Product Description
Derringer Award winning short story writer Michael Bracken returns with another impressive collection of hardboiled crime fiction, including his new novella, "Yesterday in Blood and Bone." ... Read more

Product Description
When a French secret service operative is murdered on a lonely Alpine highway, a womanizing CIA agent must find the killer and terminate “With Extreme Prejudice.”

Back in the states, the same agent discovers “The Only Good Red.”

When a money-hungry waitress leaves one man for another, she soon discovers their love nest is no “Bed of Roses.”

Three years after a bank robbery goes bad, a convict on the verge of parole learns that his partner’s wife really knows how to set up a “Con Job.”

When an attractive young woman borrows money for a new car, it’s the loan manager who learns never to trust the “First Blonde on the Left.”

After an account executive visits a fortune teller, he discovers there’s “A Price to Pay.”

A dead man dressed like a woman and the cop leading the investigation aren’t what they seem until you peel away the “Husks.”

It would have been easy for the insurance investigator to leave the widow alone, but his job made it “A Matter of Policy.”

When two ex-cons try to return an unwanted engagement ring, they find themselves stuck between the “Rock and a Hard Place.”

A husband, a wife, and a hired killer soon learn that “Three’s a Shroud.”

A disgraced jockey and his girlfriend take matters into their own hands and there’s “Vengeance to Show in the Third.”

An ex-con can’t believe his luck when a naked socialite seduces him. He soon learns not to throw his stones at “Glass Houses.”

They do bad things. For love. For money. For fun. They’re
BAD GIRLS ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Larceny in Their Hearts and Murder on Their Minds!
Michael's Bracken's Bad Girls contains a dozen twisted stories, featuring the sort of women your mother probably warned you about.Provided she wasn't one herself.Mr. Bracken uses a tight, precise writing style that keeps the story moving quickly from beginning to end.Nothing is wasted in his writing, everything counts, so pay close attention, 'cause little things can mean the difference between life and death.My personal favorites, "Husks" and "Glass Houses" had a bittersweet edge.Another fun story, "First Blonde on the Left" featured a woman who really knew how to make the best use of her assets.Great bedtime reading!

Dealy Dames Dealing in Deceit
Collections of short stories, like boxes of bon-bons, should not be consumed at a single sitting, but rather parceled out over time in order to appreciate their flavor.

This is certainly true of BAD GIRLS, a gathering of twelve hard-edged stories by Michael Bracken, all but two of which previously appeared in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Gent, Espionage, and other publications.Each story prominently features a woman- beautiful, seductive, buxom, and usually treacherous-as perpetrator or participant in crime; sometimes she gets away with it, other times she doesn't.A slim (135 pages), well-produced trade paperback volume with an appropriately lurid cover, BAD GIRLS packs a lot of wallop in its tales of spying, lying and dying.The deceitful women range from double-dealing double agents to wicked waitresses, and from cheating wives to murderous mistresses, who star in stories with titles like "Three's a Shroud" and "Vengeance to Show in the Third."

The language of BAD GIRLS is crisp, no-nonsense, and dialogue is often tinged with rough humor befitting the hard-boiled genre:

"I want to see Eddie," I said.

"You seen him," he said, "if you used both your eyes."

Much-published author Michael Bracken writes smoothly and fluidly with few wasted words.BAD GIRLS will provide an entertaining read for those who have always believed the female is just as deadly as the male, and who enjoy a taste of crime in bite-sized pieces.

Great Mystery Collection
Bad Girls is an excellent collection of mystery short stories. Who knew women could be so bad? All of the stories are good but a couple are really great. The endings are unpredictable and will give you a surprise. This book works well for mystery lovers who don't have time to read a lot but want to enjoy a good mystery quickly. ... Read more

Product Description
Private-Eye Nathaniel Rose has seen it all--from dead strippers to exploding Mustangs to blackmailing lovers. After a brief tour of Korea and ten years as a cop, Rose now walks the dark side of the street, handling cases in St. Louis, Missouri. Whether it takes brains, brawn, or bullets to solve a case, Rose knows exactly what to do. With friends on both sides of the law and a hardboiled sense of justice to guide him, Rose takes the most difficult cases to heart. And solves them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Getting Hardboiled in "Tequila Sunrise" by Michael Bracken
Having read and enjoyed very much the novel, "Deadly Campaign" by this author, I have been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time. But, getting my hands on a copy wasn't easy for a number of reasons. Finally, I got one and I wasn't disappointed in this hard hitting anthology featuring private Investigator Nathaniel Rose.

