Night Driver

by Nic D'Anna

Shakespeare-quoting cabbie and ex-DEA agent Nate Alexander may be “mad north-northwest,” but when his best friend is murdered in the southwest desert city of Tucson, Arizona, he knows a police cover-up when he smells one.

With the fate of his friend’s widow and infant son hanging in the balance, Nate’s wild pursuit of the truth leads from Tucson’s gritty backstreets to a wealthy college fraternity where the dark secret behind the killing forces him to confront his own sinful past.

363 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2014

About the author

Nic D'Anna hails originally from Chicago, Illinois, but spent parts of his formative years also in Georgia and Michigan. After earning a bachelor's degree in journalism, he worked briefly as a newspaper reporter, then as a technical writer and software developer for over a decade,then as an actor for five years. Along the way he lived in Portland, Oregon, Denver, Colorado, Austin, Texas, and Hollywood, California, and visited 38 countries while also writing several short stories, four screenplays, and numerous travelogues.

Family concerns then required a move to Tucson, Arizona where he tried night taxi driving as a fill-in job and soon realized he'd fallen down the rabbit hole into a world of rich characters and bizarre experiences he could write about. "Night Driver" is the first in the Nate Alexander series of thriller novels inspired by Nic's experiences driving a night taxi. His most bizarre true taxi-driving experiences can be read at www.tucsontaxitales.com.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sort of rural/college town noir about a cabbie who investigates the death of his friend and finds corrupt cops, drugs, and frat boy rapists.

The cab driver detective is an old, though not often used detective. Probably the best is Steve Midnight from the pulps. This guy isn't bad, even if he seems a bit clueless.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, I won this book in a giveaway. The beginning was slow but worthwhile, it picked up right after Marcus' death. Nate is this character who is shrouded in mystery and someone who you want to root for because he has changed his old ways. Overall, it was a pleasure to read and I'm excited for the sequel or rather prequel since it will answer questions about Nate's past in Australia.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book as a free giveaway through Goodreads. It started much better than it ended. Trying to tie everything up got very convoluted and confusing, trying to remember who was after who, and who knew this piece of the puzzle but not that one. The random use of apostrophes and spelling errors were maddening. And the random Shakespeare quotes were irritating.