Synopses & Reviews
Riley James was small-time, just a kid running messages and money for the Monsanto Brothers, the real players in Belize City. Then one slip in judgment left two men dead. The Monsantos handled the situation for their young protégé---but accepting this favor put Riley inescapably in their debt.
Now, years later, hes a pro picking up drug drops under the Coast Guards nose and guiding boats through the reefs, which was something he wanted as a kid but not anymore. He wants out once and for all, and to cancel his debt, he makes a deal with the Monsantos to do one last run. Its Rileys last chance to scrape back to even, to nothing, to a place where he hasnt been since he was just a kid.
Shamus Award winner Ian Vasquez is a rising star in the world of noir, and he reaches new heights with Mr. Hooligan, a gripping, hardboiled story of a man fighting to escape to a new life---or die trying.
Review
Praise for Lonesome Point
“A gripping noir tale . . . Vasquezs storytelling skills will remind readers of early Elmore Leonard, especially with its surprise denouement.”
---South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“The story moves briskly between past and present . . . building tension as the past threatens to become a real part of the present. Vasquezs experiences growing up in Belize and working on a psych ward while living in Miami contribute heavily to the authentic feel of the story.”
---Tampa Tribune
“Vasquez builds our sympathy for Leo and Tessa skillfully, adds an Elmore Leonard--like supporting cast, and tightens the noose exquisitely. . . . Expect much more from Vasquez, whose star continues to rise.”
---Booklist
Praise for In the Heat
“Miles Young, the hero of Ian Vasquezs first novel, In the Heat, makes for a good New Age McGee.”
---St. Petersburg Times
“Ian Vasquez transports us to his native Belize, where the sizzling weather is the backdrop to a complicated detective job.”
---Daily News (New York)
“This is a straight-ahead, hard-boiled detective story overlaid with superb atmosphere. The Belize setting puts Caribbean noir on the genre map.”
---Booklist
“[Vasquez] has created the perfect hero for the twenty-first century.”
---Library Journal (starred review)
About the Author
Ian Vasquez, whose first novel, In the Heat, won the Shamus Award, received his MFA while working on a psychiatric ward and counseling at-risk high school students. Raised in Belize and now a copy editor at the St. Petersburg Times, he lives with his family near Tampa Bay, Florida.