S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 115

Movie Review: Man of Steel

This week I watched two very different (yet in some ways similar) movies from Netflix.  The first was The Wizard of Oz, which I probably haven't seen for at least 40 years.  Made in 1939, it had what, for its time, was amazing special effects (although on Blu-ray it is sometimes very easy to spot the matte paintings).  In Oz the special effects do what they are supposed to do in a movie: show the audience things it cannot see in real life that are integral to the story.  The special effects enhance the story, they aren't the story.

Then I watched Man of Steel, a CGI effects-laden movie the kludges you with over-the-top violence and effect after endless effect.  Man of Steel (the latest re-boot of the Superman movies) was directed by Zack Snyder who has directed some really good movies (300) and some not so good movies (Watchmen).  And he does direct action scenes with an intensity and power few directors and muster.  But there was a point near the end of Man of Steel that I stopped caring and just want to CGI to stop and the story continue.  But the story is old and if you've seen Superman II, you'll pretty much know it.  And stripped of its CGI, the story is wafer-thin.  This movie is two hours and twenty-some odd minutes long.  If the fight scenes were cut in half (and they could have been if Snyder wasn't so in love with his computer enhancements), it could have been an hour and a half, easily.

Remember our discussion on the uses of special effects?  Special effects are to enhance the story, not be the story.  I think Zack Snyder forgot that with Man of Steel.

Busy Day

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  I had two freelance interviews (with pictures needing to be taken) 90 miles apart, the first at 7:30 A.M, the second scheduled for 10:00 A.M.  But to get the to the first one, I had to drive about 70 miles.  All in all I ended up driving 204 before noon.

To get to that 7:30 interview, I planned to leave the house at 6:00 A.M.  This would give me plenty of time to get there a bit early (as I always try to do with freelance interviews).  Because the trip is mostly on two-lane roads the trip usually takes about 75 minutes.  And of course I needed to stop at Starbucks. 

But then just before I went to bed the night before, I realized I didn't have enough gas in the car.  So I decided to leave at 5:45 to get gas.  That meant getting up at 4:45 to be ready to go and have time to do the daily Facebook promotional work for my publisher.  Best laid plans . . .

I woke up at 3:00 A.M. and couldn't go back to sleep.  Finally got in the shower and left the house about 5:00.  Got gas and treated myself to breakfast at a local diner and hit the road at about 6:00 A.M.  This time of year it was pitch black and freezing cold (about 8 degrees F).  Luckily the roads were bare and dry (if the weather had been bad, it would have been a miserable trip).

Got to the first interview early as I like to do.  But then the subject showed up late (and he was the one who insisted on 7:30 A.M.).  Got the interview done (and pictures taken) and scrambled to the next one, 90 miles away (and a different direction from home).  I did take one exit wrong which cost a bit of time.  When the interview was supposed to happen (10:00 A.M.) I was, according to my navigation system, about 25 miles away.  I call the subject and let him know I was running late.  He had no problem with that (I'd called him the day before and said I might be late).

Got that interview done and had to drive about 30 miles to home, going in a big triangle-shaped circuit, southeast, northwest, and then east to home.

Getting home I ate lunch and dove right in to writing the articles.  It was nearly 3:00 P.M. when I was done.  That's a 9-hour day going non-stop (except for some lunch).  That's a lot for a semi-retired freelance writer and author.

Then I had Toastmasters at 5:30 to 6:30.  Came home and fell asleep in my recliner around 8:00 P.M.  I was tired.

I love writing and I really enjoy freelancing (except when people won't return my calls I get a bit stressed).  Freelancing lets me practice my craft, make a little extra money, and meet interesting people.  Sometimes when you're dealing with corporations it can be frustrating.  Earlier this month I was debating if freelancing was worth it.  But then I remembered January of this year when I had no freelance work and was bored to tears.  But days like yesterday, while rare, are both fun and hard work, two things not mutually exclusive.

