Showing posts with label crime fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime fiction. Show all posts

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Preorder info for my new book, LAGNIAPPE

Hi folks,

For those who like to be the first in on a new book, my new collection of short stories, titled LAGNIAPPE, published by Down & Out Books, is available for preorder. It becomes available on June 12. The more people who preorder it, the faster start out of the chute it can make and all that's good for me, so...

Here's the info on how to glom onto either an ebook or paperback version.


For Paperback, click here.

For Ebook, click here.

The skinny on it...


Twenty years after the publication of his first short story collection, Monday’s Meal, Les Edgerton delivers the goods once again in this collection of harrowing tales of outlaws, ex-cons, frightened men and women, rap-partners throwing back tall boys and taller tales, children forced to become killers, stabbings and shootings, bad asses and sad asses…a wide-ranging collection of distinct and memorable characters who will exhibit a kind of wisdom not obtainable from the halls of academia. This is not a gathering of people contemplating their navels but real people facing the consequences of their actions…and it ain’t often pretty.

Praise for Les Edgerton…

“Les Edgerton has swiftly become my favorite crime writer. Original voice, uncompromising attitude and a pure hardboiled style leap him to the front ranks of my reading list. He will become legendary.” —Joe R. Lansdale, author of Paradise Sky, The Bottoms, Edge of Dark Water, The Thicket, and the Hap and Leonard series, the books behind the TV series of the same name, and many others.

“Reading Les Edgerton’s stories is like listening to those old World War II broadcasts from the London blitz, with the reporter crouching under a restaurant table, microphone in hand, while the bombs drop on the city and the ceiling caves in. Edgerton reports on the world and the news is not good. There’s a kind of wacky wisdom in these bulletins from the underside of life; the stories are full of people you hope never move in next door, for whom ordinary life is an impossible dream. This is good fiction; Edgerton writes lean and nasty prose.” —Dr. Francois Camoin, Director, Graduate School of English, University of Utah and author of Benbow and Paradise, Like Love, But Not Exactly, Deadly Virtues, The End of the World Is Los Angeles and Why Men Are Afraid of Women.

“Les Edgerton is the new High King of Noir.” —Ken Bruen, author of The Emerald Lie, The Guards, Pimp, and many others.

Thanks for considering getting a copy. I'm very proud of these stories! Several of them have been nominated for some cool awards so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Blue skies,
Les

I don't know about Joe Lansdale here, but I know that I thank you! As you can see, I'm down to my last cigarette here so if you buy a copy it helps me out in a big way...

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Review of THE BITCH from Keith Nixon on Big Al's Books and Pals blog



Hi folks,

Just got another great review from Keith Nixon on Big Al's Books and Pals! 

Sunday, January 26, 2014
The Bitch / Les Edgerton

http://www.amazon.com/Bitch-Edgerton-ebook/dp/B00HWJS2BQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390763210&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bitch+by+les+edgerton


Reviewed by: Keith Nixon

Genre: Crime Fiction / Noir

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Les Edgerton is the author of fifteen books. He is an ex-con and served two years for a single charge of burglary, reduced from 182, two strong-arm robberies, an armed robbery, and a count of possession with intent to deal. Today, he's completely reformed. Prior to this Les served in the U.S. Navy as a cryptographer during the Cuban Crisis and the beginning of the Vietnam War.

After making parole Les obtained a B.A. from Indiana University and then received his MFA in Writing (Fiction) from Vermont College. He teaches workshops nationwide on writing. Born in Texas, Les now lives in Indiana with his family.

You can learn more about the author at his blog.

Description:

Jake Bishop is on the straight and narrow. His prison sentence is a long way behind him. Life is good. He’s married and is about to start his own business. But then an old cell mate, Walker Joy, arrives on the scene. He once saved Jake’s life and is demanding repayment in the shape of a burglary he needs help pulling. The problem for Jake is The Bitch – the three strikes and you’re out rule. He can’t say yes, but he daren’t say no…

Appraisal:

This is the third Les Edgerton book I’ve read and reviewed. All have been different in style. The others, The Rapist and Just Like That both started with a bang. However The Bitch is more of a slow burn.
Jake initially meets Walker out of a sense of duty and friendship (a theme that runs throughout the novel) but soon discovers he’s been betrayed. In prison Jake told Walker about a couple of crimes he hadn’t been caught for and Walker (a less than reputable and trustworthy individual) spilled them to a jeweler friend, Spencer. It’s Spencer who wants the robbery to go ahead and he uses every means to rope Jake in – including falsely accusing Jake’s brother of a crime.

What’s particularly smart about The Bitch is the steady ramp up of tension and pressure with every chapter as Jake gets drawn deeper and deeper in. As he spills from one event to another nothing goes quite right, so the implications steadily increase – from robbery, to kidnap and eventually to murder. Jake is trying to find a way of getting his old life back and keeping his misdeeds from his wife. But he can’t.

As previously mentioned relationships are absolutely key to The Bitch. Good and bad. Towards the end Edgerton reveals why Jake couldn’t simply stroll away from Walker, he owes him a lot. Edgerton also takes Jake’s options away one by one to the point that there’s a sad inevitability about the ending, like a car crash you can see coming, but can’t and don’t want to avoid.

This is a really enjoyable story. Very well written and highly compelling. The characters are strong, the dialogue rough and tough. Well worth picking up.

FYI:

Some swearing.

Format/Typo Issues:

None.


Rating: ***** Five Stars





Thanks, Keith--I really appreciate this and am delighted that you liked it.

Blue skies,
Les