Joe Clifford

A riveting, twisty psychological thriller from acclaimed author Joe Clifford, perfect for fans of The Whisper Man Brandon Cossey is finishing his last semester as an undergrad when he learns his childhood best friend, Jacob Balfour, has committed suicide. The news about Jacob, who had long battled schizophrenia, does not come as a surprise--but the bizarre details surrounding his death do. Jacob was found several states away, in a quarry, burned alive. Brandon returns to his hometown and discovers Jacob had been moonlighting as an amateur DIY reporter. As sole author and editor of the homemade zine Illuminations, Jacob has been covering a wide array of conspiracy theories. When Jacob's estranged grandfather, Francis, who also suffers from schizophrenia (but chooses to go untreated), arrives for the funeral, he tells Brandon that Jacob didn't kill himself; Jacob stumbled upon a secret so deadly he was murdered to keep it quiet. Soon afterwards, Brandon's life takes a turn for the strange. He notices odd cars and lookalikes following him, his personal property is hacked and stolen, and Brandon can no longer trust what he thinks he sees. As his grasp on reality recedes and falters, Brandon must question whether a sinister gang of doppelgängers, whom Jacob dubbed "the Shadow People," are really responsible. Events conspire to put Brandon on the road with Francis, as the unlikely duo travel across the upper Midwest attempting to learn the truth about Jacob's death. Part conspiracy thriller, part horror noir, The Shadow People mines the rich depths of perception and paranoia, asking the tough question: when you can't believe yourself, who can you trust?

The Shadow People

Award-winning author Joe Clifford's breakout novel, a thriller of psychological suspense about a man eager to restart his life after being acquitted of a heinous crime, only to find himself a suspect again when a body washes up near his house.

The Lakehouse

After his drug-addicted brother disappears into the New Hampshire winter, Jay feels obligated to track him down, but instead finds himself immersed in lies and secrets that threaten to tear his small town apart.

Lamentation

The One That Got Away

Gary Phillips

Dana King

Frank Zafiro

John Shepphird

Colin Conway

Holly West

Travis Richardson

Hector Acosta

Carmen Jaramillo

Mark Bergin

Tom Pitts

Matt Phillips

Paul Garth

James L'Etoile

It's eviction day for The Hope Apartments. The residents have known about it for over a year. It's too bad they ignored all the warning signs. More than a century ago, developer Elijah Hope constructed a state-of-the-art hotel. As the generations passed and tastes changed, The Hope spent two decades as an underutilized office building before conversion into a low-income housing project. Rundown by years of human occupation, The Hope has become a hollow shell of its once great self. It is home to drug addicts, petty criminals, and those hiding from others. The city has long turned a blind eye to The Hope as surrounding neighborhoods gentrified and pushed their disaffected in its direction. But now The Hope is preparing a return to its original glory. The current owners plan to convert it into a boutique hotel. The only thing standing in their way is the eviction of over one hundred units. Each resident knew this fateful day was coming, yet most chose to believe it would never arrive. They ignored the posted signs, the hand-delivered warnings, and even the actual notices. Many stayed until the bitter end. These are their stories. The Eviction of Hope is a collection of fourteen short stories from crime fiction's freshest voices. Get your copy today and experience The 509 in a completely new way.

A 509 Crime Anthology

The Eviction of Hope

Joe Clifford didn’t start drinking beer until he was almost twenty years old. By the time he turned twenty-two, he was addicted to methamphetamine; and the heroin wasn’t far behind. Soon he’d lose his wife, his job, his home. Junkie Love follows the roughly ten years Clifford spent wandering the streets of San Francisco and beyond, first as a wannabe rock star, and then as another homeless junkie with his head lost in the stars. In between are the harrowing events and close calls, the shady characters and the enduring friendships, the redemption and restitution that led Fix Magazine to call Junkie Love “one of top four recovery memoirs” of all time. From the Forward by Jerry Stahl "The good news is Clifford’s is exactly the kind of voice our poor, strung-out country deserves in these toxic end-times. Like his hero Kerouac, this is a writer drawn to life’s more rough-edged and unsung corners. But, in the best Beat tradition, he writes about the lost and monstrous with a life-affirming, almost depraved sweetness. The miracle is, hardcore addicted, in love with a beautiful schizophrenic, Clifford returned with mind and talent intact. But that no trace of clichéd bitterness or streety one-downsmanship pollutes his tone."

