Tag: Charles Salzberg

Guest Post: Charles Salzberg – MAN ON THE RUN

Happy Friday, my bookish peeps. Every day there seems to be a news story about a new strain of Covid-19 making an appearance somewhere in the world. I’m hoping and praying that none of these new strains are as deadly as the first. Unlike many people, I actually enjoyed the “shutdown.” I stayed home and read books, lots and lots of books. The solitude was a delight for this introvert. I know, many of you had to deal with new work dynamics, not to mention childcare and education dynamics. We all learned how to cope with this new “normal.” I’m honored to welcome back Charles Salzberg, author of Man On the Run. Mr. Salzberg will be sharing the impact of the pandemic on his writing. Thank you, Mr. Salzberg, for returning to visit with us, the blog is now all yours.

How the Pandemic Played an Important Role in My Latest Novel
by Charles Salzberg

The Covid pandemic upended many lives but for someone like me who’s spent most of his adult life as a freelance writer, it was a piece of cake. After all, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that sheltering in place is something I’ve been rehearsing for all my life.

Staying home was no longer simply a suggestion. Now it was a sign of doing our patriotic duty, making sure our fellow citizens remain safe and Covid-free.

But after a while, even for me, a self-proclaimed expert at finding plenty to do within the confines of my apartment, it became a little challenging in terms of filling the time. I mean, how many Zoom lunches, or Zoom catch-ups, can one person abide?

Of course, there were the usual activities: Reading. Surfing the web. Hop-scotching between one streaming service to another, starting with A for Apple and going through P for Peacock and S for Starz, the opportunities were mind-shattering. Even doing some writing (although, to be honest, I don’t think I got any more writing done being home all day than I did pre-pandemic).

But occasionally, even the eyes need a rest and I yearned for something a little more relaxing. Something where I could lie back, close my eyes, and just…listen. And that’s how I discovered podcasts.

It wasn’t like I’d never listened to a podcast before. Like most of the country, I was hooked by Serial, the New York Times deep-dive by Sarah Koenig into the Adnan Syed murder case. And I’d been a guest on a couple of podcasts which I certainly didn’t listen to (nor, I’m guessing, were there many others who bothered to tune in). But as a steady diet? No way.

But Covid changed all that. I started hunting down true crime podcasts and was shocked to find there was a seemingly never-ending supply. I’d listen to one, which would inevitably lead to another and another and…well, you get the idea. Eventually, I was led to non-crime podcasts that offer a host of interesting topics. The search for Richard Simmons, Y2K, (Dan Taberski), Pod Save America, January 6th, the first 1993 bombing of the World Trade Building, the list is endless. And the thing of it is, much of the original reporting is first-rate.

I’m never surprised at the bottomless well of cases to talk about, injustices to uncover, mysteries to solve, but what did surprise me was the professionalism of the podcasts and the podcasters. It’s a legitimate form of journalism and, as a former magazine journalist, I was impressed, no make that extremely impressed, by the sheer, dogged, investigative work that goes into these podcasts.

And here’s how the pandemic eventually had an effect on what I was going to write next.

As soon as I finish a novel, I don’t like to put too much daylight between that ending and a new beginning. I’d finished Canary in the Coal Mine and was waiting for my next project to knock on my door. For some reason, my mind kept drifting back to the novel before Canary, Second Story Man, featuring the master burglar Francis Hoyt. Spoiler alert: at the end of that novel, Hoyt manages to elude the authorities and enters a new life as a man on the run. I had no intention of writing another book with Hoyt as the main character, but for some reason, he just wouldn’t relax his grip on me. I kept wondering, what happens to him now? Where does he go? What does he do with himself?

The only way to find out was to start to write about him, which is exactly what I did. I moved him out to the West Coast, and I even figured out what his next “job” would be, but I knew that wasn’t enough. I needed something else. And that’s where what I did during the pandemic came in handy. What if, I asked myself (the question every writer winds up asking), there’s this true crime podcaster and she decides the next subject she’s going to tackle is the legendary burglar, Francis Hoyt? And what if Hoyt found out someone was investigating his life and would then air it for all the world to hear? What would he do about it?

Thus was born Dakota Richards, a former newspaper crime reporter turned podcaster. But I knew virtually nothing about the ins and outs of the profession and so I reached out to the reporter/producer for one of my favorites, Murder in Oregon, Lauren Bright Pacheco. Unsurprisingly, (journalists are usually very helpful, especially to other writers) Lauren immediately returned my email and agreed to answer a whole bunch of questions about the profession. What kind of equipment do you use? How many people are involved in the production of a podcast and what do they do?

