpy at work because you stayed up way past your bedtime.” —Paul Heatley, author of Fatboy “Beau Johnson takes you to dark places and shines a light on the ugly things that happen there. His perfectly created, bigger-than-life Bishop Rider is a modern-day anti-hero and Johnson writes the surrounding stories with savage suspense. The Big Machine Eats is the perfect follow-up to his debut A Better Kind of Hate.” —Marietta Miles, author of Route 12 and May “These deliciously dark stories will stay with you long after you've read them. Johnson is a natural storyteller—insightful, empathic, and, above all, brutally honest. He takes readers places they really don't want to go, drawing them into a grubby underworld of bad guys doing very bad things to very bad people. Retribution is a common theme, and Johnson never shirks from the grisly details as his characters come up with even more inventive ways to settle old scores. Revenge, here, isn't just served cold—it's delivered on ice, and then some. The Big Machine Eats is a gripping collection from a writer at the top of his game.” —Gary Duncan, author of You're Not Supposed To Cry “An extremely entertaining and clever collection of stories from one of the biggest names in the game. He invites readers along for a wild ride through the seediest neighborhoods of his twisted mind in this fantastic follow up to A Better Kind of Hate. He holds your heart in his hand as he introduces you to some fascinating characters, then rips it out as the world is turned on its head, so you can see that everything bad can touch even the most beautiful. No matter how safe you feel. Let him help you see the demons that walk among us and shine some light through the darkness. Clearly the best collection you will read this year.” —Kevin Berg, author of Daddy Monster and Indifference “Beau Johnson has a way of luring you in with his sharp wit, discerning eye, and conversational voice. You’d follow him anywhere, even after you careen off a cliff and plunge into the darkest depths of the human psyche—and sometimes not so human. A helluva brutal collection from a ferociously twisted mind.” —Sarah M. Chen, author of Cleaning Up Finn “Beau is back, once again proving he is the alchemist of conflict as he continues to peel back the fingernails of human frailty and forces us to stare into the darkness found there.” —Tom Pitts, author of American Static and 101 “Beau Johnson excels at the base, those twisted places we don’t want to go. Whether that is sexually motivated, or fueled by revenge or something more sinister (if not all three at once), Johnson puts his subjects beneath the microscope. What we get is, yes, the truth, but more than that: we get an extreme close-up of the horrifically beautiful.” —Joe Clifford, author of The Jay Porter thriller series and the The One That Got Away
Download or read book Big Machine written by Victor LaValle and published by One World. This book was released on 2009-08-11 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ricky Rice is a middling hustler with a lingering junk habit, a bum knee, and a haunted mind. A survivor of a suicide cult, he scrapes by as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York, until one day a mysterious letter arrives, summoning him to enlist in a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom had at some point in their wasted lives heard what may have been the voice of God. Infused with the wonder of a disquieting dream and laced with Victor LaValle’s fiendish comic sensibility, Big Machine is a mind-rattling mystery about doubt, faith, and the monsters we carry within us.
Download or read book The Brain Power Story Hour written by Nancy J. Polette and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While many texts explore ways to plan and implement story times in both school and public libraries, until now no work has brought together extensive book talks and follow-up activities specifically designed to develop thinking skills in young children. This innovative study offers age-appropriate book suggestions with related questions and activities tailored to a variety of thinking skills, including verbal or linguistic thinking, divergent and creative thinking, analytical and mathematical thinking, visual or spatial thinking, and many others. The program presented in this volume was successfully developed and implemented in the preschool/kindergarten laboratory school of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, with 90 percent of the participating children selected for gifted programs in both public and private schools. Ideal for children's librarians, school librarians, teachers of early childhood gifted programs, parents, and homeschoolers, this study provides the tools for making any story hour a "brain power story hour."
Download or read book Wilma Jean the Worry Machine written by Julia Cook and published by National Center for Youth Issues. This book was released on 2012-01-15 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "My stomach feels like it's tied up in a knot. My knees lock up, and my face feels hot. You know what I mean? I'm Wilma Jean, The Worry Machine." Anxiety is a subjective sense of worry, apprehension, and/or fear. It is considered to be the number one health problem in America. Although quite common, anxiety disorders in children are often misdiagnosed and overlooked. Everyone feels fear, worry and apprehension from time to time, but when these feelings prevent a person from doing what he/she wants and/or needs to do, anxiety becomes a disability. This fun and humorous book addresses the problem of anxiety in a way that relates to children of all ages. It offers creative strategies for parents and teachers to use that can lessen the severity of anxiety. The goal of the book is to give children the tools needed to feel more in control of their anxiety. For those worries that are not in anyone's control (i.e. the weather) a worry hat is introduced. A fun read for Wilmas of all ages! Includes a note to parents and educators with tips on dealing with an anxious child.