The 103-page book is made up of seven complex stories involving Nathaniel Rose and a recurring cast of characters over a significant period of time. In almost every case, the women are sexy, the violence is hard hitting, and Rose gets the crook by any means necessary.

The book opens with the story "Partners" where Rose is nearly killed when his Mustang explodes. He survives and with little idea who wanted him dead, starts looking.

"Fair Warning" follows and is a case involving a missing husband, fast food, and a tantalizing wife.

"Heartbreak Hotel" comes next in the book as well as in the book arc in terms of character development and time, and involves a missing fiancée. Simply making photocopies can get one killed it seems.

"Lucky Seven" is another aptly named story. In this case, seven witnesses can all detail for court how they saw a man kill his wife and her lover. The client just needs to know how good the case is, which on the surface, seems simple enough.

"Even Roses Bleed" revolves around a beautiful woman and her need to have her husband dead. Word on the street is Nathaniel Rose would fit the bill nicely, in more ways than one.

Strippers have always been a hallmark in detective fiction but rarely used to such good effect in "Tequila Sunrise and the Horse."

But after all, for any P.I. the cases are "Only Business." Something to remember in the sometimes stormy waters of love.

With an overall story arc linking the stories in this anthology and providing character development, this book is a very good read and more complex than many novels. The writing style is terse and hard hitting and usually in dialogue form. At the same time, scene descriptions come alive for the reader who will quickly become lost in the murky world of "Bullets, Booze and Broads."


Book Facts

Tequila Sunrise
Hardboiled P.I Nathaniel Rose: Bullets, Booze and Broads
By Michael Bracken
www.crimefcitionwriter.com
Wildside Press
www.wildsidepress.com
2000
ISBN # 1-58715-252-5
Large Trade Paperback

Unapologetic Hard Boiled Entertaiment
Nathaniel Rose evokes shades of Mike Hammer and Parker with some unique textures of his own. The stories were entertaining original fiction, written with honor threaded throughout the tough action and dialogue.
The reader is left wanting more tales from this almost anti-hero.
In a genre overly criticized for its wanton violence and sexuality, it's refreshing to see Michael Bracken stare the critics down for the sake of a story done right.
Bracken's work can stand alongside Mickey Spillane, Richard Stark, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos and Ed McBain as the most entertaining writing of its genre.
Having read four other Bracken books (All White Girls, Bad Girls, Psi Cops as well as Tequila Sunrise), the feeling is that Bracken will make a major breakthrough into mainstream entertainment.
Hopefully,his Nathaniel Rose creation will follow him there, because crime fiction needs a breath of fresh air.

Truth in Advertising
The subtitle, "Bullets, Booze and Broads," is a highly accurate summation of this short story collection.There is certainly no mistaking this book for a cozy tea party at the vicarage.In all honesty, I'm much more a cozy fan than a hardboiled fan, and the more graphic sex scenes pushed my "too much information" button. Bracken tells a good story, though, and there is no denying that Nathaniel Rose has a distinctive voice.

All of the stories are set in St. Louis, and as someone who visits St. Louis maybe once every few years, I enjoyed Rose's tour of some of those sites not on the typical tourist itinerary. The city's unique personality comes through very subtly yet effectively, seeming to make the setting a character of its own.

I was particularly impressed with the plot lines, both within each story and in the progression of stories.Bracken's plot twists are fresh and innovative where so many hardboiled stories fall back on the tried and true devices.Bracken even seems to poke fun at some of those hardboiled conventions, like when Rose describes how he and his secretary are caught by surprise when a client actually shows up completely unannounced.The character development as Rose proceeds from "Partners" (first published in 1988) through four stories from the 1995 collection Even Roses Bleed, to the final two stories written for this anthology, also indicate Bracken's concentration on craft.And despite my cozy leanings, I couldn't help but admire Bracken's willingness to shed just about anybody's blood in order to keep the plot coherent.