And so, with the help of Lauren, I hope I was able to create a compelling character and an impressive figure for Hoyt to spar with. And if I have been successful, I owe a lot of that success to Covid-19. ♦

Man on the Run

by Charles Salzberg

April 17 – May 12, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Man on the Run by Charles Salzberg

Master burglar Francis Hoyt is on the run.

After walking away from his arraignment in a Connecticut courtroom, he’s now a fugitive who has to figure out what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. And so, he heads west, to Los Angeles, where he meets Dakota, a young true crime podcaster who happens to be doing a series on Hoyt. At the same time, he’s approached by a mysterious attorney who makes Hoyt an offer he can’t refuse: break into a “mob bank” and liberate the contents.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime
Published by: Down & Out Books
Publication Date: April 17, 2023
Number of Pages: 340
ISBN: 9781643963075 (Paperback)
ASIN: B0BXFPFYMB (Kindle edition)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Down & Out Books

Praise for Man on the Run:

“The stakes couldn’t be higher as the cat and mouse game moves to the Left Coast in Salzberg’s compelling Man on the Run. A superb mix of action, suspense, psychopathology.”

“One part heist movie, one part psychological thriller, three parts great character and blend. Salzberg’s superb Man on the Run will keep your head spinning from the first page to the last.”
~ Reed Farrel Coleman

“Man on the Run grips you from the opening page and doesn’t let go. The plot will leave you breathless with anticipation as a master burglar and a crime podcaster try to outwit and outmaneuver each other before an outrageous heist. There’s nothing better than smart characters, with smart dialogue, going head to head. You won’t want to miss a twist or turn.”
~ Michael Wiley, Shamus Award-winning writer of the Sam Kelson mysteries

“Francis Hoyt, Charles Salzberg’s brilliant burglar anti-hero from SECOND STORY MAN, is back on the prowl in Man on the Run. Old-school crime meets the podcast age as Hoyt tangles with a true-crime reporter as well as fellow felons and the law. Like his hero, Salzberg is a total pro who always brings it home.”
~ Wallace Stroby, author of HEAVEN’S A LIE

“Charles Salzberg is a genius at not only crafting a helluva page-turner of a heist novel, but he also manages to make the reader care about Francis Hoyt, master burglar and pathological narcissist. Hoyt is the man on the run, and the story of how he eludes the law, the mob, and a retired cop who has become his personal nemesis packs a solid punch and leaves you rooting for the guy who’d steal your family jewels without breaking a sweat.”
~ James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle WWII mystery series

“When it comes to Charles Salzberg’s work, you can expect a hard-edged story, crisp dialogue, and memorable characters. This is certainly true — and then some! – in his latest, Man on the Run. Featuring master burglar Francis Hoyt, a tough and intelligent criminal who can’t seem to turn down tempting criminal scores despite the inherent danger, Man on the Run features a true-crime podcast host, a criminal fence, and an investigator hot on the trail of Francis Hoyt as his most challenging and dangerous burglary comes into play. Very much recommended.”
~ Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

“It’s a battle of wits and nerves as a cop, a robber, and a journalist dance around each other weaving a tapestry of deceit and suspense. Salzberg’s dialogue flows like water until it finds truth in this most entertaining read.”
~ Matt Goldman, New York Times bestselling author

“Smart, sly and compelling, with a fascinating main character – the very definition of intelligent suspense.”
~ Lee Child

Author Bio:

Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg, a former magazine journalist (New York magazine, Esquire, Redbook, New York Times, and others) and nonfiction book writer (From Set Shot to Slam Dunk, an oral history of the NBA, and Soupy Sez; My Zany Life and Times with Soupy Sales), has been nominated twice for the Shamus Award for Swann’s Last Song and Second Story Man, which also won the Beverly Hills Book Award. His novel Devil in the Hole was named one of the Best Crime Novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine. He is the author of Canary in the Coal Mine and his short stories have appeared in Mystery Tribune, Down to the River, Lawyers, and Guns and Money. He’s been a Visiting Professor Magazine at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and he teaches writing in New York City for the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a Founding Member. He’s also on the Board of PrisonWrites and is a former Board Member of MWA-NY.

