Meet Drew Gavin, former college football star, now a wisecracking sportswriter who claims his drunken rut as a life. But that life changes at his class reunion when his old college sweetheart, Helen, lures Drew into trouble.
Helen is married to a wheeler-dealer lawyer named Freddie, imminently in danger of having his knee caps broken for gambling debts. Helen pleads for Drew's help. Playing the sucker, Drew goes to a bookie named Three Eyes to plead Freddie's case. Soon after, Freddie is found dead and Drew becomes the prime murder suspect.
"Smooth, swift and sure prose, diverting personal and locker-room intrigues, and easy-to-hate villains make this first title in a new series by the author of the Bubba Mabry series an exciting read." -- Library Journal
"This is a well-written, stylish noir caper in which Drew's smoldering passion for an old flame nearly costs him his life." -- Booklist
STEVE BREWER is the author of more than 30 books, including the recent crime novels UPSHOT and COLD CUTS.
His first novel, LONELY STREET, was made into a 2009 independent Hollywood comedy starring Robert Patrick, Jay Mohr and Joe Mantegna.
Under his pen name Max Austin, Brewer wrote three hard-boiled crime stories set in Albuquerque, NM. The first, DUKE CITY SPLIT, was published by Alibi/Random House in April 2014. DUKE CITY HIT followed in December 2014. DUKE CITY DESPERADO came out in June 2015.
Brewer's short fiction has appeared in the several anthologies, and he's published articles in magazines such as Mystery Scene, Crimespree and Mystery Readers' Journal.
Brewer has taught at the University of New Mexico, the Midwest Writers Workshop and the Tony Hillerman Writers Seminar. He regularly speaks at mystery conventions, and was toastmaster at Left Coast Crime in Santa Fe, NM, in 2011.
He served two years on the national board of Mystery Writers of America, and twice served as an Edgar Awards judge. He's also a member of International Thriller Writers and SouthWest Writers.
A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Brewer worked as a daily journalist for 22 years, then wrote a syndicated weekly column for another decade. The column, called The Home Front, produced the raw material for his humor book TROPHY HUSBAND.
Married and the father of two adult sons, Brewer lives in Albuquerque, NM.
BOOKS BY STEVE BREWER "Lonely Street," 1994, Pocket Books "Baby Face," 1995, Pocket Books "Witchy Woman," 1996, St. Martin's Press "Shaky Ground," 1997, St. Martin's Press "Dirty Pool," 1999, St. Martin's Press "End Run," 2000, Intrigue Press "Crazy Love," 2001, Intrigue Press "Cheap Shot," 2002, Intrigue Press "Trophy Husband," 2003, University of New Mexico Press "Bullets," 2003, Intrigue Press "Fool's Paradise," 2003, UNM Press "Boost," 2004, Speck Press "Sanity Clause," a novella, in "The Last Noel," 2004, Worldwide "Bank Job," 2005, Intrigue Press "Whipsaw," 2006, Intrigue Press "Monkey Man," 2006, Intrigue Press "Payoff," a short story in the anthology "Damn Near Dead," 2006, Busted Flush "Cutthroat," 2007, Bleak House "Limbo," a short story in the Mystery Writers of America anthology "Crimes by Moonlight," 2010, Berkley "Firepower," 2010, Amazon/Smashwords "1500 Rules for Successful Living," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords "Calabama," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords "The Big Wink," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords "Lost Vegas," 2011, Amazon/Smashwords "Party Doll," 2012, Amazon/Smashwords "A Box of Pandoras," 2012, Amazon/Smashwords "Showdown," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords "Found Money," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords "Yvonne's Gone," a short story, 2012, Amazon/Smashwords "Cemetery Plot," a short story, 2013, Amazon "Duke City Split," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2014 "Duke City Hit," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2014 "Duke City Desperado," writing as Max Austin, Alibi, 2015 "Shotgun Boogie," 2016, Amazon "Homesick Blues," 2016, Amazon "Side Eye," 2017, Amazon "Cold Cuts," 2018, Amazon "Upshot," 2020, Amazon
Very Good; Continuing character: Drew Gavin (first in series); sports writer has chance meeting with college sweetheart, who is now married to a lawyer with a gambling problem, and is enticed to help