This cool, incendiary rites of passage novel is the real deal."—Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting"Bill Hillmann's The Old Neighborhood is like a right hook to the chin with brass knuckles, crackling with both bravery and urgency. Brilliantly evoking Nelson Algren's Neon Wilderness and Richard Price's The Wanderers, the novel is unflinchingly honest in its depictions of class and race, a deft portrait of our sometimes-less-than-fair city."—Joe Meno, best-selling author of Hairstyles of the DamnedA bright and sensitive teen, Joe Walsh is the youngest in a big, mixed-race Chicago family. After Joe witnesses his heroin-addicted oldest brother commit a brutal gangland murder, his friends and loved ones systematically drag him deeper into a black pit of violence that reaches a bloody impasse when his eldest sister begins dating a rival gang member.Bill Hillmann is an award-winning writer and storyteller from Chicago, Illinois. His writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Newcity, Salon.com, and has been broadcast on NPR. He's told stories around the world with his internationally acclaimed storytelling series the "Windy City Story Slam." Hillmann is a union construction laborer and a bull runner in Spain, who in the not-so-distant past was a feared street brawler, gang affiliate, drug dealer, convict, and Chicago Golden Glove Champion.

    But a cattle empire isn't all Gauge wants—he also has his eye on Cullen’s beautiful daughter, Willa.Cullen gets word out that he’s hiring the fastest gunslinger money can buy to take on the sheriff. When a stranger rides in, townsfolk wonder if this is the rancher’s hired gun. Wherever he came from, wherever he’s going, two things are clear—the stranger won’t be pushed . . . and his aim is deadly."Spillane is a master in compelling you to always turn the next page." —The New York Times"Collins displays his mastery of Spillane's distinctive two-fisted prose." —Publishers Weekly

    Severely injured, he does not know if he will survive the night. Reflecting on the evening's dreadful events, wondering if he could have done anything to alter them, his thoughts begin to drift. He begins to contemplate his remarkable life, his dysfunctional family, and the unfortunate prospect that he may have to soon answer for his life to God. While vividly recalling the most amusing, distressing, bizarre, and disturbing events of his life, he soon comes to realize "the monster you know is far easier to deal with than the monster you don't!" Will he get the miracle he needs to make it through the night? If so, will he finally find peace? Author's Note: This book deals with sensitive topics, and is intended for mature audiences only.

    It might instead spell her doom. To stay alive, she’ll need to tap into mysterious powers she doesn’t understand, lay ruin to dragons hungry for humanity’s extinction, and vanquish a godly order capable of unfathomable devastation.Death may be at her heels, but Valeria has a secret. And it will change the world forever.