THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING launches today!

Hi folks,

Well, today’s the day! My new novel, the black comedy crime thriller, THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING goes on sale today, both ebook and paperback versions. This book was my personal favorite to write—just had a lot of fun with it and hope you will as well.

 Click here for ebook.

Click here for paperback.

Here are some of the blurbs it’s received so far:

Blurbs

Les Edgerton serves up a gumbo of sexual deviants, small time hustlers, and serious criminals in a caper that reads like a deranged Damon Runyon tale relocated from Broadway to the French Quarter. "The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnaping" is not for the faint of heart, and that's just one of its selling points. If you like crime fiction that cracks wise while offering a peek into the darker recesses, this is the book for you.

Bill Fitzhugh, author, PEST CONTROL, TERMINATOR and others

What makes this wild, wild tale so intriguing is the sense that it must be drawing on first hand knowledge. Edgerton's sympathetic tough guy narrator gives you an authentic-feeling glimpse into the unique logic of small time hustlers and born losers, with echoes of Ring Lardner and snatches of slam poetry frequently catching you by surprise and making it that much more enjoyable.

--Matthew Louis, founding editor of Gutter Books and author of The Wrong Man and Collision Cocktail.

“The most unrepentantly funny crime caper you’ll ever find between the pages of a book. Elmore Leonard, eat your heart out!”

– Maegan Beaumont, author of Carved in Darkness

Masquerading as a novel, Les Edgerton's newest gem -- THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING -- is really a debauched weekend in steamy New Orleans, loaded with alcohol, drugs, whores, pistols, and a menacing bookie, all available for your personal and private entertainment between the covers. Narrator Pete Halliday -- ex-con, gambler, boozer, ex-baseball pitcher and unwise wiseass -- takes us places most don't really want to go, only to have the time of our lives when we get there. Listen to him: "Coming into New Orleans, you could smell it. First day out of jail after thirty days, you could really smell it. Hot and sexy, a couple hundred thousand red hot little mamas, stepping out of steamy baths and showers, their skin sticky from the heat, getting ready for Saturday night ..." Every pitch Pete throws is a hair-raising thrill, a belly laugh or a clue to the wicked and violent puzzle that hangs over his New Orleans adventure. You know someone has to die.

-- Jack Getze, Fiction Editor, Spinetingler Magazine

There's two certainties when reading anything written by Les Edgerton. First you'll get gritty, hard hitting noir straight out the top drawer that'll leave you punch drunk on the floor. Second is it'll be like nothing you've ever picked up before. The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping is no exception. Expect the unexpected. Read it, love it.

-- Keith Nixon, author of The Fix

"There's nothing fake about The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping. Les Edgerton's latest book is the real deal, and has everything to keep you turning the pages. It's a caper, full of fun and high-jinx, but it's also bitter-sweet, engendering a full range of emotions. You'll smile, you'll wince, you'll laugh out loud, and sometimes you'll even cringe, but you'll come away from the read feeling thoroughly satisfied and entertained. A terrific read."

Matt Hilton, author of the best-selling Joe Hunter thrillers.

When it comes to writing crime stories, Les Edgerton can do pretty much it all, and The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping finds him in a mood to have fun. This book is like a raucous party for crime fiction lovers, complete with goons, guns, and schemes-within-schemes. Best of all, the comic voice of its ne’er-do-well narrator is a pleasure from start to finish.

--Jake Hinkson, author of Hell On Church Street and The Posthumous Man

THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING is a dark crime comedy that will have you laughing from page one. It crackles with manic energy and mad thrills. If you're looking for a different kind of edgy crime novel, this is the one to grab.

--Bill Crider, author of Compound Murder, Gator Kill and others.

