Frank Sinatra in a Blender

Ken Bruen provides an introduction to McBride's debut romp, which features Nick Valentine, a St. Louis PI who downs weird combinations of alcohol and pills; loves his Yorkshire terrier, Frank Sinatra; and helps cops and crooks with equal, if spaced out, panache. A well-planned, poorly executed credit union robbery leaves a fortune missing and in the hands of a tweaker (meth user) called Telly. After robbery mastermind Joe Parker charges his vicious henchmen, Sid Godwin and Johnny No Nuts, with retrieving the loot, Valentine throws in with thieves Big Tony Sparrow and Doyle to get there first. At the same time, Valentine has also promised to help ace police detective Ron Beachy solve a related crime. High-octane, casually brutal action keeps the story slipping and sliding through the icy winter streets with touches of macabre humor providing laughter even amid the carnage. Fans of offbeat characters and grisly noir are in for a treat.

Matthew McBride is the author of A Swollen Red Sun and the cult classic Frank Sinatra in a Blender. Originally from rural Missouri, he now lives in California. Follow him at @matthewjmcbride.