A Story of Recovery and Redemption

Junkie Love

In the early 2000s, a string of abductions rocked the small upstate town of Reine, New York. Only one girl survived: Alex Salerno. The killer, Ken Parsons, was sent away. Life returned to normal. No more girls would have to die. Until another one did. It’s been twelve years since Kira Shanks was reported missing and presumed dead. Alex Salerno has been living in New York City, piecemealing paychecks to earn a livable wage, trying to forget those three days locked underground and her affair with Sean Riley, the married detective who rescued her. When Noah Lee, hometown reporter with a journalistic pedigree, requests an interview, Alex returns to Reine and Riley, reopening old wounds. What begins as a Q&A for a newspaper article soon turns into an opportunity for money, closure and—justice. The disappearance of Kira Shanks has long been hung on Benny Brudzienski, a hulking man-child who is currently a brain-addled guest at the Galloway State Mental Hospital. But after Alex reconnects with ex-classmates and frenemies, doubts are cast on that guilt. Alex is drawn into a dangerous game of show and tell in an insular town where everyone has a secret to hide. And as more details emerge about the night Kira Shanks went missing, Alex discovers there are some willing to kill to protect the horrific truth. In the modern vein of Dark Places and Mystic River, The One That Got Away is a dark, psychological thriller featuring a compelling, conflicted heroine and a page-turning narrative that races toward its final, shocking conclusion. Praise for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: “A great book! I devoured it. Taut, pacey and with a powerful sense of place, Joe Clifford’s The One Got Away is an intelligent and astutely observed piece of American small-town noir.” —Paula Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water “Joe Clifford is a gifted storyteller with a knack for crafting characters who are entirely human. The One That Got Away is dark and unforgiving, a chilling crime novel with the perfect touch of tenderness that will keep readers turning the pages with haste. This is one book you won’t be able to put down. —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie “The mystery of The One That Got Away sucked me in, but it was the emotional punch of Alex Salerno’s return home that broke my heart. With its sharply observed characters and setting and crime-thriller pace, its tough exterior belies a vast, unexpected tenderness. I cannot not quit thinking about this book.” —Emily Carpenter, author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and The Weight of Lies “It’s not often that I read a top-notch thriller with layers of emotion buried within each page. On the surface, Joe Clifford’s story of a young woman who survived a kidnapping and returns to her hometown to investigate a seemingly similar disappearance is compulsively readable, but when you dig a little deeper, you discover there’s so much more to unpack. The One That Got Away is by far Clifford’s best and most fully realized novel to date, and might well be the most rewarding thriller I’ve read this year.” —Jennifer Hillier, author of Jar of Hearts “Joe Clifford crafts a unique detective story with a flawed central character in Alex Salerno. His true skill lies in that he was able to make the Northeastern town of Reine into the co-central character, one even more flawed than Alex. Its life is even more sullied, darker and full of worse choices than hers ever could have been, and that is the gritty magic of the book. Read the novel for the last few pages, which are delicious in their noir conclusion.” —Ryan Sayles, author of Albatross “This seething story of small-town noir should appeal to fans of Jeffery Deaver’s The Bone Collector.” —Publishers Weekly

Court Merrigan

Matthew Louis

Featuring top-notch editing and presentation, the reader is confronted with one breakneck, violent story after another in this, the rebirth of the pulp fiction mag/punk zine, Out of the Gutter. Out of the Gutter 8 contains the most popular pieces posted this year at Out of the Gutter Online (www.outofthegutteronline.com), as well as the editors' personal favorites and several brand new stories with a "digital age" theme, written just for this issue. With the material separated into flash fiction and longer pieces, Out of the Gutter remains the perfect companion when you're on the go and looking for a fast, cheap thrill.

Out of the Gutter 8

Contains 19 short stories detailing the cold, strange history of the prison Alcatraz.

Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz

Hard Sentences

This volume charts the rise of consumer culture in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Essays are included on France and Holland, but the focus is primarily on Britain. Themes discussed include art markets, collecting and display, and are set alongside those of value and luxury.