Disappointment and Hope

I had decided I wouldn't do anymore sports posts until after the University of Washington Huskies won their bowl game.  Then came the news yesterday that Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian has accepted an offer to immediately become the head coach at USC.  He won't even be coaching the Huskies in their as-to-be-determined bowl game.  His twitter profile today says he's the head coach at USC.  According to what I read in the Seattle Times today, he'll basically double his salary (to nearly $3 million per year) taking the USC job and be able to return to his home area of Los Angeles.  Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC under Pete Carroll (now head coach of the dominant NFL Seattle Seahawks).

I have mixed feelings about this.  Sarkisian did a great job taking a team that was 0-12 five years ago
Steve Sarkisianand making it 7-5 two years later and won the Holiday bowl against Nebraska in an upset victory.  Then came two more 7-5 years and two bowl losses.  The Huskies seemed to have stagnated.  They'd play brilliant for a game or two, then get blown out by a team they should have been able to beat.  And he never, ever beat Oregon, the team Huskies love to hate (admittedly, Phil Knight bought Oregon a pretty good team).  The Huskies were 8-4 this season losing to very tough teams that went on (mostly) to do great things (Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State, and UCLA).

So maybe it's a good think Sark is moving on.  Maybe he's taken the Dawgs as far as he can.  Maybe some new blood will help make the Huskies dominant again not only in the Pac-12 but nationally.  Maybe we can bring in a coach that can take this team to the next level.  Candidates mentioned include the current defensive coordinator, UCLA's head coach (and former Husky player) Jim Mora, and Boise State's head coach.  We'll have to see.

In a way I'm heartbroken.  And I'm looking forward to the future.

Traffic Jams

Every since I first experienced traffic jams on a regular basis when I moved to Seattle in 1980, I've never quite understood them or what causes them.  I don't know if anyone has really researched them.  They seem to be often a physiological phenomena as much as a function of over-crowded roads.

For example, a freeway in the Seattle area, SR 520 (we don't name our freeways up here), had three lanes going westbound (into Seattle from the 'burbs), one of them an HOV lane (car pool lane).  And every weekday morning there was a jam on the freeway for miles.  Here's the weird thing.  When the freeway crossed Lake Washington (on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge) it dropped to 2 lanes.  Did traffic get worse?  No, it often opened up and was no longer jammed.  Why?  I had two theories: 1) traffic merging off the HOV lane or and 2) there used to be toll gates right before the bridge and people were so used to jamming up there they still did.  (The toll gates were removed 1979, there were no tolls for years, now they are tolling again automatically to pay for a replacement for the 50-year-old bridge.)

In the evenings going eastbound (out of Seattle into the suburbs of Bellevue and Kirkland), the traffic would jam up to (you guessed it) the former toll booth plaza then open up.  Same number of cars, same number of lanes.

Last night I was driving to Seattle on Interstate 90 and suddenly traffic went from about 70 mph to stop and go.  Same number of cars and same number of lanes.  And the same rainy weather.  The picture above was taken during that jam last night.  It took us 70 minutes to go 30 miles for an average speed of 26 mph (on rural interstate with a speed limit of 70).

Now some traffic jams have obvious causes: blocked lane, way too many cars for the road (I-5 downtown Seattle's permanent traffic jam).  But when the same number of cars on the same number of lanes suddenly comes to a halt as if the road suddenly got sticky, that's when I don't understand.

And then there's the other question about traffic jams: why is the lane you're in always the one moving slower?

Tire Pressure

Yesterday I took my car to the tire store to have the snow tires put on.  They are on rims so it was what they called a "switch," not a mount and balance (which is much more expensive).  I forgot to check the tire pressure before I put the tires in the trunk of my car and decided to check it when I got home.  Also, I have a tire pressure monitoring system on that car which is fairly accurate (but all TPMS I have are glitchy and tend to read low).

After waiting a bit (the weather is turning and lots of people are putting on snow tires) I got my car back and drove home.  As I pulled into the driveway each tire on the TPMS read around 37 psi.  The recommended pressure is 30 psi.  I grumbled.  It seems (at least around here) every tire store over-inflates your tires.  So later in the day I went out and lowered the pressure to 30 (which is probably a bit high considering how cold it was; see below).

Tire Rack, whom I pretty much trust for all things tire related, says over-inflation is bad for a number of reasons:

An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when running over potholes or debris in the road. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities well, causing them to ride harsher.

