A Small Sacrifice

Nick Forte Mysteries #1

by Dana King

Detective Nick Forte is not impressed when Shirley Mitchell asks him to clear her son’s name for a murder everyone is sure he committed. Persuaded to at least look around, Forte soon encounters a dead body, as well as the distinct possibility the next murder he’s involved with will be his own. Clearing Doug Mitchell’s name quickly becomes far less important to Forte than keeping references to himself in the present tense.

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 27, 2013

About the author

By day Dana King works at an undisclosed location. It’s not classified; he’s just not going to tell you. He has lived in and around Atlanta, Boston, the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC, Chicago, Northern Virginia, and back to the DC suburbs again. He served three years in the Army, and has worked as a musician, teacher, computer network engineer, pre-sales software consultant, general manager of a coin-operated laundry company, and as a systems administrator. Steady, gainful, employment has long been an issue.

Dana’s writing has appeared in such venues as New Mystery Reader, Powder Burn Flash, A Twist of Noir, Mysterical-E, and the original Thuglit web site. His short story, “Green Gables,” appeared in Thuglit’s 2010 print anthology, Blood, Guts, and Whiskey.

Dana’s first self-published novel, Wild Bill, is the story of an FBI investigation disrupted by a mob war in Chicago. His second, Worst Enemies, is a tale of deceit and murder in a small Pennsylvania town. In August a PI novel, A Small Sacrifice will become available for Kindle.

His first traditionally published novel, Grind Joint, will be released by Stark House on November 21.

Reviews

[Seana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd come across Nick Forte before in King's Grind Joint, but he was more of a secondary character, although it was clear he had some backstory. A Small Sacrifice was published after that book, though covers a slightly earlier period in time. In this one, Nick Forte is the first person protagonist, which give us a slightly different angle on him. This one is straight from the Chandlerian tradition, and an admirable one at that. Fast paced and sharp witted, its no wonder that this book was nominated for the 2013 Indie Shamus Award.

[Dawn Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great ride. Loved the characters.

[Jason Beech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana King’s A Small Sacrifice is an entertaining and smart private dick novel. Nick Forte gets into a case all about clearing a woman’s son from the murder of his child, which quickly escalates into attempts on his life as he realises this thing reaches deeper into Chicago’s underbelly than at first glance.

The plot is intricate, smart, and well played. The violence is short and sharp, and spare. King doesn’t dwell on the kid’s murder, but at the book’s end, there’s some graphic bloodletting. The book’s core is the mystery, the process, his internal monologue and the wrestle of his conscience about what he must do to stay alive in the mess he’s trod in. And that is where it sings. The action is fun when it happens but it’s definitely the second act to the chit-chat and finding his moral compass.

Good fun.

[J.L. Delozier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend in my critique group. I enjoyed it very much, and felt the writing got better/snappier as the book went along. To me, there were clear similarities to the JonBenet Ramsey case, but thankfully the murder was told in flashbacks and without too much gruesome detail. The mob element and local color were well done. I'd definitely read more from this author.

[Rory Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me just a day to read this. Dana King's plot is full of clever details that mesh together smoothly -- just when you think all the cards have been played, here come a few more tricks.. He makes excellent use of his Chicago setting and knowledge of "The Outfit", and Forte is a well-developed central character who is strong enough to carry more outings. King surrounds him with an array of other well-drawn characters too.

[Chris LaTray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I figured would be great that for whatever reason I kept forgetting to read. And it is great, even though I thought I was finished with detective novels. I've visited Chicago enough to know many of the areas the characters reference, so that certainly added to the enjoyment. The downside is King has a few more I'm going to have to read now.