Lucky Supreme: A Darby Holland Crime Novel (#1)

(Hardback)

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Description

Best Crime Novel of the Year--Joy Ride through the Tattoo Underworld of Portland's Old Town. The night world of Old Town, Portland, Oregon, has gone mad in the grip of gentrification, and at the center of it all is Lucky Supreme, a seedy tattoo parlor, whose proprietor is a street-bred artist with a unique approach to problem solving. Darby Holland has enough on his radar, but when some "flash" (tattoo artwork) stolen from him resurfaces in California he can't help himself. His efforts to reclaim it set him on a dangerous path, dragging along his delightfully eccentric colleagues, including the brains behind his brawn--Delia, a twiggy vinyl-clad punk genius secretly from the other side of the tracks. No one knows why the art signed "Roland Norton, Panama, 1955" is worth anything or how it came to hang on the walls of a tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon. Only the deranged former owner can say--and he's not talking. Before the wrecking balls swing through Old Town in the name of "progress," Darby must settle old scores and face new demons to save his reputation, his shop, and his sanity. He has secrets of his own, and a tattoo shop in Old Town was a perfect place to hide, but when cash, lies, crime, and history collide, Darby Holland will need his ramshackle skill set, his wits, and a lot of luck to rise to the top of a human food chain, or be eaten alive. Lucky Supreme is an intuitive thrill ride from start to finish. It is the first of a trilogy featuring Darby Holland, Delia, and the other unforgettable nocturnal residents of Old Town. Jeff Johnson is a new voice in noir, as entertaining and as fresh as Elmore Leonard or Dennis Lehane.

Reviews

"A gifted and natural born storyteller." -- John Irving "What wonderful Northwest noir. LUCKY SUPREME cruises through Portland's underworld with a raunchy grace and an unfailing sense of black humor. I loved it." -New York Times bestselling & 3-time Edgar Award-winning author T. Jefferson Parker "As hip and cool as the neon rain-slicked slicked streets of Portland. Darby Holland is a modern hero in the mold of Sam Spade and Marlowe only with more tattoos and in steel-toed boots. A funny and very gritty book with cool folks, cool music, and wonderful sense of place." -- Ace Atkins, New York Times Bestselling author of The Innocents and Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn. "Jeff Johnson is the real deal. His work is fast and funny, down and dirty--one moment as smooth as 18-year-old bourbon and the next as rough as a country road. A great talent, a pleasure to read." -- -Brad Smith, author of Red Means Run Praise for Everything Under the Moon "There's a whole world out there, that most of us never need to know about. A world of predators and prey, and predators who prey on predators. It's a dog eat dog world, and things are getting a bit hairy. It's Jeff Johnson's world, where the volume is always cranked up to eleven, the violence is cranked up to the max, and it's just one damned thing after another. The pace is fast, the plot is racing and restraint has been kicked into the gutter. And it's got werewolves. What more do you want" --Simon R. Green, New York Times Bestselling author of Tales from the Nightside Praise for Tattoo Machine: "Tattoo parlors are showcases for the socially disreputable, the brazenly nonconformist and the indelibly creative, all on display in this colorful memoir."--Publishers Weekly "If you like skin art, welcome aboard."--Kirkus Reviews "Absolutely fascinating."--The Washington Post "Funny, outlandish, and sometimes disturbing..."--New York Post "Astonishing candor and brilliant imagery."London Free Press "Tattoo Machine is meticulously observed, savagely funny, and deeply compassionate. It's a tale of up-from-under redemption through the shadowed art of personal symbolism. Jeff Johnson is a sharp-eyed master tattoo artist and an extraordinary writer."--Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love "An amazing firsthand account of all things you wondered about tattoo shops. I loved it."--Gus Van Sant "A wry, tender story about the tribulations of flesh and ink--and funny as hell. I've never understood why people get tattoos, but after reading Jeff's excellent book I may just get one myself." --Steve Dublanica, author of New York Times Bestselling Waiter Rant "For everyone out there who is as fascinated by skin art as much as I am, Jeff Johnson's memoir is a must read, a gritty, brutally honest account of his life and years in the tattoo business. Equally hilarious, alarming, heartbreaking, rebellious, and philosophical, Tattoo Machine gets inside your head and leaves an impression that goes deeper than any needle, one that will only be wiped away when you, dear customer, are dead and gone."--Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff "One of the best books I've read so far this year... a reading experience that transcends the subject matter."--Jeff VanderMeer

Author Bio

Jeff Johnson is a twenty-year veteran tattoo artist who has inked gang members, age-defying moms, and sociopaths; he's defused brawls and tended delicate egos. He is also the author of the memoir, Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink, and the novels Everything Under the Moon, Knottspeed, Deadbomb Bingo Rayand the first two novels in the Darby Holland crime novel series: Lucky Supreme and A Long Crazy Burn. He lives in Portland, Oregon.