Some people think over-inflating tires gives them better gas mileage.  But it doesn't.  Also, you can wear out your tire faster I've been told because the center will be taking more of the load and the middle will go bald faster than the edges.

Some people think the tire pressure listed on the tire is what they should be inflated to but that's the maximum tire pressure the tire can handle, not the recommended pressure.  Cars weigh different amounts so the same tire on a different car could have a different manufacturer's recommended tire pressure.  Always check your owner's manual or newer cars have a sticker on the driver's side door jamb.  Also, if you inflate your tires to that maximum pressure, then go drive 100 miles at 60 mph, the tire pressure will increase due to heat and, bam, you have a blowout!

The problem is, measuring tire pressure is tricky business.  Pressure depends on three factors: the amount of air in the tire, the size of the tire, and the temperature of the air (I discussed this relationship in great nauseating detail here).  Now the size of the tire is constant but the temperature changes.  The manufacture's recommended tire pressure is the "cold" pressure.  But cold doesn't mean "cold" it means "not hot."  Again, from Tire Rack:

Set according to the vehicle manufacturer's cold tire pressure(s) recommended on the vehicle's tire placard or in its owner's manual. This must be done before rising ambient temperatures, the sun's radiant heat or even driving short distances temporarily warms the tires.

(I once checked my tire pressure with one side of the car in the sun and once side in the shade and I was shocked at the difference.)  And then there's a bunch of correction factors for temperature listed.  They never say what the optimum ambient temperature is but I suspect it's about 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

Now, if you drive 100 miles at 70 mph, your psi will be about 2-3 pounds higher.  That's okay.  That's designed into the pressure and the design of the tire.  If you start your car and it's 20 degrees F out your psi could be 3-4 pound low.  Again, once the car gets moving the tires will warm up and that'll get them to the right pressure.  You can't always maintain the correct pressure of 30 psi (or whatever is recommended for your vehicle).  But you should try to get close with a good tire pressure gauge (I don't recommend the "stick" kind, not accurate enough).  Your tires will thank you.

Apple Cup Win for Washington

With yesterday's Apple Cup victory over the Washington State Cougars, the University of Washington Huskies improve to 8-4, their best record since 2001.  This puts them firmly in 3rd place of the Pac-12 North (after Stanford and Oregon) and 6th overall.  Okay, not great but for a team that went 0-12 just 5 years ago, that's not too shabby.  It is, of course, worse than I had hoped at the beginning of the season.  One problem is, the Pac-12 is strong this year.  For instance, of the 12 teams in the Pac-12, five are ranked and we played four of them (our four losses).  But, there was a time this season the Huskies were ranked #15, before hitting the meat grinder in the middle of their schedule playing Stanford, Oregon, then Arizona State (the other loss was to UCLA).

The Huskies are, however, inconsistent.  Last week against Oregon State, going in as underdogs, there were brilliant.  Yesterday they were dodgy the first half and came out the second half and dominated the Cougs for a 27-17 victory.  So if coach Steve Sarkisian is going to work on anything, it's got to be consistency.  Yes, he's done amazing things with this program (there was a time that if the Huskies were losing, and they usually were, they'd give up about half-way through the third quarter).  But he need to work more and get his talented team working more consistently.  And he needs to stop relying so much on Bishop Sankey.

As you can tell I'm a die-hard Huskies fan.  I'd love to see this team return to the glory of the 1990s.  We keep hoping "next year" looking at the talent of the younger players.  Maybe Sarkisian is the problem.  Maybe he can only bring the Huskies this far and to complete the journey to national dominance they need a different leader.  I don't know.

One more game this season: a bowl game against whom no one knows (I saw one prediction it would be against BYU).  Then we wait, again, for "next year."

The End of NaNoWriMo is Just the Beginning

So it's November 27th and there are three (including today) days left in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  You are probably getting toward the end if you aren't there already.  Personally, I'm at 54,615 and I'm sticking a fork in it and calling it "done."

So, we hope, you have pounded out 50,000 words (at least) by Saturday (I know, it'll be hard tomorrow; why they put NaNoWriMo in November with a major holiday in the U.S. I have no idea).  So now what?

I hate to tell you that you're maybe about half-way done with the work.