Download or read book Rabbits Eat Lettuce Without Any Dressing and Other Rhyming Stories written by Marian H. Miller and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2016-03-07 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rabbits Eat Lettuce Without Any Dressing and Other Rhyming Stories by Marian H. Miller This is a book for children. It is about children’s thoughts and written in the voice of a child, from his or her perspective. It is about ordinary, everyday occurrences: the child who hesitates to try new food; the child who is told he is too young or too small to join in certain games or activities; the child who longs for a grandparent who lives far away; the child who is sick; and the child who is bored. It talks about ambition, like wanting to work with horses or owning a boat. It is about the things kids do and what they would like to do; about holidays and about family. Each rhyming story teaches an important lesson and shows children the wonders of an active imagination. Rabbits Eat Lettuce Without Any Dressing and Other Rhyming Stories can be read by children on their own or will be enjoyed by parents reading to their children.
Download or read book If I Were an Astronaut written by Eric Braun and published by Capstone. This book was released on 2010 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses activities astronauts do while they're in space.
Download or read book Voices from the Mountains written by Guy Carawan and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rich mosaic of photographs, words, and songs, Voices from the Mountains tells the turbulent story of the Appalachian South in the twentieth century. Focusing on the abuses of the coal industry and the grassroots struggle against mine owners that began in the 1960s, Guy and Candie Carawan have gathered quotations from a variety of sources; words and music to more than fifty ballads and songs, laments and satires, hymns and protests; and more than one hundred and fifty photographs of longtime Appalachian residents, their homes, their countryside, the mines they work in, and the labor battles they have fought. The "voices" that speak out in these pages range from the mountain people themselves to such well-known artists as Jean Ritchie, Hazel Dickens, Harriet Simpson Arnow, and Wendell Berry. Together they tell of the damage wrought by strip mining and the empty promises of land reclamation; the search for work and a new life in the North; the welfare rights, labor, antipoverty, and black lung movements; early days in the mines; disasters and negligence in the coal industry; and protest and change in the coal fields. Dignity and despair, poverty and perseverance, tradition and change--Voices from the Mountains eloquently conveys the complex panorama of modern Appalachian life.
Download or read book May I Walk You Home Sarah Morgan written by James Vincent Frank and published by Abbott Press. This book was released on 2013-03 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sarah Morgan spells big trouble for Jon Burns even before they meet. In a dream, the wayward slacker hears her crying out. In visions, he’s confronted by a demonic image from her extreme paintings. When the two twenty-somethings meet at a Michigan college, it gets worse. Sarah, a prolific artist, is beyond gorgeous, but wild and maddeningly aloof. Ignoring the omens, Jon enters the fray and wins the brassy siren (sort of), only to discover the secret past that has left her damaged. As the darkness in Sarah rises up, she becomes unpredictable. Aaron, an analyst, studies Sarah’s art and warns Jon of her precarious balance. Jon’s own grip starts slipping and his life gets bizarre—more than usual, that is. But the lovers are linked in spite of themselves, and they battle through Sarah’s ordeal until a great test is forced upon them. Witty and darkly comic, May I Walk You Home, Sarah Morgan? tells of two lost souls, locked in different struggles, but mysteriously thrown together to face hard lessons of life and love. A well plotted, character driven human drama that explores the taboos of today’s dysfunctional society with Frank’s unique sense of dark humor. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of all you will root for these two to prove that love does conquer all. A must read for all, young and old, who have struggled with the meaning of love in their lives.— Terri Valentine
Download or read book Native American Love Stories and Other Stories written by Jennifer Sault and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the imagination of an Ojibway Mohawk comes the collection of Native American Love Stories and Other Short Stories. The short stories collection includes endearing stories about a mommy and son family of witches, ghosts, rescue dogs, werewolves, vampires, spirits, vision quests, thunderbirds, face changers, DNA Indians, nano bots, unseen mythical forces and love stories.
