Noir at the Bar

Marco Carocari Reads his short story from the 2023 Saints & Sinners Anthology

Shamus Award Finalist for Best First PI novel; Winner of Two Claymore Awards from Killer Nashville, including Best ComedyA recovering addict and former child star, Jimmy Cooper gets a second shot at fame as a “famous” private detective in Los Angeles.After cratering his career with booze, pills and public humiliations, Jimmy has started over, working at his Mom’s law firm as the in-house detective, putting his uncanny ability to spot liars to good use. Then, much to his and his mother’s surprise, Jimmy is famous once again after a case ends in a high speed chase viewed by thousands.With the public looking on, his next case tests his abilities and his mother’s patience. Alicia Crowley, a young heiress, believes her uncle plans to kill her so she won’t collect her inheritance and wants Jimmy to prove it. When the uncle turns up dead, she becomes suspect numero uno. Believing she’s innocent, he investigates but begins to doubt his own instincts as he learns more about his client.Will Jimmy solve the case and prove his mom wrong about him or just f@!k it all up?Big Fat F@!k-up: A Jimmy Cooper Mystery (Jimmy Cooper Mysteries Book 1) - Kindle edition by Allan, Lawrence. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Shamus Award Finalist for Best First PI novel; Winner of Two Claymore Awards from Killer Nashville, including Best ComedyA recovering addict and former child star, Jimmy Cooper gets a second shot at fame as a “famous” private detective in Los Angeles.After cratering his career with booze, pills and public humiliations, Jimmy has started over, working at his Mom’s law firm as the in-house detective, putting his uncanny ability to spot liars to good use. Then, much to his and his mother’s surprise, Jimmy is famous once again after a case ends in a high speed chase viewed by thousands.With the public looking on, his next case tests his abilities and his mother’s patience. Alicia Crowley, a young heiress, believes her uncle plans to kill her so she won’t collect her inheritance and wants Jimmy to prove it. When the uncle turns up dead, she becomes suspect numero uno. Believing she’s innocent, he investigates but begins to doubt his own instincts as he learns more about his client.Will Jimmy solve the case and prove his mom wrong about him or just f@!k it all up?Big Fat F@!k-up: A Jimmy Cooper Mystery (Jimmy Cooper Mysteries Book 1) - Kindle edition by Allan, Lawrence. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

“Hamilton has never been better.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) When a new security gig turns into a setup, expert thief Van Shaw finds himself the prey in a cross-country pursuit—in this electrifying sixth novel in Glen Erik Hamilton’s pulse-pounding and emotionally resonant thriller series. Van Shaw is hired to evaluate the safeguards for the art collection of eccentric business magnate Sebastien Rohner. Then Rohner reveals to Van the real reason he’s been recruited: to prevent another professional burglar from stealing the art. Rohner wants to set a thief to catch a thief.While questioning the bizarre nature of the job, Van accepts the lucrative offer and arrives at the island estate during an international summit that Rohner is hosting. Shortly after beginning his surveillance of Rohner’s highly secure gallery wing, Van stumbles across the murdered body of one of the honored guests along the rocky shore. Wary of Rohner’s true intentions, Van knows the homicide detectives on the case—and perhaps Rohner as well—think he’s the prime suspect and will turn his life upside down in their search for proof.Van begins to hunt for the killer himself, but scrutiny only digs his hole deeper, as one of Rohner’s own executives is then killed and the Seattle police find concrete evidence placing Van at the scene. With no other options, he goes on the run, alone and unaided. He’s hunted by the cops, the enraged Rohner, and a pair of psychopathic hitmen who chase Van from one coast to the next. To clear his name, Van Shaw will have to uncover the hidden motive of corporate espionage at a global level, even with a band of killers on his tail who are determined to add Van to their growing list of victims.Amazon.com: Island of Thieves: A Novel (Van Shaw, 6): 9780062978554: Hamilton, Glen Erik: Books

“I was ten years old when I found a murder weapon…it had killed ‘The Girl with the Opal Fingers’…”Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology Cait Morgan, and her retired-cop husband Bud Anderson, are visiting Cait’s sister, Siân, and brother-in-law, Todd, in Australia. They’re enjoying the bustling delights of Sydney, and looking forward to a few quiet days in the famed Blue Mountains.However, soon after it’s revealed that Todd once worked closely with a man convicted of a brutal slaying, the decades-old murder casts a threatening shadow over the foursome. Cait and Bud must discover the truth behind that case, as well as understanding the complex reasons for an ever-growing number of deaths they fear might be associated with it, before tragedy can engulf Cait’s family.Packed with local color, and quirky, memorable characters, this thirteenth book in the series is certainly unlucky for some. Will it prove to be the same for Cait and Bud? The Corpse with the Opal Fingers (The Cait Morgan Mysteries Book 13) - Kindle edition by Ace, Cathy. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Authors reading tonight are James D.F. Hannah - They Shall Take up Serpents, Joe Clifford - Say My Name, and Rob Osler - Cirque Du Slay!Hosts are Alan Warren, Joe Goldberg, and John Copenhaver.