At the beginning of NaNoWriMo you signed an "Agreement and Statement of Understanding" which states, in part:

During the month ahead I realize I will produce clunky dialogue, clichéd characters, and deeply flawed plots.  I agree that all of these things will be left in my rough draft, to be corrected and/or excised at a later point.

But I think a lot of NaNoWriMo participants forget the last part: "to be corrected and/or excised at a later point."  They hammer out a first draft and think they are done.  They aren't.

Here's what I plan to do with my NaNoWriMo writings:
Let it sit a bit and "fester."  At least a week (the longer the better).Re-read and proofread and edit.Let it sit a bit and fester some more.  Another week, at least.Re-read, proofread, and edit.  Yes, again.Get as many people as I can to proofread and edit it for me.  They will see things I won't (if you read this blog you know what a lousy proofreader I am!).Have it read to me.  This is a great way to hear bad writing.  Make changes as you go.  (Also, the person reading will also see typos that were missed before.)Edit it again.Send to betas and incorporate any suggestions they have you think is valid.Smile, because now it's done (three or four months later).If you are planning to self-publish, you might want to after step 8 have it professionally edited by someone you pay (yes, you have to pay).  If you have a publisher, they should edit it.

But please do not think that after hammering out 50,000 words of "clunky dialogue, clichéd characters, and deeply flawed plots" you are done.  That's the easy part.  If you want to be a writer, you have to finish the work and do it correctly.  The end of NaNoWriMo is just the beginning of your work.

High Hopes

When I was a kid my mother used to sing songs a lot as she worked around the house.  I thought she made them up because they were so silly no one else would have thought of them (like Mairzy Doats).  One song talked about "high hopes."  And "high hopes" was what us University of Washington Husky fans had for this football season.  And to be honest, at the beginning of the season, it looked that way.  Opening day in the new Husky Stadium we were underdogs to Boise State and beat they soundly.  We went on to a 4-0 record, the best start we'd had in years.  We were ranked nationally at #15.

Then came Stanford, Oregon, and Arizona State.  When we played Stanford, they were ranked #5 and I still think a bad call cost us the chance to win that game.  Then we had to play the Phil Knight Ducks, who were at the time ranked #2.  I didn't get to see the game but all accounts said the Huskies held their own until the fourth quarter.  Then we played Arizona State who, I thought, we should be able to beat.  We got killed in a blow-out.  In our defense, this was the first game of ASU's surge to go on and win the Pac-12 South title and be currently ranked #12 in the AP poll.

So now we were 4-3.  We beat a hapless California, destroyed Colorado (even pulling out our first stringers), and then lost to #13 UCLA.  We were 6-4, barely bowl eligible.

Then came our game over Oregon State last Saturday and, as I said, where was this team all year?

So going into the annual Apple Cup cross-state rivalry game against Washington State Cougars, we are 7-4.  We are in third place in the Pac-12 North (after Stanford and Oregon) and tied for 6th in the Pac-12 overall (tied with Arizona who we beat).  Yes, we could have been better but with a very strong Pac-12, it would have been tough.

If we win the Apple Cup against the Cougars we will be 8-4, barely an improvement on the 7-5 we've been the past three years.  If we lose the Apple Cup (and anything can happen with the Apple Cup) we'll be 7-5 again.

The good news is, in the Colorado and Oregon State games we played a lot of second stringers and they look good and are young players who will be starters in future years.  Because starting quarterback Keith Price was injured in the UCLA game, back up quarterback (and probable starter next year) redshirt freshman Cyler Miles looked great against the Beavers.

So, once again, I'm am saying "Maybe next year."  Seems I've been saying that for 20 years or so, now.

Where Was This Team All Season?

I have to admit I was more than a little worried going into last night's University of Washington Huskies football game against the Oregon Beavers.  Both teams had the same records: 6-4.  But the Huskies had not won a game on the road against a Pac-12 opponent in recent memory.  Add to that that starting quarterback Keith Price was not going to start due to an injury he sustained in last week's horrible loss to UCLA (adding injury to insult).

