Upcoming: SWEET THING by David Swinson (Mulholland)

April 21, 2023 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, David Swinson, Most Anticipated 2023, Mulholland Books, Mystery, Sweet Thing, Washington

This November, Mulholland Books are due to publish Sweet Thing, the latest crime novel by David Swinson. In this book, the author returns to Washington, D.C., the setting of his excellent Frank Marr trilogy — one of my favourite crime series — albeit with a new protagonist, and as a standalone novel. One of my most-anticipated reads of the year, here’s the synopsis:

In a red brick house on a tree-lined street, DC homicide detective Alex Blum stares at the bullet-pocked body of Chris Doyle. As he roots around for evidence, he finds an old polaroid: the decedent, arm in arm with Arthur Holland, Blum’s informant from years ago when he worked at the Narcotics branch.

But Arthur has been missing for days. Blum’s only source: Arthur’s girl, Celeste — beautiful, seductive, and tragic — whom he can’t get out of his head. Blum is drawn to her and feels compelled to save her from Arthur’s underworld. As the investigation ticks on and dead bodies domino, Blum, unearths clues with damning implications for Celeste. Swallowed by desire, Blum’s single misstep sends him tunnelling down a rabbit hole of transgression. He may soon find the only way out is down below.

Set in 1999, Swinson, a former DC cop, offers a look back at a rougher, grittier, bygone DC replete with seedy strip clubs, pagers beeping, and Y2K anxiety. It’s here we’re taken inside sting operations, fluorescent-tinged interrogation chambers, and rooms that have seen irreversible mistakes. At once authentic, gritty, tragic, and profound, SWEET THING asks how far can you fall when the world teeters on the edge?

David Swinson’s Sweet Things is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America and in the UK, on November 7th.

Also on CR: Reviews of The Second Girl, Crime Song, and Trigger

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

New Books (February-March)

March 20, 2021March 19, 2021 Civilian Reader New Books AJ Smith, Alexander Freed, Ben Golliver, Benjamin Percy, C F Barrington, Catherynne M Valente, Chris Power, Christopher Buehlman, Corry L Lee, David Swinson, Derek Künsken, Django Wexler, EJ Beaton, G R Matthews, Graham Hurley, Jackson Ford, Jason Schreier, Jessica Anya Blau, Kim Bo-Young, M J Kuhn, Marjorie Liu, Martha Wells, Richard Marx, Robert VS Redick, Rosecrans Baldwin, Stark Holborn

Featuring: John Appel, Rosecrans Baldwin, C.F. Barrington, E.J. Beaton, Jessica Anya Blau, Tom Bradby, Christopher Buehlman, A.A. Dhand, Carolyn Ferrell, Jackson Ford, Alexander Freed, Ben Golliver, Sam Hill, Graham Hurley, Kim Bo-Young, M.J. Kuhn, Derek Künsken, Corry L. Lee, David Liss, Marjorie Liu, Richard Marx, G. R. Matthews, Benjamin Percy, Chris Power, Robert V.S. Redick, Jason Schreier, A. J. Smith, David Swinson, Catherynne M. Valente, Martha Wells, Django Wexler

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Upcoming: CITY ON THE EDGE by David Swinson (Mulholland)

January 1, 2021January 3, 2021 Civilian Reader Upcoming City on the Edge, Crime, David Swinson, Espionage, Most Anticipated 2021, Mulholland Books, Mystery, Thriller, Upcoming 2021

David Swinson is at the author of the superb Frank Marr trilogy, set in Washington, DC — if you’re looking for a great crime story, starring a complicated cop protagonist, then I highly recommend you pick up The Second Girl.

For his highly-anticipated next novel, City on the Edge, he takes readers to Beirut, and introduces us to a new protagonist. Here’s the synopsis:

In the wake of a baffling tragedy, 13-year-old Graham moves with his family to Beirut, Lebanon, a city on the edge of the sea and cataclysmic violence. Inquisitive and restless by nature, Graham suspects his State Department father is a CIA operative, and that their family’s fragile domesticity is merely a front for American efforts along the nearby Israeli border. Over the course of one year, 1974, Graham’s life will utterly change. Two men are murdered, his parent’s marriage disintegrates, and Graham, along with his two ex-pat friends, run afoul of forces they cannot understand.

THE CITY ON THE EDGE is elegiac, atmospheric, and utterly authentic. It’s the story of innocents caught within the American net of espionage, of the Lebanese transformed by such interference, of the children who ran dangerously beside the churning wheel of history. One part Stephen King’s “The Body” and another John le Carre’s A Perfect Spy, it’s a transformative crime story told with heart and genuine experience.