If you like your fiction brief and noir (and maybe even if you don't) I think you'll find Tequila Sunrise an intoxicating treat.

(adapted from a "Skullduggery" review)

Old-fashioned,. hardboiled private eye stories
Tequila Sunrise contains seven private eye stories, all great. These stories are faithful to the hardboiled genre, and make no apology for their rough, tough nature.

I knew I was in for a good time when Nathaniel Rose's car blew up on page one of the first story. The excitement and suspense didn't let up until the last page of the last story.

If you like stories of private eyes with codes of honor, willing to do what it takes to find the truth no matter wshat the personal cost, this is the book for you.

"Tequilla Sunrise": Strong Stuff
Michael Bracken's "Tequilla Sunrise" is a wonderful trip into the hardboiled world. It's a place where strippers are named Lime Ricky and Tequilla Sunrise, where friends become enemies, enimies become allies, and clients become lovers before the sun sets.

This collection of seven stories (six previously published)follows PI Nathaniel Rose down the mean streets of St. Louis. The collection starts with a bang (literally) in "Partners," and continues nonstop through some of the best noir detective tales in years.

Bracken manages to create a fresh, unique character in Rose, while keeping true to the traditional hardboiled private eye story. Any of these stories could have come right from the pages of Black Mask. If you love classic noir stories, you owe it to yourself to read this collection. ... Read more

Product Description
(YA Duet) HIS FRIDAY GIRLS: As if having a hopeless crush isn't bad enough, high school sophomore Megan Linders has just been assigned a huge career project that her teacher claims will get her ready for the "real world". Problem is, Megan doesn't know if she wants to get ready for the "real world"-- she'd rather think about a hunky guy with green eyes. JUST IN TIME FOR LOVE: His father writes confessions and jokes, and the biggest joke of all is his name--Justin Tyme. But Jay, as he prefers to be called, hasn't had much to laugh about in the years since his mother died. His father retreats into an alcohol-hazed world of denial and self-pity, reversing their care-giver roles, and forcing Jay to grow up virtually on his own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nothing to write home about
"His Friday Girls", and it's companion, "Just In Time", make good reading for the junior high age group. Good moral-to-the-story endings. Not really compelling as far as being adventurous goes; Otherwise, makes for average stories. ... Read more

Product Description
tales of natural and supernatural noirWhether real or imagined, natural or supernatural, the horrors in these macabre tales of lost love, quiet desperation. These are dark, dark tales -- of lost love, of quiet desperation; painful memories that will linger in your thoughts long after you turn the last page. ... Read more

Product Description
PSI COPS

Geeks and freaks.

That’s what Detective Sergeant Tony Carvelli thinks of Psi Cops until he’s faced with a sadistic serial killer who leaves no evidence behind.

In a near-future St. Louis, after sexually-transmitted diseases have been eliminated and sex without commitment is a lifestyle for much of the population, Carvelli investigates the deaths of women dismembered in their own bedrooms.

Carvelli still believes in the old values: love before sex and investigation before technology. When Psi Cop Colleen Allison is assigned to the case against his wishes — thanks to his new partner, recently-promoted Detective Phil Palmer — Carvelli resents her and everything she represents.

Fighting against time and against each other, Carvelli, Palmer, and Allison struggle to find the killer before he strikes again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hardhitting futuristic mystery
In this cop story of not-too-distant future St. Louis, people watch holos instead of televisions, cars have autopilots, and the cops use laser pistols instead of traditional guns. And unfortunately, the bad guys have access to an array of nasty weapons and drugs.

But even in this future world, cops still eat greasy fast food and they still have to pound the pavement to catch the bad guys-regular cops that is.This is the story of three cops-two regular ones, Palmer and Carvelli, and one beautiful Psi cop, Colleen Allison.As a Psi cop, Allison uses her psychic abilities and computer equipment instead of shoe leather. While Allison fights to be accepted and Carvelli resists, the three face a horrendous serial sexual killer.

