IT IS ALL FUN & GAMES

"All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality - the story of an escape"
A.C Benson
Brought to you by chapter 16 of Duane Swierczynski's FUN & GAMES

For ten years now, Ive been escaping with this writer. Stealing moments and sharing adventure. I cannot even remember who suggested the writer Duane Swiercynski to me first. It could have been anyone of a dozen people. Was it Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Jason Starr? It might have been Vicki Hendricks, Sean Doolittle, Victor Gischler or Neal Anthony Smith. Was it Laura Lippman? It may have been an e-mail from Houston's Murder by the Book. Perhaps it was Sandra Ruttan....Hell, it could have been his publisher. Or..

What's remarkable about Duane and his first book, SECRET DEAD MEN is that I'm quite sure I heard about it from all the people on the above list before the second round of arcs (Advanced reading copies) were out and this was in the days before Crimespree. It was before twitter and facebook. People were so happy with this book they were suggesting it to everyone they knew who they thought would enjoy it. This is a book people wanted to share.

And we haven't looked back.

Images float through my mind; a drink in an airport bar, a deserted toy store, a bowl of potato salad, a downsized reporter drinking beer on a stoop, a bunch of geezers. It's all great and some of it is glorious. Swierczynski's latest published book EXPIRATION DATE is up for the 2010 Edgar.

EXPIRATION DATE a wonderful book that looks at relationships, crimes, the pharmaceutical industry, and our ability to make choices. It's a locked room mystery with a bottle of tylenol in charge of the plot. There's time travel (sci-fi) and the scary man who lived down the hall (horror). It is an un-put-downable book that demands more & more credibility with each new and often bizarre twist.

Duane Swierczynski is one of the great new writers who believes there aren't just three motives and a limited number of plots. He allows you into his books with a touch of noir and a dash of whimsy, grabs you and doesn't let you go.

When Mr. Swierczynski started writing books (the first a non-fiction entitled THE BIG BOOK OF BEER) he was a reporter working the daily deadline beat. A steady gig with Marvel Comics allowed him to begin working from home. A couple of conversations, an ability to absorb and distill pop culture, and a discipline for the written word have brought us to a new publishing house and a new era....

Duane Swierczynski & Charlie Hardie

presented by Mulholland Books
featuring Hollywood
introducing "The Accident People"

I was all in with the idea of a Swierczynski trilogy from the moment the first news leaked into my ears. After reading it? I have all the chips.

Ex policeman/ house sitter Charlie Hardie takes a gig in L.A. looking after a screenwriter's house. He doesn't do plants or animals. He secures the house.

Starlet Lane Madden takes a late night drive.

All Hell is about to break out.

Someone's written an equation for Murder and Charlie is that unknown variable.

What's in the duffle bag?

Impaling, martial arts, poison, fire, secret rooms.... Hollywood.

This book has it all.

Duane creates a world we can see. FUN & GAMES is a conspiracy book to rival my favorite conspiracy movie, The Parallax View. I declare this book fastest read of the year. I want part two, HELL & GONE now.

Why am I teasing you with a book you won't see drop until June? It's simple. I'm so happy with this book I'm suggesting it to everyone I think will enjoy it now. That's the entire blogoshere people. Thanks for the escape Duane.

Visit Duane at Secret Dead Blog & take a look at Mulholland Books a remarkable new brand in Crime Fiction

(exclamation points controlled in honor of my favorite Hachette editor)