Synopses & Reviews
Max Mingus wanted to turn down the case--fifteen million bucks on the table or not. The boy was dead, Max was sure of it. Three years had passed since Haitian billionaire Allain Carver's five-year-old son was abducted. Why bother now? The huge bounty and the resources of the most powerful white family in Haiti hadn't turned up a lead.
Sure, Max had been the best detective in Miami once. But that was eight years back. Before he served time for killing a pair of junkie child-murderers. Before his wife, Sandra, died. Plus, he'd heard what had happened to the other PI's sent to Haiti before him--all dead, or their lives permanently screwed up, without ever getting close to finding Charlie Carver.
But with nothing left to lose--and for all that money--Max does go down there. The talk of voodoo and black magic is nothing compared to the haunting quiet of his own empty house. What Max doesn't count on is the depth of corruption, manipulation, and greed Haiti breeds in its inhabitants, a murky evil worse than death, which can easily swallow a man whole--especially a troubled man like Max Mingus.
When the trail to Charlie Carver points to a local myth--Mr. Clarinet, a spirit figure who for decades is said to have been tempting children away from their families--could the truth be even more shocking than the legend? Max's job suddenly isn't all about finding the boy, his killers, or the money--it's about just staying alive....
Review
Gritty and unremittingly dark, replete with supervillains, Mr. Clarinet pays homage to pulp fiction and film noir. The Guardian
Review
Painstakingly researched, effectively written and well conceived, it deserves all of its pre-release hype. Big Issue in the North
Review
If theres one thing you must do in 2006, curl up and read Mr Clarinet by Nick Stone. Daily Express
Review
This is crime fiction at its zenith, challenging, compelling and with an insight that delves deep under the skin. Crimespree
Review
This is a hotshot debut novel. If you trust my judgment, buy it. The Independent on Sunday
Synopsis
"A first-class thriller that is equal parts hard-boiled Raymond Chandler mystery and voodoo-powered crime-fiction masterwork. . . . A spellbinding thriller of the highest order." --Chicago Tribune
Max Mingus wanted to turn down the case--15 million bucks or not. Three years had passed since Haitian billionaire Allain Carver's five-year-old son was abducted. Sure, Max had been the best detective in Miami once. But that was before he went to jail. Before his wife died. Plus, he'd heard what had happened to the others who'd gone searching for Charlie Carver before him . . .
With nothing left to lose--and a lot of money to gain--Max heads to Haiti. He knows about the voodoo and black magic. But when the trail to the missing boy leads to a local myth about a spirit child stealer named "Mr. Clarinet," could the truth be even more shocking than the legend? Max's job suddenly isn't just about finding the boy, his killers, or the money--it's about just staying alive.
--Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
Synopsis
There was nothing waiting for ex-cop Max Mingus when he walked out of Attica Prison after serving hard time for murder—his adored wife died in a car crash while he was locked up. Now Miami's one-time top detective is haunted by an empty house, bad memories . . . and an impossible job offer for obscenely good money. Three years ago, Charlie Carver, the five-year-old son of a powerful Haitian billionaire, vanished. His father is offering Max $15 million to bring the boy back—or, at the very least, to find his body and deliver his abductors.
Max knows he should turn this case down. There's no way the kid is still alive, and pursuing his ghost means plunging headfirst into Haiti, a steaming island hotbed of crime, greed, voodoo, and corruption. And the three detectives who preceded Mingus are all dead . . . or worse. But Max has nothing left to lose—even if his investigation stirs up a murky evil that can swallow a man whole . . . and leads him to the soul-destroying truth about a terrifying local myth, a child-stealing nightmare called "Mr. Clarinet."
About the Author
Nick Stone is also the author of the novel Mr. Clarinet, winner of the Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2006 and both the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and the Macavity Award in 2007. He lives in London and Miami with his family. The King of Swords is his second novel.