Southside Gothic: A Jordan Bell Novel

by J.E. Staab

Jordan Alonzo Bell is twenty-three, brilliant, and a phenom concerning undercover work. During an assignment for the NYPD, a botched raid compromises him and lands him back home in Pittsburgh in a position with the Pennsylvania Department of Investigation. There, he must prove himself to senior agent Mike DeLuca while battling the psychological trauma from the horrific events in New York, which have made him the target of a criminal mastermind. Mike and Jordan clash, but need to learn to work together when mutilated victims begin to surface – all of them young Goths who frequent a bar in Pittsburgh’s Southside neighborhood. Jordan finds himself plunged into undercover work again against his wishes, on not one but two fronts – at the Goth bar, and as a small-time drug dealer in a heroin distribution ring – a ring that has connections to the crime boss in New York.

230 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2020

About the author

IAN 2021 Book of the Year Award Winner: Southside Gothic - Outstanding First Novel

Reviews

[Mike Holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-paced page turner; it would probably be a good beach read. I'm a bit shocked that someone who grew up near Pittsburgh would repeatedly use "soda" instead of "pop", but maybe that was the work of some well-meaning editor. My only other complaint is the insinuation at the end that using medication for treating mental health issues is some kind of weakness. That was unnecessary.

[Leonora Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and slow tension-building story that keeps you hooked in and then waiting for more. I started reading and then didn't stop until I was done, hours later. Here's one fan for sure who can't wait to read the next part.