Imagine Les Edgerton’s writing. Dark, despairing noir. Habitual criminals. Rapists. This is nothing like that. : Edgerton takes a break from The Bitch and The Rapist to exercise his inner Westlake. A “no holds barred” and “What else can go wrong” caper with even more laughs than plot twists. The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping has a plot John Dortmunder would have trouble negotiating, and Edgerton milks it for all it’s worth. Not for the faint of heart, the crime that really sets the story off involved kidnapping a gangster—no, I can’t do it. I don’t want to spoil even that much. Suffice to say kidnapping, sexual fetishes, forced amputation, Tourette’s Syndrome, certain death, and one-way tickets to Skagway AK are all played for laughs, and he pulls it off. Big fun. My daughter described the movie Ted as “Really funny and wildly inappropriate.” It’s like that.--Dana King, author Grind Joint

The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping is like the fever-dream of a two-bit conman who fancies himself a criminal genius. Add in some seedy and saucy New Orleans locales and you’ve got a gumbo of freaky sex, covert mob men and botched amputations. This the most havoc ever wrought in one man’s quest for a measly ol’ po’ boy shop, and a creole crime caper you won’t want to miss. --Nik Korpon, author of Fait Ave and Stay God, Sweet Angel

You’re in for some twisted laughs as one of crime fiction’s most authentic voices takes on dark humor. In THE GENUINE IMITATION PLASTIC KIDNAPPING, Les Edgerton finds every line that oughtn’t be crossed and drags his characters back and forth ’til it’s blurred. You may want to reach in and give his criminal hero a shake, except you’re bound to be aching to see what kind of trouble he can create next. Humor is human, the blacker the better, and Edgerton serves it up nasty and raw! – Rob Brunet, author of Stinking Rich

A hard-driving, relentless story with grab-you-by-the-throat characters.

— Grant Blackwood, New York Times bestselling author.

The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping is a steamy caper novel that reads like an arm wrestling match between Ring Lardner and Quentin Tarantino, while James Lee Burke takes bets on the outcome. I only stopped laughing to flinch occasionally. A terrific novel, for the strong of heart – and funny bone.—Warren Moore, author of Broken Glass Waltzes.

There is nothing quite like reading a Les Edgerton novel. His voice crackles with a lifelike intensity. THE GENUINE, PLASTIC, IMITATION KIDNAPPING is the most incredible, entertaining and detailed bar story you've ever heard. Reading it, you can't shake that feeling that you've living a special, unique moment where anything is possible, like that night at the bar.

-Benoît Lelièvre, www.deadendfollies.com

Early Amazon reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Imitation here. September 21, 2014

By Liam Sweeny

Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase

Pete Halliday's got a hell of an arm... and a little gambling problem. Or is it a little 'getting caught' problem? Either way he's washed out of baseball, biding his time in the Big Easy, pulling jobs with ace fuck-up Tommy LeClerc.

In spectacular fashion, Tommy blows schemes so clever they shouldn't be done. Like a kidnapping when you don't know whom the kidnapee is connected to. But then Tommy comes up with a brilliant idea; a kidnapping the likes of which no one has attempted before...

... and maybe there's a reason for that.

Pete's a likable guy. He just smart enough to realize how insane Tommy's plans are, too dumb to tell Tommy to screw off. And it's that inability that brings the feet of the whole New Orleans reverse nobility down on Pete and Tommy's necks.

The ray of dirty sunshine is Cat Duplaisir, waitress with a side of hooker. Pete falls hard, and she's a great add to the team here. And the ending? Guess you'll have to read it.

Overall, I love Pete's way of putting things. He's a narrating character that's reliable, true to form. Edgerton pours this one from his fingertips; nothing gets you clogged in the reading, nothing keeps you from hitting the 'next' arrow except maybe sleep or a pee break (I don't even think I took a pee break).

I got an advanced copy, But I liked it so much, I bought the paperback.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kidnap this book - NOW! September 22, 2014

By Sarah Faurote

Format:Paperback

Wow - here we go again. Les Edgerton is one of the best writers of our time. Once again, I have a reason to read. This hilarious, yet serious depiction of clumsy criminals and the terror and messes they run into is impossible to put down. This book explodes from the page and pulls the reader in. You will end up loving the main characters and laughing all the way. Les Edgerton writes from truth and grit - the kind of writing that only a writer with a mad soul and the life to go with it can write. I have yet to read a book by Les Edgerton that I regretted purchasing. You can't lose with Les Edgerton. Throw the dice and reap your reward.

Hope you glom onto a copy and if you have time, please leave a rating and review on Amazon—it means a lot for sales.

Blue skies,

Les

Me, with my "Happy Face"...

It's "Launch Day!"