David Swinson’s City on the Edge is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America and in the UK, on May 25th, 2021.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

New Books (December-January)

January 19, 2019January 18, 2019 Civilian Reader New Books Adam Stemple, Bret Easton Ellis, Brett Paesel, Chris Riddell, Dan Abnett, David Swinson, David Szalay, David Weber, Didrik Søderlind, J. Barton Mitchell, James Brabazon, James Swallow, Jane Yolen, Jean Edward Smith, JoAnn Chaney, Jonathan de Shalit, Karen Ellis, Karen Thompson Walker, Liv Constantine, Michael Moynihan, N.K. Jemisin, Nancy Kress, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Coleman, Preet Bharara, Robert A Caro, Sadie Jones, Sam Sykes, Sarah Gailey, V.E. Schwab, VE Schwab

Featuring: Dan Abnett, Preet Bharara, James Brabazon, Robert A. Caro, JoAnn Chaney, Patrick Coleman, Liv Constantine, Jonathan de Shalit, Bret Easton Ellis, Karen Ellis, Sarah Gailey, Neil Gaiman, N.K. Jemisin, Sadie Jones, Nancy Kress, J. Barton Mitchell, Michael Moynihan, Brett Paesel, Chris Riddell, James Swallow, V.E. Schwab, Jean Edward Smith, Didrik Søderlind, Adam Stemple, David Swinson, Sam Sykes, David Szalay, Karen Thompson Walker, David Weber, Jane Yolen

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Quick Review: TRIGGER by David Swinson (Mulholland)

January 17, 2019 Civilian Reader Review Crime, David Swinson, Detective, Frank Marr Series, Most Anticipated 2019, Mulholland Books, Must Read 2019, Thriller, Trigger

The third novel in the excellent Frank Marr crime series

Frank Marr was a good cop, until his burgeoning addictions to alcohol and cocaine forced him into retirement from the D.C. Metro police. Now, he’s barely eking out a living as a private investigator for a defense attorney — also Frank’s ex-girlfriend.

Ostracized by his family after a botched case that led to the death of his baby cousin, Jeffrey, Frank was on a collision course with rock bottom. Now clean and clinging hard to sobriety, Frank passes the time — and tests himself — by robbing the houses of local dealers, taking their cash and flushing their drugs down the toilet. When an old friend from his police days needs Frank’s help to prove he didn’t shoot an unarmed civilian, Frank is drawn back into the world of dirty cops and suspicious drug busts, running in the same circles that enabled his addiction those years ago.

Never one to play by the rules, Frank recruits a young man he nearly executed years before. Together — a good man trying not to go bad and a bad man trying to do good — detective and criminal charge headfirst into the D.C. drug wars. Neither may make it out.

Frank Marr is a private investigator who is trying to do good, while simultaneously battling his various (multiple) demons. The first two novels in David Swinson’s series — The Second Girl and Crime Song — were fantastic, and I blitzed through them back-to-back. Gripping, sharply written and populated with excellent characters, they are among the best novels I’ve read in years. As a result, Trigger was one of my most-anticipated novels of the year. I’m happy to report that it is another excellent crime novel, and did not disappoint. Continue reading →

Upcoming: TRIGGER by David Swinson (Mulholland)

March 26, 2018 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, David Swinson, Frank Marr Series, Most Anticipated 2019, Mulholland Books, Trigger, Washington DC

SwinsonD-FM3-TriggerUS I read David Swinson‘s The Second Girl and Crime Song back-to-back last year, and I absolutely loved them. The first book made Swinson one of my must-read novelists, and the sequel only confirmed it. Ever since, I’ve been eagerly awaiting news of a third book in the series (or a stand-alone, I’m not too picky). In a recently-uploaded catalog on Edelweiss, I found information about Trigger, the third novel featuring troubled private investigator Frank Marr. Unfortunately, it’s not due to be published until February 2019 (by Mulholland Books), which is so far away!

Trigger is one of my most-anticipated novels, and I can’t wait to read it. David Swinson’s novels are published by Mulholland Books in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Reviews of The Second Girl and Crime Song

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Review: CRIME SONG by David Swinson (Mulholland)

April 25, 2017April 24, 2017 Civilian Reader Review Crime, Crime Song, David Swinson, Frank Marr Series, Most Anticipated 2017, Mulholland Books, Must Read 2017, Mystery, Washington DC

Frank Marr is back!