Apparently I needn't have worried.  From the opening kickoff the Huskies dominated.  Back up quarterback Cyler Miles (a redshirt freshman) performed exceptionally well (much better then when we took over at UCLA) and Bishop Sankey ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns.  Toward the end of the third quarter Miles was using an arsenal of weapons: up and coming players who will help the Huskies be a better team next year.

The hapless Beavers didn't score a point until the fourth quarter when the Huskies had who-know-how-many second and third-string players on the field, including their third-string quarterback.  And the Huskies still managed to score, almost without trying very hard, it seemed.  The final score was 69-27.

If this team has shown up at UCLA last week, they could have won.  They would have had a chance against Stanford or Oregon and maybe not have lost to a resurgent Arizona State (who last night won the Pac-12 South championship with a victory of UCLA).  If this Husky team shows up next week, an Apple Cup victory against Washington State will be a assured.

The Huskies have gone 7-5 the past four years.  They are now 7-4 so a win Friday against WSU would improve their record to 8-4.  Not a great improvement but as good as Cyler Miles and other young players looked last night, the Huskies might be in for great things next year, even against what will probably be still, a very strong Pac-12 North.

Last night's win puts Washington in the third position in the Pac-12 North behind top-10 teams Oregon and Stanford.

(In other good news, the Phil Knight Ducks lost to Arizona yesterday, which should knock them out of BCS contention.  Yes, that's pure schadenfreude but when it comes to Oregon, I'm guilty.)

Guest Book Excerpt: Luke Murphy

Luke MurphyToday, once again, we are featuring author Luke Murphy on our blog.  Monday we had an interview with Luke, Wednesday a guest blog on marketing, and today we feature an excerpt from his debut novel Dead Man's Hand .  You can find Luke on Facebook and Twitter and learn more at his website.

Please enjoy this excerpt from Dead Man's Hand:

Prologue
At exactly 6:15 p.m. on a Sunday, Calvin Watters parked his rusted Ford Taurus across the street from a vacant house. Climbing out, he put on a pair of sunglasses and scanned the neighborhood for any movement or potential hazards. He moved to the back of the car and opened the dented trunk. It creaked in the still night as it slowly swung up. He pulled out a worn black leather case and slid it under his vest. Then he closed the trunk and headed for the door.

He'd been using the rundown house in the red-light district of Las Vegas as his workshop for three years. It suited his purpose. No interruptions, no inquisitive neighbors. Even the local police avoided the area.

He checked the perimeter again. At six-five and 220 pounds, with tattooed arms and gold chains dangling around his thick, muscular neck, a black man like him just didn't go unnoticed in Las Vegas. The street was silent as he approached the house. Weeds sprang from cracks in the sidewalk and shattered liquor bottles blocked the entrance. The barred windows were broken and the screen door had been ripped off its hinges. His sense of smell no longer reacted to the stench of urine and vomit.

Calvin surveyed the area one last time. Extreme caution was one of the reasons he had succeeded in the business for so long. His habits had kept him alive. Satisfied no one had seen him, he trudged his way up the walk.Even though he was the best in the business and had once enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came with the trade, the next part of the job made his skin crawl. His goal was to save the money he needed to get away, start over, but he didn’t know if he could last on the job long enough. That uncertainty made his life even harder.

He unlocked the door, stepped inside and shut it behind him. Heading for the basement, he took a narrow set of wooden stairs that creaked as he descended into darkness. His dreadlocks scraped cobwebs along the rough ceiling. He flicked the switch and a low-watt bulb cast dim light. The tiny room had almost no furniture. The bare concrete floor was dirty and stained with dried blood. In the middle of the room, a lone wooden chair—double nailed to the floor—was occupied.

"Hello, James," Calvin said, his face expressionless.James Pierce stared at him through bulging, fear-filled eyes.

"Sorry about the bump on the head, but I couldn't have you conscious when I moved you here."When Calvin removed the case from his vest, he saw Pierce's pant leg moisten.

"I’m sure you’re wondering why your shoes and socks are off and your pant legs rolled up. We’ll get to that."He laid the case on a small table, strategically placed next to the chair. "There's only one way out," he said, snapping open the lid. He knew his hostage saw one thing when he looked at him—professionally trained brutality.