Catch Up With Charles:
www.CharlesSalzberg.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @charlessalzberg
Twitter – @CharlesSalzberg
Facebook – @charles.salzberg.3
YouTube – @CharlesSalzberg

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Guest Post: Charles Salzberg – CANARY IN THE COAL MINE

Good day, book people. I’m a curious reader. I often wonder how publishing companies or authors come up with book covers. Who decided that illustrated (or as I like to call them, cartoon covers) were the way to go with some genres? How does the author choose the perfect name for each character? Who comes up with the title and what’s that process like? See, told you…curious! Fortunately, most authors will explain the inner workings of their minds and writing processes. Today, we’re fortunate enough to have Charles Salzberg, author of Canary in the Coal Mine return for a visit and he’ll be sharing his process for titling his books. I hope you’ll enjoy what he has to say, add Canary in the Coal Mine to your never-ending TBR list, and follow the tour to learn more about this book and author. Thank you, Mr. Salzberg, for taking the time to come back and share your insights into titling a book, I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

A Rose By Any Other Name
Charles Salzberg

 

Every book requires a title. Sounds easy, right?

Not so fast. For me, titles are particularly difficult. On occasion, they come easy. But that occasion is very rare. Sometimes, I’m lucky and it comes to me before I start writing a book. Other times, it doesn’t come till I’m halfway into it. And still others, even when the book is finished, I’m not satisfied with the title.

Titles are a tricky thing because in many instances the title is essential because it’s what first appeals (or doesn’t) to prospective readers.

Years ago, I got an opportunity to meet one of my writing heroes, Bruce Jay Friedman. I first found Friedman’s work when I read what I consider his comic masterpiece, Stern, which came out about the same time as another favorite of mine, Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint. Friedman eventually made it out to Hollywood where he wrote screenplays like Splash. I got a chance to chat with him about writing and the subject of titles came up, and he told me this story.

In the 1950s and early ’60s, many writers who came to New York, found themselves working at the so-called men’s magazines—don’t think Esquire, think much lower-brow than that. Friedman wound up editing one of those magazines and one of his writers was a fellow named Mario Puzo. At the time, Puzo was working on a novel about the Mafia. When he finished, he went to his friend (and boss) Friedman and asked him what he thought of the title of his new work: The Godfather. Friedman thought a moment, then shook his head and said, “No. I don’t think so. Too domestic.”

Obviously, Puzo ignored his advice.

Several years ago, I had a student Joel, who was writing a memoir about his experience in Israel. He grew up in Chicago, and for some reason, he idolized the Israeli army—it was probably because of the rescue they pulled off in Entebbe. Anyway, he eventually moved to New York City to make it as a comedian and he acquired an Israeli girlfriend. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but he decided to move to Israel. Once there, he tried to join the Israeli army. At first, he was turned down, because although he was Jewish, his mother had converted to the Jewish faith. Once it was established that she was converted by an orthodox rabbi, he was allowed to join. Alas, the Israeli army he idolized as a kid wasn’t the army he was experiencing. He was 25-years old, but most of his fellow soldiers were 18 or 19 and, think Keystone Kops, didn’t know their right from their left.

Ultimately, he made it through basic training and he was assigned to a tank parked on the Lebanese border. Their job was to look for Hezbollah, their arch enemies. There were three people in the tank. He was the spotter, there was a driver, and then there was the fellow who actually fired their artillery. One night, wearing night goggles, Joel spotted something moving in the distance. He yelled out, “Hezbollah!” and the fellow manning the artillery cranked it up. But before he could fire, Joel saw the figure sit down and start scratching itself. It wasn’t a Hezbollah, but a dog! “Stop! It’s a dog,” he screamed, but it was too late. The tank fired and I’m assuming that poor dog was obliterated.

Fast forward years later and Joel finished his memoir of those years and called it, The Unluckiest Dog in Lebanon, which I think was a great title. He got a publishing contract and one day in class he said to me, “they’re changing the title.” “Why,” I asked. “Because they say people will think it’s a book about dogs.” “You should only be so lucky, Joel,” I said. “Because dog books sell very well.” The title they changed it to was The 188th Crybaby Brigade, which I think is nowhere near as good.