The story is futuristic but realistic, from the breathless prologue to the exciting conclusion.The plot deals with the frightening sexual serial murderer, but this book adds a new dimension-the future.The plot moves along crisply as we watch the three cops use their different talents to pinpoint the killer while they attempt to get along with each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! ... Read more

Product Description
The only in-depth survey of perinatal epidemiology, this book reviews a number of currently active fiedls of research and areas of public health interest in the epidemiology of perinatal disorders and covers recent advances in research methodology.A thorough and timely look at a burgeoning field, this volume is an ideal textbook and a valuable reference for practitioners. ... Read more

Product Description
This ain’t your Mama’s anthology and these tales ain’t for the faint-hearted. These are raw, gritty stories exploring the dark abyss of men’s souls.

With the sound of gunfire ringing in their ears and the stench of blood on their clothes, these private eyes and tough guys face their darkest fears and most cunning adversaries.

Here are tales of love and hate, sex and power, crime and punishment, fear and retribution — tales that grab you by the throat, slam you against the wall, then drag you back for more.

Here are men and women who catch everything life throws at them, then throw it right back.

Here are fourteen hardboiled tales guaranteed to blow your hat off! ... Read more

Product Description
Fourteen delicious private eye tales guaranteed to whet your appetite for detection. Wining, dining, and death. Fast living and fine dining combine to present today's private eyes with culinary crimes suitable for even the most refined palate. The private eyes in these stories face delicious dangers, savory sins, and tasty temptations . . . and the bad guys always get their just desserts. An appetizing selection of today's top private eye writers and talented newcomers season their tales with the exciting spices of love, hate, justice, and vengeance. Here are fourteen delicious private eye tales--and one poem--guaranteed to whet your appetite for detection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Some Food is Best Served Cold
For Christmas, I received this book autographed by three of the authors and by the editor.As a gift, the personalized autographs were great.I tend to prefer the novel to this format, which is a compilation of short stories with common elements (Private Investigators and food).Some stories were funnier, while others could be described as gritty.A couple of the stories were so good that I wish that they were novels so I could sink into them for the day.Overall, it was a great gift and good reading, but not something that I will read on a regular basis.

Serving Up Murder And Mystery: Hardbroiled
I am not a big fan of anthologies regardless of the genre and much prefer the traditional novel format. However, after previously reading and reviewing "All White Girls" and "Deadly Campaign" by Michael Bracken, I was very interested in reading this anthology, which he edited. I certainly wasn't disappointed.

Dispensing with the usual multi page editor's commentary so often found in anthologies, Editor Bracken allows the reader to delve straight into the works. He selected fourteen stories featuring very different writing styles, but all geared towards the dark shadows of human nature.Each story has a twist at the end as well as in most cases, using food as a theme in one way or another.

This is especially true in the story titled "Munchies" by Jack Bludis. The narrator is out on the town with his girlfriend Sheila after seeing a double feature of"The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep." They go to a local bar and by happenstance meet another couple. Before long, the story goes off in an unexpected direction and the narrator finds out more about himself and Sheila than he ever would have thought.

Stephen D. Rogers also works the food theme in a story that goes to unexpected places entitled "Tough Guy." (He has another story in the book titled "Cheating Heart" as well). The narrator sits down with a kidnapper to negotiate on behalf of the victim and the family over a meal.The kidnapper thinks he has everything under control and for him, is sadly mistaken.

Then there is "Holiday Bonus" by Nick Andreychuk featuring Private Investigator Earl Stack. Someone has been skimming money and Earl has checked everywhere and can't find the money. Everywhere that is except for the holiday turkeys, one per employee, that are supposed to be given out on Friday. Earl had needs of his own and a turkey with all the trimmings would hit the spot.

While I would like to go into great detail concerning each of the other eleven stories that make up this anthology, I can't because of space limitations. However, before you believe that everything in this book is doom and gloom, I have to mention the humor often involved in these works. Several authors have very funny lines in the course of their story, but Linda Summers Posey's story is funny from start to finish.