He checked his watch. Pierce had been there for four hours. The waiting and anticipation alone were more than most men could handle. They often begged for their lives. It was a very effective method.He stared at Pierce for a long moment and then turned away, his stomach churning.

Get a grip, Calvin! Hurry up and get it over with before you change your mind. And lose the reputation he'd spent three years building.

He ripped the duct tape from the man's mouth and pulled out the old rag. "Time for me to collect."Pierce gasped, breathing in air greedily. "Please, Calvin. I beg you. Don't do this."

"You're a degenerate gambler, James. Your expensive hobby and inability to pay has put you here. You knew the rules. They were laid out well in advance." "No! Please…"

Calvin tried to block out the man's cries. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed him and he grabbed the chair to steady himself. Finish the job. "You know how this works." He stared at Pierce."I promise I'll pay. Just give me one more day. Please."

"You knew the rules. You've already had an extra week, James. You're lucky Mr. Pitt is a forgiving man, more forgiving than I am. He’s only counting that week as one day late. But if you aren't in his office tomorrow morning with all the money, you'll be seeing me again. Every late day will count as two. And I won't be so nice next time.""I'll pay." Pierce sobbed.

Calvin heaved a sigh. "Relax. It'll all be over soon."He leaned over the table. For effect, he took his time as he opened the leather case and removed the tools of his trade. "One day, one joint."

This was when most of them broke down all the way. And Pierce didn't disappoint him. A scream boiled from the man's belly and erupted like a relentless siren.Calvin ignored Pierce as best he could. There were 206 bones in the human skeleton. A pro had trained him to use them all.

"Hammer or pipe cutter?""God, no!"

"Hammer or pipe cutter?" He threw a punch at Pierce's jaw, sending bloody spit into the air."Hammer!" Pierce screamed.

"Finger or toe?"Pierce squeezed his eyes shut. "Toe."

Calvin stuffed the dirty rag back into the man's mouth. He turned and pressed play on the radio resting on the table, turning the volume up a few notches, careful not to bring attention to the house. The pounding, vibrating beat from Metallica not only drowned out his prey's moans of pain, but the sound took him back to his glory days. He removed a ball-peen hammer from the pouch and moved in on his quarry’s bare feet."Toe it is then."

He got down on one knee and lifted the hammer above his head.
After Pierce had passed out from the pain, Calvin checked the man's breathing and then entered an adjoining room that could be locked from the inside. On one side, the shelves were piled with canned or packaged food and beverage containers. He had stored several months' worth of supplies in case he ever came under siege and was trapped. His complete arsenal hung on the other side. He'd been collecting weapons for three years, purchasing them where he could when he had saved some money. Now the arsenal was almost complete and in his mind, quite impressive. The arsenal had been developed for defensive purposes only.

He had never carried a gun as a collector, but now he selected a weapon for his trip. Something small enough to conceal, but at his ready in case he ran into a nosy cop or former client.He checked on Pierce again as he left the bomb shelter and moved upstairs to his computer. Once the computer booted up, he hacked into a couple of restricted sites, trying to find any mention of his name by a babbling client or angry competitor. Seeing nothing, he switched over to the LVMPD site to make sure Rachel was staying clean. He checked up on her three times a week. He wouldn't let her slip up.

He logged off and documented his latest collection, noting the methods that worked with Pierce, as well as times and techniques. All of the information was added to a file that spanned three years.Shutting down the computer, he returned to the basement. He transported Pierce to the gambler's blood-red sedan, which Calvin had parked by the river. He knew that within the hour James would wake up and drive home. What would he tell his wife? There was no worry about Pierce ever relaying this incident to anyone else. Calvin was sure of that.

As he drove back to his workshop, he let out a soft groan. "I need out."Dead Man's Hand   What happens when the deck is stacked against you…From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.…and the cards don't fall your way? When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years. What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand? Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them. "You may want to give it the whole night, just to see how it turns out."
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter "Dead Man's Hand is a pleasure, a debut novel that doesn't read like one,
but still presents original characters and a fresh new voice."
—Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Poison Flower "Part police procedural, part crime fiction, Dead Man's Hand is a fast, gritty ride."
—Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Hush  And you can find Dead Man's Hand at Amazon.com.