My own history with titles is spotty. Sometimes, they come easily, sometimes not. Several years ago, I was working on a novel based on a true crime. A man murdered his wife, three kids, mother, and the family dog and then disappeared into thin air. I was having trouble finding a title but finally settled on Skin Deep. It was a title I was never happy with because it sounded to me like a bad porn film title. The book was finished and I was walking down the street, listening to my iPod when a Tom Waits song called Keep the “Devil in the Hole.” I stopped in my tracks. That’s how Devil in the Hole was born, which I think is a far better title.

Once my first novel, Swann’s Last Song, came out and I decided to make it into a series, I knew that all I had to do was somehow come up with something that had Swann in the title. Hence, Swann Dives In, Swann’s Lake of Despair, Swann’s Down, and Swann’s Way Out. After five in the series, I ran out of catchy titles using the word Swann, and so I shut down the series.

The title of my novel, Second Story Man, about a master burglar, came pretty easily. I liked it because not only is that what burglars are often called, but also because the book is told by three different characters, including the thief, thereby alluding to the “story” in the title.

My latest novel is Canary in the Coal Mine and unlike others, this one came pretty easily, because on the first page the protagonist, Pete Fortunato, wakes up with a bad taste in his mouth. This usually portends something bad which for me immediately translated into “canary in the coal mine” (miners used to send a canary into the mine shafts to make sure there were no poisonous gases. If the canary died, they knew not to go down there until it was cleaned up.)

On the other hand, I’m almost 20,000 words into my next novel and I still don’t have a title I’m happy with. ♦

Canary In the Coal Mine

by Charles Salzberg

April 18 – May 13, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Canary In the Coal Mine by Charles Salzberg

PI Pete Fortunato, half-Italian, half-Jewish, who suffers from anger management issues and insomnia, wakes up one morning with a bad taste in his mouth. This is never a good sign. Working out of a friend’s downtown real estate office, Fortunato, who spent a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town, lives from paycheck to paycheck. So, when a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes. Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband in the apartment of his client’s young, stud lover. He’s been shot once in the head. Case closed. But when his client’s check bounces, and a couple of Albanian gangsters show up outside his building and kidnap him, hoping he’ll lead them to a large sum of money supposedly stolen by the dead man, he begins to realize there’s a good chance he’s been set up to take the fall for the murder and the theft of the money.

In an attempt to get himself out of a jam, Fortunato winds up on a wild ride that takes him down to Texas where he searches for his client’s lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder.

Praise for Canary In the Coal Mine:

“Salzberg has hit it out of the park. Love the writing style, and the story really draws you in. As with Salzberg’s prior works, he has a knack for making his heroes real, which makes their jeopardy real, too. So, say hello to Pete Fortunato, a modern PI who thinks on his feet and has moves that read like the noir version of Midnight Run.”
—Tom Straw, author of the Richard Castle series (from the ABC show) and Buzz Killer

“Salzberg writes hardboiled prose from a gritty stream of conscious. Peter Fortunato is an old school PI to be reckoned with.”
—Sam Wiebe, award-winning author of Invisible Dead and Never Going Back

“Charles Salzberg’s Canary in the Coal Mine is everything a reader wants in a great crime novel, and then some. The rat-a-tat cadence of the noir masters, seamlessly blended with the contemporary sensibilities of an author thoroughly in control of his craft. I liked this book so much I read it twice. No kidding. It’s that good.”
—Baron R. Birtcher, multi-award winning and Los Angeles Times bestselling author

“Charles Salzberg has created a fantastic literary PI: Pete Fortunato. Rash, blunt and prone to violence, you can’t help but turn the page to see what Fortunato will do next. Canary in the Coal Mine is great!” —James O. Born, New York Times bestselling author

Book Details:

Genre: Crime/Noir
Published by: Down & Out Books
Publication Date: April 18, 2022
Number of Pages: 276
ISBN-10: 1643962515 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781643962511 (paperback)
ASIN: ‎ B09Q6418PX (Kindle edition)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: IndieBound.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | BookDepository.com | Bookshop.org | Down & Out Books

Author Bio:

Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg is a former magazine journalist and nonfiction book writer. His novels Swann’s Last Song (the first of the five Henry Swann novels) and Second Story Man were nominated for Shamus Awards and the latter was the winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award. Devil in the Hole was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. His work has also appeared in several anthologies as well as Mystery Tribune. He is a former professor of magazine at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University, and he teaches writing in New York City. He is one of the Founding Members of New York Writers Workshop, and is a member of the Board of PrisonWrites and formerly a board member for MWA-NY.

