Book picks similar to
Last Fair Deal Gone Down by Ace Atkins


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Black Orchid


Sheldon MayerFred Carillo - 1973
    The original appearances of the Black Orchid from Adventure Comics #428-430, The Phantom Stranger #31, 32, 35, 36, 38-41, and The Super Friends #31.

Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Stories


Steve Niles - 2007
    The natural and the supernatural. Cal McDonald is a detective with one foot in the real world, and one in the world of magic. For Cal, the horrors we all dream about in the fevered darkness of the night are all too real, kept at bay through an almost constant influx of drugs to numb the pain, but never erase it.

Dark Wraith of Shannara


Terry Brooks - 2008
    . . and protect the future from the forces of evil.If you've never ventured into the wondrous world of Shannara, consider this an ideal opportunity. Prepare to enter the breathtaking realm of the Four Lands, where beings both noble and sinister have quested and clashed, crossed swords in the names of darkness and light, and engaged in adventures rich with mystery and majesty."Terry's place is at the head of the fantasy world." -Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass

Elephantmen, Vol. 1: Wounded Animals


Richard Starkings - 2007
    Ebony Hide is one of them, an Elephantman. Even when he is befriended by a small girl, Hide is still haunted by his past and is forced to recognize that suspicion and contempt will always be his constant companions.

The Getaway


Jim Thompson - 1958
    But when for the first time in Doc's long criminal career, his shot doesn't hit the mark, everything begins to fall apart. And Doc begins to realize that the perfect bank robbery isn't complete without the perfect getaway to back it up.THE GETAWAY is the classic story of a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, where the smallest mistakes have catastrophic consequences, and shifting loyalties lead to betrayals and chaos. The basis for the classic Steve McQueen film of the same name, as well as a 1994 remake with Alec Baldwin, Thompson's novel set the bar for every heist story that followed--but as Thompson's proved time and again, nobody's ever done it better than the master.

No Time Left


David Baldacci - 2010
    When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his success will permanently alter his future.

Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Two Annual


Tom Taylor - 2014
    How can it continue? Then, as the resistance in Gotham City digs in, Commissioner Gordon works with his daughter Barbara for the first time. But their time together is running out! This is the second annual of the Injustice comic series, taking place before issue eight and the seven month timeskip.

Crimes in Southern Indiana: Stories


Frank Bill - 2011
    Frank Bill delivers what is both a wake-up call and a gut punch. Welcome to heartland America circa right about now, when the union jobs and family farms that kept the white on the picket fences have given way to meth labs, backwoods gunrunners, and bare-knuckle brawling.Bill's people are pressed to the brink--and beyond. There is Scoot McCutchen, whose beloved wife falls terminally ill, leaving him with nothing to live for--which doesn't quite explain why he brutally murders her and her doctor and flees, or why, after years of running, he decides to turn himself in. In the title story, a man who has devolved from breeding hounds for hunting to training them for dog-fighting crosses paths with a Salvadoran gangbanger tasked with taking over the rural drug trade, but who mostly wants to grow old in peace. As Crimes in Sourthern Indiana unfolds, we witness the unspeakable, yet are compelled to find sympathy for the depraved.Bill's southern Indiana is haunted with the deep, authentic sense of place that recalls the best of Southern fiction, but the interconnected stories bristle with the urban energy of a Chuck Palahniuk or a latter-day Nelson Algren and rush with the slam-bang plotting of pulp-noir crime writing a la Jim Thompson. Bill's prose is gritty yet literary, shocking, and impossible to put down. A dark evocation of the survivalist spirit of the working class, this is a brilliant debut by an important new voice.

Sherlock: A Study in Pink #1


Jay. - 2016
    Each oversized issue comes with a selection of brand-new covers by some of the best Sherlock artists around! #1 kicks things off with a 52-page special. Meet Sherlock and Watson for the first time, all over again!

Wayne of Gotham


Tracy Hickman - 2012
    No fan of the Dark Knight will want to miss this one-of-a-kind window into Gotham’s dark protector in this fast-paced thriller from New York Times bestselling fantasy writer Tracy Hickman. Readers of Kevin J. Anderson’s The Last Days of Krypton and Enemies & Allies will know that comic book characters pack a powerful punch when they enter the pages of a novel. Wayne of Gotham is no exception: as the DC Universe’s millionaire playboy journeys into the dark recesses of his own past, his a journey that could spell the end for everything he holds dear—and the end of the hero he has become: the Batman.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus


Alex Robinson - 2009
    Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, describes the action of some uncommon events in the land of Santa. Not far from the Laughing Valley where Santa and all his magical helpers live, and beyond the Forest of Burzee, there stands a huge mountain that contains the Cave of Demons. Each demon has a specialty: Selfishness, Envy, Hatred, Malice, and Repentance. Because the promise of Santa puts all girls and boys on their best behavior, the demons have hardly any visitors to their caves. In order to remedy their dismal foot traffic, they conspire to kidnap Santa But oh even when it looks as if the demons might win, one can never underestimate the power of devoted (and magical ) friends. Adapted by Alex Robinson, author of several graphic novels, the action and menace of the tale will be enhanced and lightly spoofed. It seems a most appropriate treatment of Baum's work -- he was an author who often let his profound and unsettling meanings roil beneath the surface of his otherwise fanciful stories.

Fence #1


C.S. Pacat - 2017
    Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama...and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!

The Deep Blue Good-By


John D. MacDonald - 1964
    He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out and his rule is simple: he'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half.

Rex Mundi Omnibus, Vol. 1


Arvid Nelson - 2012
    Europe is still in the grip of feudalism, sorcerers stalk the streets at night, and secret societies vie for power. When a medieval scroll disappears from a Paris church, Dr. Julien Sauniere begins uncovering a series of horrific ritual murders connected to the Catholic Church. His investigation turns into a one-man quest to uncover the deepest secrets of Christianity, a trail of conspiracy that extends all the way to the walls of Jerusalem during the First Crusade.

The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics


Paul GravettJack Kirby - 2008
    This collection includes Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Will Eisner, Max Allan Collins, and Alex Toth—plus adaptations of and collaborations by famous crime writers, such as Dashiel Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Lesley Charteris, and Raymond Chandler.