Download or read book All of Them to Burn written by Beau Johnson and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2020-02-24 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Darkness is an attribute most of us rally against. It can consume. It can achieve. But if we so choose, it can also be held at bay. Enter Bishop Rider and the evil he’s chosen to obliterate since his family is taken from him. Operating outside the law, circumventing a system beyond repair, Bishop stalks this darkness the only way he knows how. Not only because these men deserve what he’s become, but because of a message he attempted to create has come back to haunt him, now, after all these years. It’s this story, along with other, unconnected tales that populate All of them to Burn. Come, meet Rider for the first time. Come, meet Rider for the last time. Come, watch the darkness burn. Praise for ALL OF THEM TO BURN: “Beau Johnson has done to his fiction what street thugs do to their victims: he holds it down and beats it for all its worth. I mean that in a good way. No, in a great way. Few authors are out there stamping their words onto the page the way Beau does. He’s equal parts slick, hammering, poetic and caustic. His talent is to be admired; his words are to be read.” —Ryan Sayles, author of the Richard Dean Buckner mysteries “Beau Johnson delivers another collection of masterfully written tales. Compelling and smart, these wild stories are full of twisted characters and seedy scenes. Greed. Anger. Revenge. Perhaps, justice. We are taken down a dark path, catching up with old favorites like Bishop Rider and John Batista along the way. We watch as the stories and characters connect and engage, bringing every thread together. The third in his series of connected shorts may be Beau Johnson’s best, yet.” —Marietta Miles, author of May and After the Storm “All of Them to Burn is a Molotov cocktail of classic crime fiction, but one with a sharp modern twist.” —Paul D. Brazill, author of Last Year’s Man and A Case of Noir “Beau Johnson’s stories are hard tales of revenge and sorrow. Nothing can prepare you for the darkness in these stories and nothing can make you turn away once you start reading. All of Them to Burn is an excellent collection.” —Nikki Dolson, author of All Things Violent “These chilling short stories—many featuring the return of the mythic-like hero, Bishop Rider—drop us into the darkest depths of human suffering and ruin. Beau Johnson can spin the most brutal of tales with raw emotion, savage honesty, and fierce humor. A standout collection from a seasoned storyteller.” —Sarah M. Chen, author of Cleaning Up Finn “All of Them to Burn is fast, sharp, violent, and gory. There’s something visceral at the core of Johnson’s work that simultaneously reflects the best and worst of humanity, and it shines in this collection. Come for the blood and viciousness and stay for the electric dialogue and outstanding last lines. I promise it’s all equally fun.” —Gabino Iglesias, author of Coyote Songs
Download or read book The Visitor s Humor and Other Stories written by Jerome Johnson and published by Balboa Press. This book was released on 2020-09-20 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The settings for a lot of Jerome Johnson stories seem to take place on a gravel side road somewhere. They are absurd, comical, creative and just to the left of surreal.
Download or read book The Abrum Files written by Beau Johnson and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2023-10-09 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After his sister and mother are murdered by human traffickers, Bishop Rider, a former medic and police officer, spends the remainder of his life hunting not only the men who took his family from him, but every person like them. He is joined by many partners throughout his war. But when Jeramiah Abrum, the son of one of the men who murders Rider’s mother and sister, seeks out Rider to make amends for what his father set into motion all those years ago, a new level of retribution is born. But one man can only stand for so long against such darkness, and though Bishop Rider’s story unfolds within the pages of A Better Kind Of Hate, The Big Machine Eats, All Of Them To Burn, Brand