Catch Up With Charles:
www.CharlesSalzberg.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @CharlesSalzberg
Twitter – @CharlesSalzberg

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
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Guest Post: Charles Salzberg – SWANN’S DOWN

Swann's Down by Charles Salzberg Banner


Good day, book people. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. If you’re like me, you’ve probably read quite a few books that are part of a series. And also like me, you’ve probably wondered how the author determines when or if a series should end. Today, I’m pleased to welcome Charles Salzberg, author of the Henry Swann detective/noir/mystery series including the latest release Swann’s Down, and he’ll be discussing the author’s choice behind continuing or ending a series. Thank you, Mr. Salzberg, for taking the time to stop by today and sharing with us. I hope you all will enjoy Mr. Salzberg’s information, read more about Swann’s Down, and add this series and book to your TBR list.




Author’s Choice
Charles Salzberg


All good things (and some bad, though they seem to take much longer) must come to an end. 

For those of us who write series, it’s sometimes difficult to admit when the end is near. 

Some writers, when they start a book already have a series in mind. You do this for several reasons. One, because you like the character and enjoy writing about him or her. Two, because your editor flatters you by insisting you keep going.  Three, because there’s unfinished business when it comes to the character. And four, and this is probably the most important reason of all, you’ve actually amassed a hardcore fan base that demands you keep going. 

In terms of the latter, it’s not really the fans who determine the longevity of your series, but rather sales.  I have a number of friends who, after the third book in their series (publishing “wisdom” is that a series needs at least three books before it catches on if it’s going to catch on) were dropped by the publisher. It rarely has anything to do with quality. It’s almost always an economic decision. If you’re lucky, and it is a matter of luck because editors and agents tell us that once you’ve started a series with one publisher it’s very unlikely that another one will pick up the series. This, too, is an economic decision. Unless you come armed with the rights to the previous books in the series, the new publisher will have no control and no long-term economic interest in the series.

It’s too bad because by the third book most authors have finally begun to figure out their main character. They know how he or she thinks. They know how he or she will react in certain situations. And if you’re a good writer you can see that your writing and story-telling is getting better with each installment. Your characters stop existing in a fictional world but start to exist in the “real” world. I know, I know, people are committed for this tenuous hold on reality, but writers may be the exception.

In my case, the Swann series came about by accident. Not only did I have no intention of writing a sequel, but I had no intention of writing another crime novel. You can tell by the title of that first one. It wasn’t Swann’s First Song but rather, Swann’s Last Song. Would I have used that title if I had any inkling that it would be anything other than one and out? Not a chance. 

So, what happened? I won’t go into the checkered history of the manuscript, that it sat in my desk for almost twenty-five years before I decided to send it out again. The reason was the ending. Or rather the non-ending. Detectives are supposed to solve the crime, putting a chaotic world back together. But in the original Swann, the detective follows all the clues but it doesn’t lead him to the solution. Instead, he finds that the world doesn’t make that kind of sense. In fact, the world is in a state of chaos, and although we do find out who committed the murder that sets the book in motion, it has nothing to do with all the clues Swann follows diligently, across the continent and then across the world. 

But when I agreed to change the ending, a publisher agreed to publish the book. Meanwhile, I was onto something else. But when the book came out and was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel, my world changed. I didn’t win, but I did get pissed off enough to care myself to keep writing them until I won something or ran out of catchy titles.

Swann’s Down is the latest in the series and most probably the last. I’ve learned to never say never, but I am pretty certain about this. First, I think I’ve taken the character about as far as he can go. And I want to quit before the books become formulaic, which would pretty much take the fun out of writing them. And they have been fun.

Swann has been good to me. He’s allowed me to write about all sorts of things I was interested in. The world of rare books. The art world. The crazy world of Hollywood. Broken Hearts. Collectible photography. The world of rare artifacts. And now, in Swann’s Down, the spirit world. He’s allowed me to write about ethics and morality—especially in Swann’s Down when he’s hired to find a missing witness who might give an alibi to a notorious hitman. 

But now it’s time to move on to other things, other characters. I love the world of crime simply because it allows me to write about anything I want, especially human nature. I’m halfway through a novel with another PI, one who’s very, very different from Swann. And I had so much fun writing the complicated, evil character of master burglar Francis Hoyt, that I’m seriously thinking of writing a spin-off centering around him. And there’s more.

With so much on my plate, I’m not sad about leaving Henry Swann. He’ll be fine without me. And I want to thank him for opening the door into a literary world I never would have found without him.