In "Who Put The Armadillo In The Avocado Dip?" Posey writes a funny tale concerning a fundraiser held by the Alliance of Animal Advocates in Houston, Texas. The narrator is working for Mat Martin Investigations has been hired as security for the fundraiser as well as to protect mattress king Walt Waters during his appearance before the group. But, there is a power struggle within the leadership of the alliance and not everything is right about Walt. I can't do this one any justice as it simply has to be read to be appreciated.

In addition to the authors mentioned above, Tom Sweeney, Dan Sontup, Art Montague, Carol Kilgore, Andrew McAleer, Dorothy Rellas, Kenneth Thornton Samuels and Robert Lopresti all have stories in the book. Each story in the anthology is good and each showcases the author's own style and voice. Each author plants one if not more twists in the story and packs a lot in the few short pages allowed. This anthology was very enjoyable and well worth the read.

Thoroughly enjoyable.
I had forgotten how enjoyable a series of short stories can be!What a great idea, possibly a whole new genre of mysteries foods. Once I began, I became fascinated in intrigued with how each author would integrate food into their story. A very creative group of authors. I hope there is going to be a sequel. ... Read more

Product Description
His father writes confessions and jokes, and the biggest joke of all is his name--Justin Tyme. But Jay, as he prefers to be called, hasn't had much to laugh about in the years since his mother died. His father retreats into an alcohol-hazed world of denial and self-pity, reversing their care-giver roles, and forcing Jay to grow up virtually on his own. Then, they move to O'Shea, where his father manages a mobile home park, and Jay begins yet another year as the "new kid" in school. He has a lot to learn--about life, his father, and himself, but most of all, about love. And it all begins the day Jay meets Cindy Hamilton... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Sweet Book
This was a very sweet book about a boy coming of age and learning forgiveness, love and friendship. A good read.

Excellent Read
Just In Time For Love is an excellent story about a young man's first lessons in love. Boys and girls alike will enjoy this story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Walking The Mean Streets Anthology Style
By now, pretty much everyone is very familiar with the classic detective cliché. The Hardnosed P. I. alone in his office when the beautiful dame (great legs, of course) walks in. Smoke wreathes the ceiling as she folds her long legs under the chair and tells our hero her problem. He can help her he decides and beyond that, there is something she makes him feel that he hasn't felt for a very long time. In this anthology, the cliché is stood on its head and spun around for interesting results.

This anthology, the third f the Fedora series, features seventeen hard-hitting stories of men being hardnosed men, dealing with the evil that walks the mean streets. While it is impossible to cover each story in detail, the selections below reflect a small sampling of the range of stories.

"Ordained Sin" by Carol Kilgore features Nolan Douglas who just ticked off his girlfriend-again. But, a case that falls into his lap just might help him ease back into her good graces as well as allowing him to clean up some human scum. Sometimes the innocents truly do suffer and nothing and no one can save them.

"One Hit Wonder" By J. L. Abramo is an intriguing story of a misdialed phone call.When placing your phone order for a hit, make sure you call the right number and not Jake Diamond of Diamond Investigations.

No anthology would be complete without at least one story about bail bonds and bond jumpers. In this case, read "Kane's Mutiny" by Bev Vincent. Not only is Jimmy Weber on the run with Kane looking for him, Weber's wife wants to help Kane any way she can.

Featuring stories from other excellent writers such as Tom Sweeney, Lee Goldberg, George Wilhite, David Terrenoire, David Bart, James S. Dorr, Chelle Martin, Dorothy Rellas, Ann Aptaker, Nick Andreychuk, Michael Hemmingson, Graham Powell, Kevin Egan and Editor Michael Bracken, interested readers won't find a bad story in the bunch. The tough guys care, whether they show it or not, the women are almost uniformly devious, and the streets and other locations are mean. It's a good thing.

