A searing novel of a down-and-out cop!
Award-wining mystery novelist Jerry Oster takes a major step forward in his most ambitious book yet. Busted Valentine is the story of Solitaire, a down-and-out cop with a busted heart, busted career, busted soul. Oster takes us inside Solitaire's melancholy head, full at once of an endless stream of movie allusions and a million bleak observations about the sordid world around him.
And through his eyes we see unfold what Solitaire knows will be the most crucial case of his life: Someone has cold-bloodedly murdered his best friend's lover, from close up. Someone she knew and trusted. Someone who must be part of her circle ... and Solitaire's. It's a crime Solitaire doesn't want to solve ... and a crime he must solve. It's a journey that will take him deep into the shadow of death, where his only choices may be between dying physically or spiritually.
See why critics enthusiastically praise Jerry Oster's urban thrillers as "superb ... realistic ... brilliant..." (New York Times), "masterly ... colorful ... difficult to put down..." (Chicago Sun-Times), "urbane, witty updates on the hard-boiled detective novel..." (Women's Wear Daily), "Mesmerizing..." (Washington Post), "swift, shocking, surprisingly moving..." (Publisher's Weekly).
Jerry Oster, a former investigative reporter, is the author of Nightfall, winner of the 1999 Bochumer Krimi Prize for Best International Crime novel, and Sweet Justice, a New York Times notable mystery novel of the year.