New Dark, and Old Man Rider, all stories end, and Bishop Rider, he’s no exception, succumbing to the cancer within him. Which brings us to The Abrum Files and the question of what happens to those we leave behind. Jeramiah, now on his own, finds himself facing two choices; retreat from the life of murder and retribution he’s been a part of for years or pick up where he and Rider left off and using methods he’d kept in check while Rider was alive, attempt to end what he and Rider together could not. He will finish the work. Critical Acclaim for THE ABRUM FILES: “The Abrum Files is more than just a collection. It’s a statement. The mission continues. The guilty must face their fate. Love and Blood are both spilled across the pages.” —S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of All The Sinners Bleed and Razorblade Tears “If Andrew Vachss threw out his keyboard and somehow learned how to write on a chainsaw, then you get an idea of how Beau Johnson tells a tale. I don’t know if Grindhouse Noir is even a thing, but if it is, Johnson is the king.” —Todd Robinson, author of The Hard Bounce and Rough Trade “Dark, bloody, and full of Hell, The Abrum Files is line after line of pure, uncut, chainsaw noir. I loved it!” —Paul J. Garth, author of The Low White Plain “Violent though it may be, I'm chalking The Abrum Files up as one of my feel-good books of the year. In a world where this seems increasingly doubtful, we are reminded in these stories, time and again, that actions still have consequences. It’s not simply enjoyable fiction, it’s arguably vital. Beau Johnson is the poet laureate of vengeance and righteous anger.” —C. Matthew Smith, author of Twentymile “Beau Johnson’s newest novel, The Abrum Files, is chock-full of Old Testament-style justice and picks up right where his Bishop Rider series left off. Jeramiah Abrum is one bad good dude!” —Eli Cranor, author of the Edgar Award-winning Don’t Know Tough and Ozark Dogs “With every book, Beau Johnson continues to deliver the hardest-core noir out there. Call it Chainsaw Noir: funny, dark and bloody, but with a moral heart beating beneath it all.” —Nick Kolakowski, author of Love & Bullets and Payback Is Forever “With The Abrum Files: A Bishop Rider Book, Johnson makes you feel dirty, deranged and evokes a visceral reaction with each and every story. It runs the gamut of emotions—sorrow, remorse and elation—all the while knowing that you’re in the steady hands of Johnson’s pristine prose. This will make fans of Bishop Rider very happy.” —Steve Stred, author of Mastodon, Father of Lies, and Churn the Soil “The Abrum Files is Beau Johnson doing what he does best: demonstrating his innate understanding of the power of crime fiction—that once you crack through a sternum and scrape away the muck and the grime you find the truest aspects of humanity beating underneath.” —Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse and The Paradox Hotel “Beau Johnson is back, baby, and more ruthless than ever. More kills, more pain, more satisfyingly gruesome tidbits to whet your appetite for justice. The Abrum Files showcases Johnson’s razor-sharp wit and brass-knuckle skills for storytelling, each brief story giving the exact amount to keep reader’s turning pages. Whether Bishop Rider lives or not, I’m happy as long as Johnson is setting pen to paper.” —Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads and Below “Equal parts terrifying, horrifying, exhilarating, and relentless, The Abrum Files is a roller coaster ride into the cavernous recesses of the worst of mankind. No one writes more viscerally about violence and its emotional toll than Beau Johnson, and his latest is another brutal dose of righteous vengeance that will leave you ragged and begging for more.” —James D.F. Hannah, author of the Henry Malone thriller series
Download or read book Here and Now Story Book written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell and published by Courier Dover Publications. This book was released on 2015-06-29 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a famous educator, these thought-provoking, illustrated tales range from those suitable for reading aloud to 2- and 3-year-olds to those perfect for third graders to read for themselves.
