Tricky

(Paperback)

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ONE OF THE 10 BEST CRIME FICTION NOVELS OF 2021LIBRARY JOURNAL

2021 CRIME FICTION PICKS OF THE YEARDIVERSE VOICES BOOK REVIEW

HONORABLE MENTION, THE BEST CRIME NOVELS OF 2021CRIMEREADS

HONORABLE MENTION, THE BEST NOIR FICTION OF 2021CRIMEREADS

ONE OF THE "MOST ANTICIPATED CRIME BOOKS OF 2021."CRIMEREADS

PICK OF THE MONTHMysteryPeople

Does your past define you forever

That's the question LAPD homicide detective Niels Madsen must answer after he gets in the middle of a standoff between two uniformed officers and Cisco, an intellectually disabled man. Cisco is found armed and standing over the body of a man with Down syndrome. Cisco swears the dead man was his good friend, and he didnt hurt him, but in his earlier life, Cisco had been gang member, a brilliant and brutal killer. After he was badly beaten, brain injuries left him himif he is to be believedwith the intellectual intelligence of a child. Madsen's search for the truth leads him through the special needs community, East LA gang life, and pits him up against the corrupt LA Sheriffs Department.

More than a police procedural, Tricky explores questions of human nature: Whether a man can change, for better or worse, and whether redemption is possible.

Reviews

"A witty, gritty love letter to Los Angeles... Stallings manages to entertain while advocating for criminal justice reform and calling out unexamined societal biases.Mystery Scene "This is a finely crafted novel. Noirishly hard-boiled, the book is much more than a police procedural; its an exploration of some serious themes, such as personal redemption and the societal prejudices against the disabled."Booklist "Stallings makes Madsen a well-rounded lead, even as he keeps the reader guessing. Those looking for an alternative to standard police procedural whodunits will be rewarded."Publishers Weekly "Punk-rock poet Josh Stallings has written an intense new crime novel about the power of people to change. A moral tour-de-force that explores essential questions of reform and justice, Tricky is not to be missed."CrimeReads (One of the "10 Novels You Should Read This January") "So far, I haven't read anything this year that comes near it. It hits all the things you want from the genre with a wonderful left-field approach to character, emotion and themes that ground it in a world of real people. TRICKY is a great cop thriller and so much more. It straddles the works of Michael Conelly and Craig Johnson with a style and voice all its own.Scott Montgomery, MysteryPeople TRICKY blew me away. Josh Stallings has written a gritty, vibrant, riotously entertaining crime novel filled with unforgettable and deeply human characters.Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of NOVEMBER ROAD "A fun, intense, thoughtful read that takes off from the get-go, TRICKY is a blast."Malcom Avenue Review

Author Bio

Josh Stallings' Moses McGuire trilogy found itself on over fourteen best of the year lists, and YOUNG AMERICANS, a standalone, was nominated for the Lefty and Anthony awards. His short fiction has appeared in Beat To A Pulp, Protectors Anthology 1 and 2, Blood and Tacos, Crime Factory, and Muder-A-Go-Go. Born in Los Angeles, and raised by counter-culture activists (and sometime Quakers) in Northern California, he grew up undiagnosed dyslexic and spent some time as a petty criminal and failed actor before becoming a movie trailer editor. He, his wife, and various four legged fiends now live in the San Jacinto mountains. His latest novel, TRICKY, was written in honor of his son, Dylan, who is intellectually disabled. Website: http://joshstallings.com/ Twitter @Josh_Stallings