Psychosomatic -- Anthony Neil Smith

I'd hoped to buy this book at the Bouchercon and get it signed, but none of the dealers had it. So I resorted to Amazon, and I'm glad I did. This is one sick, twisted book. Naturally I mean that in a good way. You've got your quadruple amputee femme fatale, your various killings (accidental and deliberate), your psychos, your low-level criminal types, your hapless characters who keep thinking they're going to get out of the mess they're in (but you know better), your innocent victims. And plenty more. I'm telling you, this is one wild ride. There are times when you want to look away, but you can't. I'm reminded of the time I was on about the 15th floor of a hotel in San Antonio one dark and stormy night, standing at the window and looking down at the street below. A car was speeding down a cross street, and I could tell that it wasn't going to stop at the light. I could see that the cars that had the green weren't going to stop and weren't aware of the danger. I knew it was going to end badly, but that didn't matter. I couldn't tear my eyes away. Same with Psychosomatic. You'll need to be ready for this one, and after you read it, you'll be eager to see what Smith is going to do for an encore.