Consumer Culture in Europe 1650-1850

Consumers and Luxury

A story of recovery and redemption. "A voice filled with sincerity, salvation, and splendor. A voice as stark, unforgiving, and mesmerizing as blood backing into the needle." J.A. Kazimer, The Ampersand Review From the cow fields of Connecticut to the streets of San Francisco, Joe Clifford's Junkie Love traverses the lost highways of America, down the rocky roads of mental illness to the dead ends of addiction. Based on Clifford's own harrowing experience with drugs as a rock 'n' roll wannabe in the 1990s, the book draws on the best of Kerouac & the Beats, injecting a heavy dose of pulp fiction as it threads a rollicking narrative through a doomed love triangle, lit up by the many strange characters he meets along the way. Part road story, part resurrection tale, Junkie Love finds a way to laugh in one's darkest hour, while never abandoning its heart in search of a home. Junkie Love by Joe Clifford is an original ride through the down-and-dirty underside of the drug and music scene, inspired and propelled by Jack Kerouac's youthful dreams of an American nirvana, translated to a later, darker generation. Clifford is its passionate spokesman. Get a free Kindle book with paperback via Kindle Matchbook Praise for Junkie Love "Joe Clifford's Junkie Love portrays high-heeled heroin amour, beautiful and vicious, full of front seat hot sex and brutal cop raids, secret rehab gropes and smack-fueled crime sprees. In prose that speeds like a stolen car, Clifford does for opiated romance what Michael Herr did for war and F.X. Toole for prize fights: brings mind-blowing news from hells beyond imagining." - Alan Kaufman, author of Jew Boy and The Outlaw Bible of American Literature "No one writes this good the first time out, do they? Joe Clifford's Junkie Love is a literary achievement of the first order. Junkie Love is both harrowing and haunting, hypnotic and hilarious. Clifford can flat-out tell a story. He's savvy, insightful, and fearless. Trust me, here's a world that's more vivid, unnerving, and compelling than the one you're living in, written with the exhilaration and abandon of an improbable survivor." - John Dufresne, author of Requiem, Mass (a People magazine's Book Pick of the Week) "Joe Clifford reminds us that even in the most punishing circumstances, the human heart doesn't just struggle or abide, it points the way home. Junkie Love is a savage, funny, ravishing gift of a book, strangely gentle and beautifully strange. Like Jimmy Santiago Baca's A Place to Stand, it reveals that man in extremis is the man in the mirror, and that our own humanity resides precisely in the willingness to see the irreparable fault lines in our own souls, to witness despite the impenetrable darkness: to love." - David Corbett, author of Blood of Paradise and Do They Know I'm Running? "At turns tender, at turns scalding, Joe Clifford's Junkie Love is a raw, articulate, poignant, comic and steely-eyed look into the ravages and ravishments of being a heroin addict in San Francisco at the end of the millennium. It's an edgy coming-of-age tale of survival and redemption refracted through the haze of rock 'n' roll and the noir of addiction, always true to the impulse, however warped, humans have to seek out love and companionship in spite of the depravity of their situation... Look out Bill Burroughs, move over Irvine Welsh, make way Jim Carroll, you've got company!" - Ravi Shankar, Executive Director of Drunken Boat and author/editor of five collections of poetry "Joe Clifford casts a cold, clear eye on the brutal landscape of addiction and those who populate it. This is a tough, authoritative work, crackling with tension, oozing dread." - Les Standiford, author of Last Train to Paradise

In una notte di tempesta, Tracy Somerset sta vagando per i corridoi di un supermercato con suo figlio Logan addormentato sulla spalla, quando incontra Greg, un uomo gentile e affascinante che l’aiuta con il bambino e le offre un caffè. Greg si è appena trasferito lì, nella cittadina di Covenant, e sta costruendo una casa sul lago Shallow. Tra i due scatta subito la scintilla e Tracy, dopo il suo divorzio burrascoso, pensa di avere finalmente la possibilità di ricominciare. Ma quello che Tracy ancora non sa è che su Greg pende un sospetto terribile: l’uomo, infatti, è stato accusato di aver ucciso sua moglie April. E, quando una ragazza viene trovata morta a poca distanza da casa sua, Tracy deve iniziare a chiedersi chi sia veramente l’uomo di cui si sta innamorando.

La casa sul lago

Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel in a Series A brother's love knows no bounds—even in death Three years have passed since estate-clearing handyman Jay Porter almost lost his life following a devastating accident on the thin ice of Echo Lake. His investigative work uncovering a kids-for-cash scandal may have made his hometown of Ashton, New Hampshire, a safer place, but nothing comes without a price. The traumatic, uncredited events cost Jay his wife and his son, and left him with a permanent leg injury. Jay is just putting his life back together when a mysterious stranger stops by with an offer too good to be true: a large sum of cash in exchange for finding a missing teenage boy who may have been abducted by a radical recovery group in the northern New Hampshire wilds. Skeptical of gift horses and weary of reenlisting in the local drug war, Jay passes on the offer. The next day his boss is found beaten and left for dead, painting Jay the main suspect. As clues begin to tie the two cases together, Jay finds himself back on the job—and back in the line of fire. Perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane's Mystic River While all of the novels in the Jay Porter Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: Lamentation December Boys Give Up the Dead Broken Ground Rag and Bone

