PATRICK QUINLAN

A gripping and twisting treat of a novel for fans of Tarantino and Elmore Leonard. Smoke Dugan, one-time bomb-maker for the mob, is on the run. It's not easy to keep a low profile when you've got your girlfriend (Lola), her best friend (Pamela) and a retired professional assassin (Cruz) with you; and if you're carrying $2.5 million in cash, you can be sure the people the money belongs to won't let the trail go cold. The tiny Caribbean island of Saint Mark's seems a safe bet, but that's reckoning without the unexpected presence of ex-Navy Seal Stone, an old enemy of Cruz. Stone has heard of the massive finder's fee placed on Cruz's head by Big Vito back in New York, so he's very motivated. Soon the rest of the mob is on the way and the scene is set for a game of cat and mouse amid the palm trees and on the high seas. Who will end up swimming with the sharks?

A clever and original crime/thriller from the author of the highly acclaimed SMOKED. Set in New York, the novel follows the adventures of ex-con Dick, who comes round from what feels like quite a bender to find that there''s a corpse in the boot of his Oldsmobile. It''s Dot, recently his boss on the Breakout Program and also his on/off girlfriend. That''s bad enough, but Dick honestly doesn''t know whether he shot her himself or whether someone else did it. Meanwhile Dot''s friend Lydia is wondering what the hell has happened to her co-conspirator acirc;euro;" they''ve been embezzling the company and they''re due to fly to Nassau with the proceeds shortly. And if Dick needed any more bad news, Dot''s former squeeze, the very powerful, very clever, very dangerous Nestor Garcia, is headed for Manhattan, having decided he wants Dot back. He won''t be at all happy to discover that the chances of a reconciliation are nil, unless necrophilia counts. A brilliant cast of characters plus some shockingly violent action blended with dark humour make Patrick Quinlan''s second novel an entirely satisfying follow-up to SMOKED.

A gripping first novel from a writer who weaves together elements of PULP FICTION, KILL BILL and GET SHORTY in a pacy and unputdownable crime thriller Smoke Dugan has made a living from making bombs for a criminal organisation. But when one of his bombs is used to take down a plane with innocent women and children on board, something snaps inside him. He takes his revenge by killing his criminal boss, taking his money and going on the run. Now, a year later, Smoke is hiding out in Portland, Oregon. He knows that it is only a matter of time before the organisation catches up with him. When they do, he manages to escape but they capture his girlfriend. Now Smoke must try to save her and escape for good. But it seems that someone else is after Smoke''s girlfriend and it''s not long before Smoke finds himself caught up in a dangerous chase game which will end in violence...