This complete review previously appeared online at Mysterical-E.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
... Read more

Product Description
This companion volume to the highly acclaimed Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (OUP 1989, edited by Iain Chalmers et al.) evaluates the care of newborn infants. Medical research has produced an explosion of new knowledge concerning the causes, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention of diseases of the newborn infant. As the pace of therapeutic innovation quickens, there is an increasing need for efficient access to information concerning the probable effects of therapy. This book meets the urgent demand for a systematic summary of the best available evidence concerning the expected outcomes of therapeutic decisions in neonatology. This revolutionary work consists fundamentally of quantitative reviews of randomized trials of alternative courses of action. It contains some 2000 new analyses of data from the clinical trials literature, representing the vast majority of randomized trials in neonatology. The result is the first systematic review of evidence from randomized clinical trials in this field and an explicit dissection of the research data supporting, or in some cases not supporting, clinical management of the newborn. This book will interest pediatricians, especially neonatologists; obstetricians, especially maternal-fetal medicine specialists; family practitioners; and epidemiologists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect beach read
If you're looking for a good book to stick in your tote bag this summer, be sure to check out this anthology filled with stories by some of today's hottest mystery writers. The characters who are seemingly involved in 'small crimes' soon learn that things aren't always what they seem, and a little mischief can turn into a major disaster. Expect the unexpected with this book! ... Read more

Product Description
To the shadows of what was, what will be and what can never be.Volume No. 4February, 1980DEPARTMENTSReflectionspg 2Graphicspg 17SpotlightMike McQuay Interview and review, pg 47AuroraPortrait of a New Artist Featuring Steve Long61Silhouettespg 90EchoesLetterspg 95STORIESStarfireby Jim Duncanpg 3Thrak, Part IIIby Jeff Morganpg 8Madmen And Mothers-In-Lawby Michael Bracken, pg 29There Was An Old Man And He Lived Near Hellby Robin Kincaidpg 38Baitby Steve Longpg 46Just Desertsby David C. Kopaska-Merkelpg 68The Curatorby Mike McQuaypg 74The Last One Outby Julie Aldersonpg 87POEMSThe Varnan Weaverby B. A. Clarkpg 6Warriorby L. Jeanne Powerspg 32A Midnight Songby Billy Wolfenbargerpg 33Constanceby L. Jeanne Powerspg 36Starexodusby Patricia Dunnpg 37For The Lastby Billy Wolfenbargerpg 45Dirty Agnes, Space Pirateby Julie Aldersonpg 47A Reasonable Propositionby Julie Aldersonpg 71Night Aloneby Jim Greenpg 86FEATURES Interview With Kelly Freasby Dawn Atkinspg 7Weirdbook In Reviewby Cynthia Haldemanpg 16Interview With Allan Dean Fosterby Dawn Atkinspg 26Interview With Richard Pini on Elfquestby Dawn Atkinspg 72 ... Read more

Product Description
To the shadows of what was, what will be and what can never be.Volume No. 6Spring, 1982FEATURESStairtopfictionWritten by Billy WolfingtonIllustrated by Dell HarrisThe Explorers MappoemWritten by Pat DunnIllustrated by Raymond AllardThe Prime of LifepoemWritten by Isaac AsimovIllustrated by Mel WhiteMade in U.S.A.fictionWritten by Lynn WoolleyIllustrated by Mel WhiteThe Prophet SeekersfictionWritten by Gil ReisIllustrated by Dell HarrisScratchespoemWritten by Scott E. GreenIllustrated by Dara & Kevin MatheMore Than Half Dead on Page TwofictionWritten by David Kopaska-MerkelIllustrated by Sat Narn KaurVigilpoemWritten by Leilah WendellIllustrated by Lynne Anne GoodwinCagesfictionWritten by Leilah WendellIllustrated by Kathy BatesColonypoemWritten by L. Jeanne PowersIllustrated by John BorkowskiOne for the GippersfictionWritten by Roberta RogowIllustrated by Randy FarranHeirloomfictionWritten by Michael BrackenIllustrated by David Lee AndersonInsinuating HellpoemWritten by Janet FoxIllustrated by B. J. SummersThe Gift of Life, the Debt of DeathfictionWritten by Geo. W. ProctorIllustrated by S. S. AdkinsTausanns Childcomic serialWritten and Illustrated by Dell HarrisDepartmentsReflections by Dawn AtkinsGraphicsmixed portfolioFeaturing S.S. Adkins, John Borkowski, B. J. Summers & Doug PotterRefractions by Mike McQuayEditorialFiddlebacks"Spotlightclose-up of an authorInterview with Joe and Jack C. Haldeman and a look at their booksAuroraportrait of an artistFeaturing portfolio by and interview with David MartinSilhouettesthe contributorsEchoesletters from our readersThe Critic by Michael BrackenPUBLISHER/EDITOR: Dawn Atkins ... Read more

