Barbarous Coasts

Karl Standt #1

by Bruce W. Perry

"In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely, and without a passport; whereas virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers." -Herman Melville, Moby Dick

The first book in the Karl Standt crime novel series, which includes Gone On Kauai and Compulsion.

Barbarous Coasts is a tale of stratospheric thievery and corruption, set against a man's struggle for a clean conscience and the truth. It takes place in Manhattan's Midtown and other iconic NYC neighborhoods, as well as in Europe and the Middle East.

In the novel, the seasoned NYPD detective Karl Standt forms an offbeat alliance with a talented, paroled hacker ("Church"). What ensues is a fast-moving, multilayered tableau depicting the sharp end of contemporary America.

Barbarous Coasts is an engrossing tale of an honest man grappling with a far-flung case of financial chicanery and Banana Republic-style elitism.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

I'm a big fan of good stories, and sharing them. I've been reading a lot since I was a towheaded kid, growing up in a small town with a reading and writing tradition called Concord, Massachusetts. Our house was about a half mile from Walden Pond. That didn't make me a better writer by osmosis, but it darn sure made me a reader! I was the kid sitting under a tree, head buried in a book. I read every hardcover and paperback I could get my hands on.

A family friend gave me anthologies of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells when I was in the third grade. They encompassed the first adult narratives and science fiction I had read. They were hardcover, heavy, and I couldn't put them down, until I had to put them down, because they were heavy.

I tend to read and write in several genres, mostly science fiction/dystopian, adventure, thriller, and detective, but I've written stories that don't really fall into either of those categories, as in the war romance Accidental Exiles or the satire Lost Young Love.

In my work life I've been a trade newsletter writer and a software engineer, as well as a landscaper and a really bad waiter. I've also written non-fiction books on fitness and software, including Fitness For Geeks.

When I'm not writing, I'm a nomad. I love to travel. I prefer writing outside with a pen, legal pad, and a nice view.

Reviews

[Clive Gerrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book . Set, mostly in Manhattan, its a story of 'white-collar' theft, murder and conspiracy . A New York (Standt) cop investigating an apparent suicide gets caught up in bullion fraud and international financial affairs. The chapters were long but I couldn't put it down and eventually got out of bed at 1.30am in order to finish it !

Well written and well researched, the plot line is both believable and intriguing . The story line twists and turns with an ending which if not original, is at least realistic. A good book!

[Dorann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read-took some time to get into the detective though.