The Hard Bounce

by Todd Robinson

Overview

The debut novel from the creator of Thuglit.

Boo Malone lost everything when he was sent to St. Gabriel's Home for Boys. There, he picked up a few key survival skills; a wee bit of an anger management problem; and his best friend for life, Junior. Now adults, Boo and Junior have a combined weight of 470 pounds (mostly Boo's), about ten grand in tattoos (mostly Junior's), and a talent for wisecracking banter. Together, they provide security for The Cellar, a Boston nightclub where the bartender Audrey doles out hugs and scoldings for her favorite misfits, and the night porter, Luke, expects them to watch their language. At last Boo has found a family.

But when Boo and Junior are hired to find Cassandra, a well-to-do runaway slumming among the authority-shy street kids, Boo sees in the girl his own long-lost younger sister. And as the case deepens with evidence that Cassie is being sexually exploited, Boo's blind desire for justice begins to push his surrogate family's loyalty to the breaking point. Cassie's life depends on Boo's determination to see the case through, but that same determination just might finally drive him and Junior apart. What's looking like an easy payday is turning into a hard bounce—for everyone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440557675
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	01/18/2013
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Todd Robinson is the creator and chief editor of the award-winning crime fiction magazine Thuglit. His short fiction has appeared in Blood & Tacos; Plots with Guns; Needle Magazine; Shotgun Honey; Strange, Weird, and Wonderful Magazine; Out of the Gutter; Pulp Pusher; Grift; Demolition Magazine; and CrimeFactory. His writing has been nominated for a Derringer Award, short-listed for Best American Mystery Stories, selected for Writer’s Digest’s Year’s Best Writing 2003, and won the inaugural Bullet Award in June 2011.

Editorial Reviews

In this dynamic hard-boiled quasi-PI novel by Robinson, editor of the crime short fiction webzine Thuglit and its anthologies, the burly William “Boo” Malone, with his bouncer friend Darrell “Junior” McCullough, runs the 4DC Security outfit based out of a Boston blue-collar bar called the Cellar. This friendship goes back to the dysfunctional orphanage where they met after a harrowing incident separated Boo from his family. The two are hired by DA Jack Donnelly to find his missing teenage “hell-on-wheels” daughter, Cassie, but have to stay under the news media’s radar since Donnelly is a mayoral candidate. Trading often funny wisecracks, Boo and Junior tangle with Danny Barnes, Donnelly’s ornery chief troubleshooter, before discovering Cassie has been forced to make snuff porn films. Buried emotions resurface when Donnelly insinuates that if Boo finds Cassie, Donnelly might find Boo’s long-lost sister. Determined to get to the bottom of the snuff-porn ring, Boo survives stakeouts, a beating, a shooting, and a run-in with the local mob boss before he and Junior wrap up their first case, neither tidily nor predictably, leaving enough setup for what may become a sturdy new crime fiction series. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"In this dynamic hard-boiled quasi-PI novel...William 'Boo' Malone, with his bouncer friend Darrell 'Junior' McCullough...wrap up their first case, neither tidily nor predictably, leaving enough setup for what may become a sturdy new crime fiction series." —Publishers Weekly

"Robinson, creator of the website Thuglit, peoples his first novel with a host of imaginatively drawn thugs, villains, victims, and rascals, and he has filled his story with top-shelf tough talk, mayhem, lots of raunch, some laughs, and a vivid sense of place. Readers who enjoy a good wallow in all of the above will feel right at home with The Hard Bounce." —Booklist

"It's like Todd Robinson (creator of Thug Lit) asked me what my favorite PI novel would look like before he wrote this novel. Yeah, I liked it that much. I loved the fact the plot was very, very dark but still the Boo's lines had me laugh out loud sometimes. What I loved most, however, was the fact this is a great new take on the genre. Fantastic novel, a definite contender for 2013's Favorite Sons in the category Best Debut or Best New PI." —Sons of Spade blog

"When a work is published by Tyrus Books, I know there's going to be something nifty between the covers. But I (kinda) never saw this one coming. Simple perfection. A smart, moving story; outstanding dialogue; wicked humor; and well-drawn—I could have read it again as soon as I finished. And I rarely reread. Tyrus has another winner. READ IT." —Pop Culture Nerd

"This is a very well-written book. All of the characters came to life, were believable and real, with very little sugar-coating. By the end of the book, I wanted to know more about what happened to Boo and Junior, which is always the mark of a great story. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Robinson." —Let the Sparks Fly blog

"The Hard Bounce is so good, I'll consider Robinson a superb author even if he never writes another word. One of the very few books that can make a jaded reviewer like me laugh out loud. Robinson is a hell of a writer. His prose brings the story to life and then caries it at 120mph for 300 pages without taking a single breath. The Hard Bounce is gritty noir done right. Robinson [is]...a talented author who knows what he's doing at the top of his game." - Out of the Gutter Online

"A tough tale with hard boiled humor and more emotion than one might expect." —Mystery People

"Robinson...weave[s] it all together...skillfully, dare I say this artfully? Dude is a talent, and I for one can't wait for the return of Boo and Junior." —Grift Magazine, "Favorite Books of 2013"

"There are crime authors who act out tough-guy fantasies, but Todd Robinson embodies them, striking an amazing balance between head-stomping and heart-stomping." - LitReactor

From the Publisher