A Jay Porter Novel

Give Up the Dead

Former top-flight prospect Oz Reyes heads security for Coastal Sports Network in Los Angeles. On the eve of the annual awards show, his boss Delma Dupree summons him to Miami. Since tearing his ACL in a bar fight eighteen years ago, Oz rarely returns to the city where he blew his NFL chances and lost the love of his life, Tania. At Delma’s waterfront mansion, Oz encounters a chaotic scene with police and emergency vehicles. Delma’s oldest son, Jackson, navigates the aftermath. There are three Dupree children: Jackson, Janelle, and Rodney, an adopted screw-up currently serving life in prison for the rape and murder of Janelle’s daughter, Juniper. Jackson explains his mother has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and was picked up by police wandering during the night. At first Delma seems fine to Oz, but when she asks Oz to look into Rodney’s seemingly airtight conviction, her symptoms begin to show. Despite Oz’s polite refusal, Delma insists he store a file, which she swears contains the truth of who really committed the crime. Once Oz comes in possession of that file, an open and shut case suddenly seems less so, as forces seen and unseen conspire to take Oz down. Fired from his job and attacked in his home, Oz dives headlong into South Florida’s glitzy and glamorous underbelly, reopening a case the rich and powerful would prefer stay closed. With the help of Tania and her ex-convict brother, Angel, Oz uncovers a Miami rarely seen, one crawling with shifty detectives, rogue assassins, and hard-drinking, sexual deviants—and no one and nothing is what it seems. In the vein of modern mystery/pop culture writers such as Michael Connelly (Bosch novels), Gillian Flynn (Dark Places), and Dennis Lehane (Gone, Baby, Gone), Joe Clifford’s Occam’s Razor is a fast-paced, intricately plotted novel that balances accessible prose, masterful suspense, and a twisted, cinematic climax.

Occam's Razor

Joyce Carol Oates

Joe R. Lansdale

Rob Hart

Hilary Davidson

Alison Gaylin

Ryan Sayles

Kelli Stanley

Reed Farrel Coleman

Grant Jerkins

Alec Cizak

Patricia Abbott

Thomas Pluck

S.W. Lauden

Angel Luis Colón

J.L. Abramo

Trey R. Barker

Paul J. Garth

Kent Gowran

Jeffery Hess

Tim O’Mara

Keith Rawson

Nominated for the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Anthology/Collection *** Proceeds from the sales of Unloaded will benefit the nonprofit States United To Prevent Gun Violence (CeaseFireUSA.org) *** For the first time, more than two dozen crime and mystery authors have joined together to use the strongest weapon at their disposal—words—in a call for reasonable gun control in the U.S.A. In this collection you get all the thrills and excitement you come to expect from a great crime story, but without any guns. From best sellers and writing legends to the brightest stars of the next generation of crime writers, the twenty-five authors here have taken pen in hand to say enough is enough. Gun violence has got to stop and this is our way of speaking out—by showing that gun violence can be removed from the narrative, and maybe from our lives. It's not anti-gun, it's pro-sanity. And above anything else, these are thrilling crime stories that will surprise and shock, thrill and chill—all without a gun in sight. The writers are from both sides of the political aisle and many of the authors are gun owners themselves. But everyone felt it was time to speak out. Featuring the talents of J.L. Abramo , Patricia Abbott, Trey R. Barker, Eric Beetner, Alec Cizak, Joe Clifford, Reed Farrel Coleman, Angel Luis Colón, Hilary Davidson, Paul J. Garth, Alison Gaylin, Kent Gowran, Rob Hart, Jeffery Hess, Grant Jerkins, Joe R. Lansdale, S.W. Lauden, Tim O’Mara, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Pitts, Thomas Pluck, Keith Rawson, Kelli Stanley, Ryan Sayles, and Holly West. Praise for UNLOADED… “The 25 short stories in this thought-provoking theme anthology prove that clever crime writers can generate just as much mayhem, weirdness, and chills without the use of firearms.” —Publishers Weekly

