Nick Kolakowski's Blog - Posts Tagged "where-the-bones-lie"
WHERE THE BONES LIE
A quick but weighty update: my next novel, a California detective thriller titled WHERE THE BONES LIE, is coming out March 2025 via new crime imprint Datura. Pre-orders are up on the Penguin Random House website, with the links of your choice (Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.). I’d love it if you pre-ordered, as that has an impact on the size of the eventual print run!
What’s the book about? Glad you asked! Here’s the official publisher description:
TL;DR version: Spooky clues! Existential dread! Wildfires! A mysterious figure in a skull mask!
If you're a book reviewer, Datura is also providing a handy form you can use to quickly and easily sign up for ARCs, if you feel so inclined! (Please feel so inclined... the more reviews, the merrier. :))
What’s the book about? Glad you asked! Here’s the official publisher description:
For Dash Fuller, Hollywood’s underbelly is home sweet home. He’s spent years helping disappear the film industry’s worst secrets, and it’s left him a cynical burnout who loves bourbon a little too much. But when a young woman named Madeline Ironwood comes to him with a peculiar quest, Dash sees a chance at redemption.
Madeline is the daughter of Ken Ironwood, a notorious smuggler and murderer who disappeared 20 years ago. Ken’s skeleton was recently discovered in a barrel at the bottom of a dried-up lake, and Madeline wants to know who killed him. Dash agrees to help, and as this desperate daughter and jaded cynic claw their way through a world of sun-bleached secrets, crooked cops, and Hollywood thugs, they soon uncover a massive conspiracy involving some of L.A’s most powerful people…
TL;DR version: Spooky clues! Existential dread! Wildfires! A mysterious figure in a skull mask!
If you're a book reviewer, Datura is also providing a handy form you can use to quickly and easily sign up for ARCs, if you feel so inclined! (Please feel so inclined... the more reviews, the merrier. :))
WHERE THE BONES LIE excerpt and more
Hey everyone!
I've got some nifty stuff for you as we ramp up to the March release of WHERE THE BONES LIE, my new mystery novel from Datura.
If you want to read an excerpt from the book, especially one featuring illegal guns and spooky skull masks, head on over to Criminal Element for an exclusive chapter peek.
We have some early reviews, too: Steve Stred calls it "a very strong cat-and-mouse game... full of humor, action and clues, the pace was frantic and it wasn’t long before I was fully immersed. Even when things were moving along and I thought for sure that I knew what was going on, a new wrinkle would arrive and I’d have to rethink everything I thought I knew."
Best Thriller Books seemed to like it, too: "A riveting ride through the gritty streets of L.A. with memorable characters involved in numerous twists and turns, which compel you to solve the mystery. Be warned, you will have to dive inside Dash’s mind and wrestle with his pain, suffering and sardonic rage. Noir thrillers have never been better!"
I was also on the Dark Waters Podcast recently, talking not only the book but also crime fiction in general, the best way to judge whether your story will hold the reader's attention (I'm not going to spoil anything, but it involves walking to your nearest, loudest bar), and much more!
I'm grateful for everyone who's taken the time to read, review, and comment on the book, including all the wonderful folks on Goodreads. Thank you so much for making this ramp-up to publication really fun!
I've got some nifty stuff for you as we ramp up to the March release of WHERE THE BONES LIE, my new mystery novel from Datura.
If you want to read an excerpt from the book, especially one featuring illegal guns and spooky skull masks, head on over to Criminal Element for an exclusive chapter peek.
We have some early reviews, too: Steve Stred calls it "a very strong cat-and-mouse game... full of humor, action and clues, the pace was frantic and it wasn’t long before I was fully immersed. Even when things were moving along and I thought for sure that I knew what was going on, a new wrinkle would arrive and I’d have to rethink everything I thought I knew."
Best Thriller Books seemed to like it, too: "A riveting ride through the gritty streets of L.A. with memorable characters involved in numerous twists and turns, which compel you to solve the mystery. Be warned, you will have to dive inside Dash’s mind and wrestle with his pain, suffering and sardonic rage. Noir thrillers have never been better!"
I was also on the Dark Waters Podcast recently, talking not only the book but also crime fiction in general, the best way to judge whether your story will hold the reader's attention (I'm not going to spoil anything, but it involves walking to your nearest, loudest bar), and much more!
I'm grateful for everyone who's taken the time to read, review, and comment on the book, including all the wonderful folks on Goodreads. Thank you so much for making this ramp-up to publication really fun!
WHERE THE BONES LIE Is Out!
WHERE THE BONES LIE, my California detective thriller, is out in the world! This one's been a long time coming, and I'm excited for readers to discover Dash and Madeline as they try to solve one of the country's most infamous missing-persons cases.
The Penguin Random House website has the links to your booksellers of choice. I'm also a huge fan of shopping indie and local, so Bookshop.org is also a great site for your bookbuying needs. If you're an audiobook fiend, of course, Amazon and Audible can likewise give you what you're looking for.
As I broke down in a new CrimeReads column, this book draws quite a bit from my years as an entertainment journalist lurking around L.A. and Vegas; it’s also an homage to the Chandler and Hammett novels I devoured as a kid. There are also a lot of 21st century themes amidst the murder and mayhem—we’re touching on climate change, wildfire, toxic celebrity, and more. I’d love for you to give it a read and let me know what you think!
The Penguin Random House website has the links to your booksellers of choice. I'm also a huge fan of shopping indie and local, so Bookshop.org is also a great site for your bookbuying needs. If you're an audiobook fiend, of course, Amazon and Audible can likewise give you what you're looking for.
As I broke down in a new CrimeReads column, this book draws quite a bit from my years as an entertainment journalist lurking around L.A. and Vegas; it’s also an homage to the Chandler and Hammett novels I devoured as a kid. There are also a lot of 21st century themes amidst the murder and mayhem—we’re touching on climate change, wildfire, toxic celebrity, and more. I’d love for you to give it a read and let me know what you think!
What a six months it's been...
Happy six-month birthday to WHERE THE BONES LIE, this little novel that could, the culmination of everything I’ve absorbed from a couple decades in the basement of mystery/thriller fiction! It’s continuing to churn merrily along, finding new readers and listeners, and I couldn’t be happier with how the adventures of Dash and Madeline turned out…
I’m also 100 pages into writing the sequel and waiting for a green light from my editor, so if you haven’t read it yet, now might be a great time to pick up a copy… those kinds of numbers help make it easier for a publisher to pull the proverbial trigger. :)
I’m also 100 pages into writing the sequel and waiting for a green light from my editor, so if you haven’t read it yet, now might be a great time to pick up a copy… those kinds of numbers help make it easier for a publisher to pull the proverbial trigger. :)
