Twenty years after the appearance of his first published short story, One Hit Wonder, Shamus Award-winner J.L. Abramo has assembled a collection of his previously published short crime fiction along with never before published stories and writings about writing in this anthology. From the streets of Brooklyn and Denver; from Los Angeles to San Francisco; from private eyes and police detectives to con men and mob bosses; from mystery to thriller to noir; Abramo's short stories display a vivid sense of location and a masterful understanding of the triumphs and tragedies of characters on both sides of the law. Critical Acclaim for J.L. Abramo "Jake Diamond is back and it feels like the return of an old friend. One of my all-time favorite PI series." —Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning author of The Lock Artist "Think it is impossible to find a new take on the wise-cracking San Francisco PI? Meet Jake Diamond and think again." —S.J....

A roller-coaster ride worthy of Coney Island...On an afternoon in early February, the neighborhood is stunned and horrified when the lifeless body of an eight-year-old boy is discovered abandoned on the roof of an apartment building.The body has been mysteriously mutilated.No clues, no witnesses, no apparent reason.When a second boy is found two days later in the same condition, Homicide Detectives Samson, Vota and Murphy of Brooklyn's 61st Precinct quickly deduce that the two boys were victims of the same killer.The brutal murders of the two young boys have Samson questioning his strength as a protector of his children and his continued commitment to law enforcement.Vota searches for a homeless man who may be witness to a fatal street shooting.Murphy is trying to locate his brother, a suspect in a robbery homicide, before the situation turns much worse.A killer who believes he is following a mandate from God is handing out Old Testament retribution to those he identifies as...

The follow-up to the award winning Catching Water in a Net...Lefty Wright had it all figured. In fact he was doing the math as he crawled into the deserted house through the kitchen window. Get to the bedroom, crack open the wall safe, grab the envelope, fifteen minutes. One thousand dollars a minute. Nice score.What Lefty neglected to factor in were the unknowns. And when the police nab him red-handed and discover the dead body of a prominent Criminal Courts Judge stuffed beneath the bed, Lefty finds himself charged with first degree murder with no shoes, no one believing in his innocence, and one phone call. He calls Jake Diamond.In his second outing, Diamond attempts to prove Lefty's innocence while investigating a recent kidnapping and a fifteen year old homicide which may or may not be related to Lefty's dilemma. From San Francisco to the avocado fields of central California to the sound stages of a film shoot in Denver, Diamond's suspects seem to have one thing...

In this award-winning debut, San Francisco PI Jake Diamond is a hero who plays both sides of the Private Eye street. He is a careless dresser with a sloppy lifestyle and he couldn't keep his marriage from falling apart. But he also epitomizes the best of the modern shamus. He has the kinds of friends a man in his profession needs-jailbirds, mob bosses, and a cop who can surreptitiously run license plate numbers for him.Jake has been down on his luck lately, barely making enough money to pay the bills and it looks like business might finally be picking up. A woman comes to his office begging him to find her missing husband who has been accused of murder. Jake remembers that his mentor Jimmy Pigeon always says "Whenever I'm asked to locate a missing spouse, the words 'no, but thanks for asking' always come to mind" and almost turns the case down, but then he learns that the murder victim was Jimmy Pigeon.Determined to discover the identity of...

The dog days of August in Brooklyn and the detectives of the 61st Precinct are battling to keep all hell from breaking loose.Innocents are being sacrificed in the name of greed, retribution, passion and the lust for power — and the only worthy opponent of this senseless evil is the uncompromising resolve to rise above it, rather than descend to its depths.The heart pounding sequel to the acclaimed novel GRAVESEND — from Shamus Award-winning author J.L. Abramo — CONEY ISLAND AVENUE continues the dramatic account of the professional and personal struggles that constitute everyday life for the dedicated men and women of the Six-One — and of the saints and sinners who share their streets.

BROOKLYN JUSTICE is a wild ride through the streets of the Borough of Churches. Private investigator Nick Ventura knows trouble — but not how to keep his nose out of it. A pool of blood spreading across a casino poker table, a Buick plowing through a storefront with a dead detective aboard, a fatal rendezvous in the shadow of a Coney Island landmark, a childhood friend gunned down walking his dog in the wrong place at the wrong time, a film distributor who thinks he can get away with murder through intimidation and violence, a mob boss assassinated leaving a neighborhood restaurant, and the particular brand of retribution necessary to level the playing field in the fourth largest city in America — J.L. Abramo serves it all up with a vengeance.Praise for BROOKLYN JUSTICE ..."In BROOKLYN JUSTICE, award winning author J.L. Abramo again demonstrates his firm grasp on the language and morality of his native streets, with as many surprises as there are casualties. An ideal follow-up to...

San Francisco private investigator Jake Diamond is known for his stained neckties and stash of sour-mash whiskey; but Jake is more likely to be toting a worn paperback Classic novel than a handgun. More over-easy than hard-boiled, Diamond can be beaten up and knocked around without taking it too personally; but when his friends and loved ones are threatened, it's a different story.When a Chicago thug known as Ralph Battle bursts into the office of Diamond Investigation waving a 44 magnum at Diamond and his trusty assistant, Jake has the distinct feeling that missing his lunch of fried calamari may not be the worst of his problems.Jake accompanies Battle to Chicago at the mandatory request of Max Lansdale, a mob-connected attorney, who asks Jake to search for a pair of ghosts and will not take no for an answer. Pushed to the edge, Jake is ready to put his rusty .38 to use to get Lansdale off his back. Running between San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, Diamond...