Chicago, 1928. In the stifling summer heat, three disturbing events take place: A clique of city leaders is poisoned in a fancy hotel; a white gangster is found mutilated in an alleyway in the Blackbelt; and a famous heiress vanishes without a trace. Pinkerton detectives Michael Talbot and Ida Davis are hired to find the missing heiress by the girl’s troubled mother. But it soon proves harder than expected to find a face that is known across the city, and Ida must elicit the help of her friend, Louis Armstrong. While the police take little interest in the Blackbelt murder, Jacob Russo—crime scene photographer—can’t get the dead man’s image out of his head, leading him to embark on his own investigation. And Dante Sanfelippo—rum-runner and fixer—is back in Chicago on the orders of Al Capone, who suspects there’s a traitor in the ranks and wants Dante to investigate. But Dante is struggling with his own problems, as he is forced to return to the city he thought he’d never see again . . .

*Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of 2017* Chicago, 1928. In the stifling summer heat three disturbing events take place. A clique of city leaders is poisoned in a fancy hotel. A white gangster is found mutilated in an alleyway in the Black Belt. And a famous heiress vanishes without a trace. Pinkerton detectives Michael Talbot and Ida Davis are hired to find the missing heiress by the girl's troubled mother. But it proves harder than expected to find a face that is known across the city, and Ida must elicit the help of her friend Louis Armstrong. While the police take little interest in the Black Belt murder, crime scene photographer Jacob Russo can't get the dead man's image out of his head, and so he embarks on his own investigation. And Dante Sanfelippo - rum-runner and fixer - is back in Chicago on the orders of Al Capone, who suspects there's a traitor in the ranks and wants Dante to investigate. But Dante is struggling with problems of his own as he is forced to return to the city he thought he'd never see again . . . As the three parties edge closer to the truth, their paths cross and their lives are threatened. But will any of them find the answers they need in the capital of blues, booze and corruption? Dead Man's Blues is the gripping second installment in Ray Celestin's prize-winning City Blues quartet. It is followed by the third book in the series, The Mobster's Lament.

"It is hard to say which makes for the more compelling narrative: the life of jazz great Jelly Roll Morton or the detective work that Phil Pastras undertook in putting together this engaging book. Dead Man Blues tells both these tales admirably, drawing on a treasure-trove of previously unknown material. It is both an important contribution to jazz scholarship and a fascinating piece of storytelling."—Ted Gioia, author of The History of Jazz and West Coast Jazz "Meticulously researched, including primary source material recently uncovered by the author, Dead Man Blues is not only a masterfully written, definitive account of Jelly Roll Morton's west coast years, but also a penetrating psychological and social study of the man and the forces that drove and shaped him."—Steve Isoardi, co-author of Central Avenue Sounds "A must-read for all jazz aficionados."—Gerald Wilson "One of the best books ever written about Jelly Roll Morton."—Gerald Wiggins, jazz pianist

Members of a town terrorized by a monstrous evil search for its source in this horror novel by the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Ink. Something evil has awakened in the town of Pine Deep. While a local newsman tries to piece together the gruesome events of a long-buried crime, others are preparing for the return of an unstoppable scourge. Bodies mutilated beyond description, innocents driven to acts of vicious madness—a monstrous legacy is preying on the living and the dead. There are those in Pine Deep who are not what they seem. Who are driven by a thirst for blood and revenge. And who are quietly building an army of the undead . . . Second in the Pine Deep Trilogy Praise for Ghost Road Blues “Maberry supplies plenty of chills, both Earth-bound and otherworldly, in this atmospheric horror novel . . . . This is horror on a grand scale, reminiscent of Stephen King’s heftier works.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for New York Times bestselling Author Jonathan Maberry “Jonathan Maberry’s horror is rich and visceral. It’s close to the heart . . . and close to the jugular.” —Kevin J. Anderson “Maberry has the chops to craft stories at once intimate, epic, real, and horrific.” —Bentley Little “Maberry spins great stories. His (Pine Deep) vampire novels are unique and masterful.” —Richard Matheson “Maberry’s works will be read for many, many years to come.” —Ray Bradbury

The third novel starring Montana's fly fisherman-cum-detective Sean Stranahan, for fans of C. J. Box and Craig Johnson Wolves howl as a riderless horse returns at sunset to the Culpepper Dude Ranch in the Madison Valley. The missing woman, Nanika Martinelli, is better known as the Fly Fishing Venus, a red-haired river guide who lures clients the way dry flies draw trout. As Sheriff Martha Ettinger follows hoof tracks in the snow, she finds one of the men who has fallen under the temptress’s spell impaled on the antler tine of a giant bull elk, a kill that’s been claimed by a wolf pack. An accident? If not, is the killer human or animal? With painter, fly fisherman, and sometimes private detective Sean Stranahan’s help, Ettinger will follow clues that point to an animal rights group called the Clan of the Three-Clawed Wolf and to their svengali master, whose eyes blaze with pagan fire. In their most dangerous adventure yet, Stranahan and Ettinger find themselves in the crossfire of wolf lovers, wolf haters, and a sister bent on revenge, and on the trail of an alpha male gone terribly wrong.

Ray Celestin heads to New York City, for the third book in his award-winning City Blues quartet, The Mobster’s Lament. Fall, 1947. New York City. Private Investigator Ida Davis has been called to New York by her old partner, Michael Talbot, to investigate a brutal killing spree in a Harlem flophouse that has left four people dead. But as they delve deeper into the case, Ida and Michael realize the murders are part of a larger conspiracy that stretches further than they ever could have imagined. Meanwhile, Ida’s childhood friend, Louis Armstrong, is at his lowest ebb. His big band is bankrupt, he’s playing to empty venues, and he’s in danger of becoming a has-been, until a promoter approaches him with a strange offer to reignite his career . . . And across the city, nightclub manager and mob fixer Gabriel Leveson’s plans to flee New York are upset when he’s called in for a meeting with the ‘boss of all bosses’, Frank Costello. Tasked with tracking down stolen mob money, Gabriel must embark on a journey through New York’s seedy underbelly, forcing him to confront demons from his own past, all while the clock is ticking on his evermore precarious escape plans. Ray Celestin's third instalment in his multi-award winning City Blues Quartet is both a gripping neo-noir crime novel and a vivid, panoramic portrait of New York – from its tenements to its luxury hotels, from its bebop clubs to the bustling wharves of the Brooklyn waterfront – all set as the mob is rising to the height of its powers . . .