And so, Henry, it’s not goodbye, because he’ll always live in those five books and also in my mind, but rather, “it’s been a fun ride, pal, and see you around.”





Author Bio:



Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in New York magazine, Esquire, GQ, Redbook, The New York Times Book Review and other periodicals. He has written over 20 non-fiction books, including From Set Shot to Slam Dunk, an oral history of the NBA, and Soupy Sez: My Zany Life and Times. He is author of the Shamus Award nominated Swann’s Last Song, Swann Dives In, Swann’s Lake of Despair, nominated for two Silver Falchions, Swann’s Way Out, Devil in the Hole, named one of the best crime novels of the year by Suspense Magazine. He was a Visiting Professor of Magazine at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and he teaches writing the New York Writers Workshop where he is a Founding Member. He is a member of the MWA-NY Board.


Catch Up With Charles Salzberg On:


Charlessalzberg.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!




Swann's Down by Charles Salzberg Banner

Swann’s Down

by Charles Salzberg

on Tour May 1 – June 30, 2019


Synopsis:


Swann's Down by Charles Salzberg


When Henry Swann is asked by his quirky partner, Goldblatt, to find a missing psychic who’s swindled his ex-wife out of a small fortune, he just can’t say no. Although he doesn’t actually expect to get paid, he figures it might give him a chance to finally learn more about his partner’s mysterious past. His search takes him into the controversial, arcane world of psychics, fortune tellers, and charlatans while raising questions in his own mind about whether or not there is an after-life.

While working his partner’s case, he’s approached by a former employer, attorney Paul Rudder, to track down a missing witness who might be able to provide an alibi for his client, Nicky Diamond, a notorious mob hitman who’s scheduled to go on trial for murder he claims he didn’t commit in a week. Swann’s search for the missing witness, who happens to be the defendant’s girlfriend, takes him from Brooklyn to a small beach town across the Bay from Mobile, Ala. But what does she really know and will she even come back with him to testify for her boyfriend?



Book Details:


Genre: Detective/Noir/Mystery
Published by: Down & Out Books
Publication Date: May 14, 2019
Number of Pages: 300
ISBN: 978-1-64396011-1
Series:Henry Swann
Purchase Links: Amazon | BN.com | Goodreads




Praise for Swann’s Down:



“Psychics, double-crosses, missing persons–Charles Salzberg’s latest Henry Swann book has it all. Swann’s Down is a gritty, no-frills PI novel that brings to mind greats like Reed Farrel Coleman’s Moe Prager and Michael Harvey’s Michael Kelly. Whether this is your first Swann adventure or the latest, you won’t want to miss the brass-knuckle punch that is Swann’s Down. Trust me.”
~ Alex Segura, author of Blackout and Dangerous Ends


“From Manhattan to Coney Island to the steamy shores of Alabama, Charles Salzberg delivers a top-flight mystery with his latest Henry Swann outing. Highly recommended.”
~  Tom Straw, New York Times bestselling author as Richard Castle


Swann’s Down gives readers two intriguing mysteries for the price of one, as skip tracer Henry Swann pursues a woman who might alibi a murderer and a psychic who swindled the ex-wife of Swann’s partner. Shamus Award-nominated Salzberg does a superb job cutting between the two investigations. I kept turning pages to stay with both chases as the suspense increased to the very end. Whatever is going on, Swann is at the center of this story. His wry wit, quotes from authors and philosophers, genius for questioning suspects, and dark past make him a character readers will follow anywhere as he seeks his quarry. This is another thrilling addition to this excellent series.
~ Rich Zahradnik, Lights Out Summer, winner of the 2018 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Private Eye Novel


Henry Swann dives in where others fear to tread in Swann’s Down: Fast. Funny. And Smart. This time out, Swann crosses paths with a psycho hitman, a phony psychic and Swann’s mysterious partner, a disbarred lawyer. Who could ask for more? I hope we’ll see a lot more of Swann in the future and that this isn’t Swann’s swan song.
~ Paul D. Marks, Shamus Award-winning Author of White Heat and Broken Windows.




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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Charles Salzberg. There will be 6 giveaway winners. There will be 1 Grand Prize winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. There will be five (5) 2nd Prize winners of one (1) Print Edition of Swann’s Down (U.S. Mailing Addresses only). The giveaway begins on May 1, 2019, and runs through July 2, 2019. Void where prohibited.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
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