Crime Writers Writing Without Guns

Unloaded

Sean Lynch

Sarah M. Chen

Nick Kolakowski

Eric Beetner

Paul D. Brazill

Scott Adlerberg

Jen Conley

Eryk Pruitt

Anonymous-9

Will Viharo

Chris Rhatigan

Ron Earl Phillips

Preston Lang

Rob Pierce

Sean Craven

Renee Asher Pickup

Todd Morr

Greg Barth

C. Mack Lewis

Deadlines is a tribute anthology dedicated to the memory of writer and crime fiction enthusiast, William E. Wallace. A career journalist, Wallace got a first-hand look at the darker side of humanity working at various papers in California before settling at the San Francisco Chronicle. Upon retiring, Wallace engaged fully into the crime fiction community connecting with writers and readers not only to promote his own writing, but to promote other writers he enjoyed. It is through William E. Wallace’s career and his stories that the contributors to this anthology take inspiration. These stories are presented with appreciation to his unselfish contribution to our community and our publications. All proceeds of this publication will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in the name of William E. Wallace. Learn more about the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at cbldf.org. And read William E. Wallace’s blog at PulpHackConfessions.com. Thank you to those who contributed their time and stories: Preston Lang, Jen Conley, Joe Clifford, Will Viharo, Paul D. Brazill, Patricia Abbott, Rob Pierce, Sean Craven, Eric Beetner, Sarah M. Chen, Nick Kolakowski, S.W. Lauden, Scott Adlerberg, Gary Phillips, Renee Asher Pickup, Eryk Pruitt, Todd Morr, Travis Richardson, Anonymous-9, Sean Lynch, Alec Cizak, Greg Barth, C. Mack Lewis. A joint publication of Shotgun Honey and All Due Respect.

Deadlines: A Tribute to William E. Wallace

Nominated BEST NOVEL by International Thriller Writers One Man's Personal Crusade Against Corporate Greed Having spent ten months on the run after he was framed for the murder of an estate-clearing associate, handyman Jay Porter returns to his hometown of Ashton, New Hampshire. During his time as a fugitive, he searched for a hard drive?evidence that would put his longtime nemeses Adam and Michael Lombardi behind bars. But he came up empty handed. He has nothing. No hard drive, no hope. He hasn't spoken to his ex-wife and son in almost a year and he's broke. With his reputation tarnished and employment opportunities nonexistent, Jay takes a charity assignment from old friend/flame Alison Rodgers and learns of a fire at Alison's former rehab farm. Jay is convinced that the Lombardis started a fire as a scare tactic to pressure Alison to sell. As Jay begins to look into the origins of the fire, he hopes he will finally be able to put away his enemies. But he soon discovers that evil isn't so easy to define, and that sometimes we need to take the law into our own hands if we want justice. Perfect for Fans of Dennis Lehane While all of the novels in the Jay Porter Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: Lamentation December Boys Give Up the Dead Broken Ground Rag and Bone

Rag and Bone

Like some born killers, this pairing of crime stories and the songs of Bruce Springsteen is a natural one. Each of the accomplished authors in this unique anthology chose a Springsteen title as a starting point, and in the criminally inclined spirit of the Boss, drove headlong to wherever that inspiration called. The destinations are as wildly diverse and far-reaching as the songs that influenced them. Some arrive at hope and redemption; others end up smoking in a ditch. One thing's for sure: you sign up for this ride, and Trouble in the Heartland will transport you somewhere unforgettable. Lynne Barrett (Dancing in the Dark) Eric Beetner (Up All Night) Richard Brewer (Last to Die) Jamez Chang (This Little Light of Mine) Jen Conley (Hard to Be a Saint in the City) Mike Creeden (Something in the Night) Lincoln Crisler (Born to Run) Hilary Davidson (Hungry Heart) Chris DeWildt (Glory Days) Les Edgerton (The Iceman) Peter Farris (What Love Can Do) Paul J. Garth (Nebraska) Jordan Harper (Prove It All Night) Chris F Holm (Mansion on the Hill) Chris Irvin (Death to My Hometown) David James Keaton (The Ghost of Tom Joad) Isaac Kirkman (Streets of Fire) Chris Leek (Candy s Room) Dennis Lehane (State Trooper) Benoit LeLievre (Atlantic City) Ezra Letra (Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street) John McFetridge (Spare Parts) Lela Scott Macneil (Darkness on the Edge of Town) Court Merrigan (The Promised Land) Brian Panowich (Wreck on the Highway) Rob Pierce (Rosalita) Tom Pitts (Local Hero) Keith Rawson (My Best Was Never Good Enough) Chuck Regan (Radio Nowhere) Chris Rhatigan (Wrecking Ball) Todd Robinson (We Take Care Of Our Own) Ryan Sayles (Highway Patrolman) Gareth Spark (Straight Time) Richard Thomas (Because the Night) James Tuck (I m on Fire) Steve Weddle (Meeting Across the River) Chuck Wendig (Queens of the Supermarket) Dyer Wilk (Dry Lightning)

Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Based on the Songs of Bruce Springsteen

Joe Clifford

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