Download or read book The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke written by Arthur C. Clarke and published by Rosetta Books. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 1575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six decades of fascinating stories from the legendary “colossus of science fiction” and creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey gathered in one compendium (The New Yorker). Arthur C. Clarke, along with H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein, was a definitive voice in twentieth century science fiction. A prophetic thinker, undersea explorer, and “one of the true geniuses of our time,” Clarke not only won the highest science fiction honors, the Nebula and Hugo Awards, but also received nominations for an Academy Award and the Nobel Peace Prize, and was knighted for his services to literature (Ray Bradbury). Now, more than one hundred works of the sci-fi master’s short fiction are available in the “single-author collection of the decade” (Booklist, starred review). This definitive edition includes early work such as “Rescue Party” and “The Lion of Comarre,” classics like “The Nine Billion Names of God” and “The Sentinel” (which was the kernel of the later novel and movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey), and later works including “A Meeting with Medusa” and “The Hammer of God.” Encapsulating one of the great science fiction careers of all time, this immense volume “displays the author’s fertile imagination and irrepressible enthusiasm for both good storytelling and impeccable science” (Library Journal). “One of the most astounding imaginations ever encountered in print.” —The New York Times “As his Collected Stories helps to demonstrate, there has been no popular writer since the days of C S Lewis and Charles Williams whose disposition is more nakedly apocalyptic, who takes greater pleasure in cradling eternity in the palm of his hand.” —The Guardian
Download or read book Matchmaker Mysteries Books 1 4 written by elise sax and published by 13 Lakes Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 968 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich and Jana DeLeon, Elise Sax’s wickedly funny Matchmaker Mysteries series proves that the road to love comes with a few dead ends. The Books 1-4 Boxed Set is a page-turning beach read and a small town mystery romance and includes the books An Affair to Dismember, Citizen Pain, The Wizard of Saws, and Field of Screams. "Elise Sax will win your heart."--New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis * "Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out."—New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig * “Elise Sax belongs on every bookshelf.”—New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster * "With quirky characters reminiscent of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series and a small-town heroine redolent of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse" --RT Book Reviews * "Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich."--Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember An Affair to Dismember: * Three months has been Gladie Burger’s limit when it comes to staying in one place. That’s why Gladie is more than a little skeptical when her Grandma Zelda—who is more than a little psychic—recruits her into the family’s matchmaking business in the quaint small town of Cannes, California. What’s more, Gladie is also highly unqualified, having a terrible track record with romance. Still, Zelda is convinced that her granddaughter has her clairvoyant “gift.” But when the going gets tough, Gladie wonders if this gift has a return policy. * When Zelda’s neighbor drops dead in his kitchen, Gladie is swept into his bizarre family’s drama. Despite warnings from the (distractingly gorgeous) chief of police to steer clear of his investigation, Gladie is out to prove that her neighbor’s death was murder. It’s not too long before she’s in way over her head—with the hunky police chief, a dysfunctional family full of possible killers, and yet another mysterious and handsome man, whose attentions she’s unable to ignore. Gladie is clearly being pursued—either by true love or by a murderer. Who will catch her first? * Citizen Pain: * Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric and psychic Grandma Zelda, Gladie is always looking for love. But when an unbearable toothache knocks her out of commission and into the dentist’s chair, she prays only for relief. No such luck. Emerging from an anesthetic haze, Gladie awakes to find that not only is her tooth still throbbing, but her dentist is dead—and the lead suspect in the murder, office receptionist Belinda, just so happens to be Gladie’s first real client. Now it’s up to Gladie to find Belinda a man and keep her from being locked up behind bars. * As if that weren’t enough distraction, two gorgeous men are vying for Gladie’s attention: Spencer, the playboy chief of police, and Holden, Gladie’s secretive, gorgeously muscled neighbor. Still, Gladie’s not complaining about having a helping hand or two when the case leads her to a dangerously bizarre cult. She may have met her match—and if she’s not careful, it could be her last. * The Wizard of Saws: * Five months have passed since Gladie Burger came to Cannes, California, to join her eccentric Grandma Zelda in the family matchmaking business, and Gladie is quickly mastering the rules of attraction. Her latest fix-up is still going strong and Gladie’s bank account is back in the black—until a rival matchmaker arrives in town and has both Gladie and Zelda seeing red. * Not only is self-proclaimed psychic Luanda Laughing-Eagle stealing Grandma Zelda’s clients, but Zelda is convinced that Luanda’s ESP is total BS. She tasks Gladie with exposing Luanda as a fraud, but Gladie’s attention is diverted when murder comes a-calling. Spencer Bolton, the gorgeous chief of police and Gladie’s on-again, off-again flame, wants her to stay out of the investigation–and away from the deliciously chiseled detective who also aims to win Gladie’s heart. But the one thing Gladie’s learned is that in business, love and murder . . . it’s always personal. * Field of Screams: * Since joining the family matchmaking business run by her eccentric and psychic Grandma Zelda, Gladie has had little success. Involved on one level or another—hot sex, almost committed, and crying in her pillow—with three men, Gladie distracts herself by giving up on matchmaking and starting a new career. But when Gladie stumbles on body parts of dead baseball players all over town, she’s dragged into solving yet another murder mystery. With her life in chaos and the killer getting closer, Gladie has to come to terms with the fact that love is murder.