Product Description
DEADLY CAMPAIGN

Covering City Hall during an election year was all the excitement reporter Dan Fox needed — until he discovered Alderman Bill Franklin’s bullet-ridden body.

Who killed the alderman? Why did they do it? Fox wants the story. Everyone else wants him.

Hit men, mob bosses, politicians, and mistresses:They all have stories to tell, and Fox pieces them together while dodging bullets and fighting deadlines.

While Fox digs for the story, long-hidden secrets rise to the surface — secrets that threaten the political fabric of the city — and Fox soon discovers he’s caught in the middle of a Deadly Campaign. ... Read more

Product Description
There's a serial killer loose in the Windy City -- a stalker picking off prostitutes in the red light district. His victims are ALL WHITE GIRLS ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A unique voice in noir fiction
Michael Bracken has written eight novels and hundreds of short stories published all over the world. He is also virtually unknown to the mystery community as a whole.Perhaps one reason is that, at least,his latest novel, ALL WHITE GIRLS is published by a very small press. Another reason might be that he writes a very dark hard-boiled novel which might not appeal to the majority of mystery and crime readers. In any event, he writes with a unique style and is well worth reading.
In Chicago,former partners, PI Dick Rickenbacher and Homicide Lieutenant Salvador Castellano, are separately involved in cases involving girls of the seedy area of strip clubs. Rickenbacher is hired by a father searching for his eighteen year old daughter. His search takes him to the strip at the same time a female body is found dead in a flop house. Castellano is investigating that one. As we follow Rickenbacher, we are exposed to the underside of life in Chicago. We meet hookers, pimps, alcoholics, drug addicts,killers and the cops who try to keep them straight. In the able hands of Michael Bracken it is a descent into the bowels of hell.
Michael Bracken has a very unique voice in the subgenre of hard-boiled crime fiction. There are only antiheroes here where death is often seen as a release and murder is taken way too casually. There is little in the form of descriptions as the plot moves along rough and tough like a jackhammer tearing up a street. Relationships are temporary and a happy ending is well beyond belief. For a relatively brief novel, Michael Bracken packs quite a whollop. He is not for everybody but if noir fits your taste, don't pass him by. A strong recommendation.

hardboiled noir
This book has a hardboiled detective AND a tough cop. Two cases that intertwine with unexpected twists to a powerful ending. As hardboiled and gritty as they come, this book is highly recommended. And you have to like a guy call Big (...) Richenbacher

Look out for Big Dick!
Big Dick Rickenbacher is the type of hero that attracted me to hardboiled private eye fiction. The same universal justice/moral code that Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe possess has been inherited by Bracken's tough as nails detective. He does what most of us believe we'd do in the same situation ... at least what we hope we'd be able to do. Michael Bracken brings a fresh take on a known storyline. But don't get me wrong, this is a damn good read. If you haven't read a similar story you'll be hard pressed to appreciate the original over Bracken's version. I'm giving it four stars for one reason and one reason only, I could put it down. If 4.9 stars was an option, All White Girls would get it. Buy it, read it, and let your friends know so they can buy it too.

Not for the faint-hearted.
If you like hardboiled mysteries that are tough as shoe leather, brutal as an eye gouge, and raw as a blustery winter's day, then Michael Bracken's "All White Girls" is for you.