Marr, a retired D.C. police detective working as a private eye for a defense attorney, has a serious problem. He is secretly a drug addict, and his long-time supply of cocaine is about to run out.

While staking out an upscale nightclub in an attempt to target the stash-houses of dealers from whom to steal for his fix, he settles on a target: a young college student. After a long night in pursuit of his quarry, Marr returns home to find he has been burglarized. Though his drugs are safe, several items are missing: his .38 revolver and his cherished music collection (with dozens of albums belonging to his deceased mother.) Marr immediately begins investigating the crime himself.

But when the dealer Marr had been following is stabbed to death in his own fortified home, Frank is certain that the burglary and murder are related. With good cops, bad cops, and exceptionally dangerous drug lords on his tail, Frank is determined to find out the truth, even if it kills him. This time, it just might.

I started reading Crime Song only a few hours after finishing The Second Girl, Swinson’s superb first Frank Marr novel. I’m very happy to report that Crime Song is yet another excellent crime novel, easily cementing Swinson among the ranks of favourite crime/thriller authors. This is a must-read series. Continue reading →

Review: THE SECOND GIRL by David Swinson (Mulholland)

April 20, 2017April 19, 2017 Civilian Reader Review Crime, David Swinson, Frank Marr Series, Most Anticipated 2016, Mulholland Books, Must Read 2016, Mystery, Second Girl, Thriller, Washington

One of the strongest crime series beginnings in many years

He’s a good detective… with a bad habit.

Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes out a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city doesn’t know his dirty secret.

A longtime drug addict, Frank has lent his considerable skills to hiding his habit from others. But after he accidentally discovers a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of a local drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl — possibly connected to the first — and the heightened scrutiny may bring his own habits to light, too.

Frank is as slippery and charming an antihero as you’ve ever met, but he’s also achingly vulnerable. The result is a mystery of startling intensity, a tightly coiled thriller where every scene may turn disastrous. The Second Girl is the crime novel of the season and the start of a thunderous new series from an author who knows the criminal underworld inside and out.

I was rather slow getting around to reading this novel, and damn was that a stupid idea. The Second Girl is easily one of the strongest starts to a crime series that I’ve read in years. The characters, story, pacing… all of it worked perfectly. I was hooked from the opening scene, and all I wanted to do was keep reading. Continue reading →

New Books (March-April)

April 15, 2017August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Anne Stephens, Ben Sanders, C.L. Werner, David Annandale, David Grann, David Swinson, Don Carpenter, Giacomo Bevilacqua, Graham McNeill, Ivy Pochoda, J.D. Barker, Jardine Libaire, Jonathan Dee, Jonathan Lethem, Karin Tidbeck, L R Fredericks, L.J. Goulding, Leena Likitalo, Marcus Thompson, Margaret Killjoy, Melissa Scrivner Love, Michael R Fletcher, Omar El Akkad, Paul Kearney, Peter Newman, Richard Kadrey, Robbie MacNiven, Sarah Lotz, Sarah Menkedick, Tom Perrotta, William C Dietz

Featuring: David Annandale, Neal Asher, J.D. Barker, Giacomo Bevilacqua, Edward Carlson, Don Carpenter, Jonathan Dee, William C. Dietz, Omar El Akkad, Michael R. Fletcher, L.R. Fredericks, L.J. Goulding, David Grann, Richard Kadrey, Paul Kearney, Jardine Libaire, Leena Likitalo, Sarah Lotz, Melissa Scrivner Love, Robbie MacNiven, Graham McNeill, Sarah Menkedick, Peter Newman, Tom Perotta, Ivy Pochoda, Ben Sanders, John Scalzi, Anna Stephens, David Swinson, Marcus Thompson II, Karen Tidbek, C.L. Werner, Timothy Zahn

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Upcoming 2017… Mulholland Books

January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, David Swinson, Felicia Yap, Hachette, Kathleen Kent, Matthew Quirk, Most Anticipated 2017, Mulholland Books, Mystery, Richard Lange, Sarah Lotz, Scott Reardon, Stuart Prebble, Thriller

Mulholland Books is one of my favourite publishers, releasing a whole range of excellent thrillers and fiction. Here are a few upcoming novels I’m looking forward to — I’m sure there are more, but these are the only ones I could find information about.

Featuring: Kathleen Kent, Richard Lange, Sarah Lotz, Stuart Prebble, Matthew Quirk, Scott Reardon, David Swinson, Felicia Yap

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