Download or read book Tales from the Purgatory written by Stan Schumer and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2010-10-14 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Presiding Over the Damned written by Liam Sweeny and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-08-20 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An arson in New Rhodes reveals the body of Julia Mae Jefferson, an eight-year-old African American girl in the city’s North Central District. Jack LeClere, the top homicide detective in the New Rhodes Police Department, is paired with a new partner for the case, Clyde Burris, a former New York City homicide-turned-New Rhodes PD Internal Affairs detective. Jack and Burris have a mutual distrust of each other, but that’s the least of their worries. In the heat of the ashes of that row-house, the search for a brutal killer awaits. New Rhodes is a city on the edge. An influx of new police recruits aren’t adjusting to the community they serve. A fight during a protest at a defunded community center begins a back-and-forth struggle between the New Rhodes Police and the North Central community that threatens the relationships that Jack and Burris need to find leads in Julia Mae’s case, including the already fractured relationship with the community’s lead activist, Marcus Ellison. A well-intentioned move by Jack to help with her funeral backfires as Ellison discovers the true nature of her murder that same day. Julia Mae’s world was one of neglect—of a child, and in fact, many of the North Central children—falling through the cracks. Jack and Burris follow her through those cracks and discover an underbelly of abuse and an industry of exploitation in the guise of a daycare center called Mount Vision. Jack and Burris, through their own struggle to build trust in a city where little can be found, find something that even the most cynical activists could never have imagined—a true wolf in sheep’s clothing, and a monster with an SS tattoo and a rebel flag in his window. To give Julia Mae justice, Jack, Burris and Marcus Ellison must make a temporary peace, and the city must come face-to-face with the fruits of its indifference. Praise for PRESIDING OVER THE DAMNED: “Presiding Over the Damned is a journey into the heart of darkness. Lucky for us Detective Jack LeClere is our fearless guide through the shadows.” —S. A. Cosby, author of My Darkest Prayer “Holy Moley! I was just going to read the first chapter of Liam Sweeny’s new novel, Presiding Over the Damned, and seven hours later, I finished it. What a page turner! Not since Peter Benchley’s Jaws have I had a novel pull me into the story with such voracity that I was afraid to stop reading, lest I miss what was coming next! The characters are crafted so skillfully that I felt I knew them, maybe I’ve even worked with them. Even the criminals seemed familiar. The story is so skillfully written, it almost seemed like Liam had worked with me at some point. On a scale from one to ten stars, I give this novel ten stars and highly recommend it to everyone.” —Michael G. Edwards, author of the Mike J. Rock, NYPD Homicide series “Take a deep breath before cracking the spine of Liam Sweeny's latest Jack LeClere novel, Presiding Over the Damned. It will be a while before you draw another one. Jack LeClere returns, hits the ground running, and races the reader through a deliciously twisted plot peppered with whip-crack dialogue amid breakneck pacing. If you have to pick one detective novel for 2018, make it Liam Sweeny's Presiding Over the Damned. Sweeny continues to deliver and should be on everyone's Must Read list.” —Eryk Pruitt, Anthony-nominated author of What We Reckon “Jack LeClere is a cop you want on your side. Liam Sweeny is a writer you want on your bookshelf. Presiding Over the Damned, more than a great addition to the LeClere series: a book that will not only gut you, but one you can't help but cheer on.” —Beau Johnson, author of The Big Machine Eats “Presiding Over the Damned is more than just a flash-bang police procedural; it’s also unafraid to plunge into some of the roughest, toughest issues of our time. If you’re a fan of Michael Connelly or George Pelecanos, you’re going to dig the heck out of this.” —Nick Kolakowski, author of Boise Longpig Hunting Club “Fast and violent like a fire, strong like Jack LeClere’s knuckles, and as brutal as a kid in a body bag, Liam Sweeny’s prose is a pleasure to read. Here’s an author doing the thing instead of talking about it, and he does it in a commanding manner and with an undeniable touch of swag. This is solid crime fiction done right.” —Gabino Iglesias, author of Zero Saints “Sweeney’s Presiding Over the Damned is a finely tuned crime fiction piece of powerful and provocative writing. The dialogue roars with authenticity, the tension is thick and the story is marinated in reality. If you are a fan of hard boiled crime fiction moving at the speed of a bullet, you’ll want to read this book. Sweeney’s books will certainly occupy a prominent place on my bookshelf.” —Pam Stack, host, Authors on the Air