In this slim, grim, fast-paced novel, Bracken doesn't just lift the lid to allow you a quick peek at the dirty underbelly of a typical crime-ridden metropolis (here called 'Windy City' to avoid offending any place in particular).Instead, he rips the top off, and shoves the soiled lives and sordid acts of its inhabitants in your face.In "All White Girls," he rubs your nose in humanity's degradation, as though demonstrating that this is what life and violence and death is really all about--and it's a far cry from the sanitized version you see on TV or read in the morning papers.Are you strong enough to take it?

"All White Girls" concerns two parallel threads.One thread connects former police detective Richard "Big Dick" Rickenbacher, now acting as a private investigator, who searches for a missing teenaged girl lost in the city.The other thread ties Rickenbacher's former partner on the force, Lieutenant Salvador Castellano, to an unidentified young woman savagely butchered in a hotel room.Both men slouch through the seediest parts of the city, turning over rocks to reveal a colorful assortment of human vermin in their quest for answers to their separate cases.In the course of their individual investigations, Rickenbacher's and Castellano's paths cross with regularity, and the story's threads begin to converge. There are plenty of suspects to be grilled, blind alleys to be trod, and red herrings to be disposed of as the two men spiral closer to the truth.Once you get past the gore and sleaze, you're in for a pretty good mystery puzzle with an unexpected conclusion.

The cast that populates "All White Girls" is a mixed bag.Major characters, like Rickenbacher and Castellano, are well drawn and fully realized.Secondary characters are less well defined and for the most part could have come from Central Casting.One, Sheriff Bubba Rogers of Bullfrog Junction, Mississippi, is a cartoon-like stereotype, whom mercifully the reader is only briefly exposed to.The setting--itself a character--however, provides ample compensation.Nightclubs and cafes and strip joints and the feel of a big city after dark are detailed with photographic clarity, and imbued with poignancy, like a Hopper painting.

Bracken's prose, as always throughout a prolific crime writing career spanning more than two decades, is direct and vigorous, with the impact of a blunt object laid across your skull.He minces no words, pulls no punches, and conceals nothing in coy euphemism.Yet within the stark description and matter-of-fact narration lurk traces of rough humor and glittering lines as sharp as a shard of a broken beer bottle thrust into the throat.

Reading "All White Girls" may leave you feeling in need of a cleansing bath--or perhaps a good fumigation.But the story and its imagery will not be easily washed from your memory.

All White Girls
ALL WHITE GIRLS is a face-paced thriller that keeps the reader turning pages.

When Big Dick Rickenbacher was accused of using brute force to apprehend a killer, he quits the force and becomes a 'contract for hire' and he has his own method of dealing the criminals.

Bracken, a masterful story teller, introduces several characters who are likely candidates for the murderer, but not until the last few remaining pages does he reveal the real killer.

Great read!This is my first time reading Michael Bracken, but ALL WHITE GIRLS made me a fan. ... Read more

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Jenny Ford, living with her married sister while attending college, has an affair with her sister’s husband, John, at the same time she’s sleeping with a classmate named Martin.

Jenny ends up pregnant and learns that John has herpes. After all the things she’s done to ruin other people’s lives, what will become of hers?
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While stealing the contents of a file folder, a B&E man witnesses a mob killing. Then his life gets complicated.

Michael Bracken is the author of eleven books, including the hardboiled private eye novel All White Girls. His short crime fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Espionage Magazine, Flesh & Blood: Guilty as Sin, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, and many other anthologies and periodicals.
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Melissa Grant, the 25-year-old owner of a tack shop, is disgusted with the way the new riding instructor at Rocking Horse Stables treats her classmates during their first lesson, and her attempt to confront him is thwarted when she bursts into his apartment over the observation room and finds him half-undressed.

Will an escalating series of attractions and repulsions set against the backdrop of the riding stable where Hans Edelmann teaches and the narrator has her shop--including their preparations for the annual competition at Stallion Stables, the pending sale of Rocking Horse Stables, and the narrator’s mistaken belief that Edelmann is interested in an older woman--lead to true love?

About the Author:

Michael Bracken is the author of the young adult romance Just in Time for Love and hundreds of romance short stories published in New Love Stories, True Confessions, True Experience, True Love, True Romance, and True Story. ... Read more