News for week ending 2018-03-17 (open thread)

News for week ending 2018-03-10 (open thread) […]

Review: Kings of Midnight by Wallace Stroby

Benny Roth is a relic of a near-dead era when mobsters ruled New York with impunity. After a long stretch in the witness protection program, he now lives his golden years quietly and happily enough, working at a restaurant and living with his much-younger girlfriend Marta.

Danny Taliferro won’t let that era go, […]

Grab-bag post: The VWOP Gazette, Blackbird Books, Sam Holt, Dead Man #3

Here’s a round-up of some interesting stuff from the past few weeks.

The Violent World of Parker Gazette

You may have noticed a new feature, The Violent World of Parker Gazette, in the sidebar. A click will take you to the main page, which is a newspaper-like thing that features some of my […]

Finally: The Handle/Hammett challenge winner announced

I know this is way late, but I just got off the road–I thought I’d have time to post from the road, but that didn’t work out.

So, for those of you just tuning in, or who have forgotten because this took so darned long, this was the challenge that novelist and Parker […]

Last call for a pull from The Handle

The contest Wallace Stroby and I put together to identify a reference in The Handle is drawing to a close. If you missed this earlier, details are here.

Entries will be accepted until midnight central time on Monday, April 11. I’ll be traveling, but will try to announce the winner from the road […]

Contest: The Handle/Hammett challenge

In the comments section on the recent review of The Handle by Olman Feelyus (AKA regular commenter WalkerP) at his Olman’s Fifty blog, novelist and Parker fan Wallace Stroby noted that the novel contained a Dashiell Hammett reference. Since no one over there knew what it was (including me), Wallace suggested […]

Cold Shot to the Heart drawing and contest winners announced

Congratulations to Dan McV, the lucky winner of an advance reader copy of Wallace Stroby’s new novel, Cold Shot to the Heart.

Additional congratulations to Greg T., who found the Richard Stark reference in Cold Shot to the Heart. From my interview with Wallace Stroby:

As far as references, there is one major Stark homage in Cold Shot, specifically an exchange of dialogue. So far, no one’s spotted it, so I’m not going to give it away. I went back and forth on whether to include it, then decided if I was ever going to do it, that was the place, because it fit perfectly. So that was my tribute – or theft. Depends how you look at it, I guess.

The contest was to answer this:

What is the reference to a Richard Stark novel in Cold Shot to the Heart, and what novel does it reference?

Answer below the fold! Stop reading if you want to figure it out for yourself (or avoid a minor spoiler).


Continue reading Cold Shot to the Heart drawing and contest winners announced

Giveaway and contest: Cold Shot to the Heart

First off, I apologize for the lack of updates lately (I promised this contest last week!). Unfortunately, things are very busy right now so this state is likely to continue for a bit. Regular readers know I drop off for a few weeks every now and again and I’m always surprised and delighted […]

Interview: Wallace Stroby

Wallace Stroby is the author of The Barbed-Wire Kiss, The Heartbreak Lounge, and Gone ’til November. His new novel, Cold Shot to the Heart, was released this week. The reviews are quite good.

Wallace was kind enough to answer some questions via e-mail about Cold Shot and other stuff. Enjoy.

Trent: Your previous […]

Review: Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Professional thief Crissa Stone’s mentor and lover is locked away in Texas after a job gone wrong. He’s up for parole soon, and it’s possible that $250,000 under the table might aid in his early release. Crissa believes that if he isn’t out soon, he’ll die in prison. She needs the money, and […]