SPOTLIGHT: TREASURE COAST

SPOTLIGHT: TREASURE COAST

SYNOPSIS:
Treasure Coast is the wild new thriller from Tom Kakonis, the acclaimed author of Criss Cross and Michigan Roll.

A compulsive gambler goes to his sister’s funeral on Florida’s Treasure Coast and gets saddled with her loser-son, who is deep in debt to a vicious loan shark who sends a pair of sociopathic thugs to collect on the loan. But things go horribly awry…and soon the gambler finds himself in the center of an outrageous kidnapping plot involving a conman selling mail-order tombstones, a psychic who channels the dead and the erotically super-charged wife of a wealthy businessman. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a killer hurricane is looming…

It’s “Get Shorty” meets “No Country for Old Men” on a sunny Florida coast teeming with conmen and killers, the vapid and the vain, and where violent death is just a heartbeat away.

“Kakonis is a sharp new gambler in the literary crap game — he just takes the pot.” The New York Times

“Aptly compared to Elmore Leonard, Kakonis builds exquisite tension…steamy with a high-rent, low-life atmosphere…and an unforgettable cast.” Publishers Weekly

“Tom Kakonis is a master of the low-life novel. Nobody does it better.” Ross Thomas

Break out the champagne, there’s a new publisher in town! Brash Books is their name and only the best in crime fiction is their game. To celebrate, we are hosting a blog tour from Sept. 15 through October for the release of Tom Kakonis’s new novel, TREASURE COAST.

Launching in September, Brash Books is the brainchild of Lee Goldberg, author of more than 40 books including the bestselling Fox & O’Hare series with Janet Evanovich, and Joel Goldman, author of the hugely successful and award-winning Lou Mason, Jack David, and Alex Stone series. Lee and Joel decided to do something never done before—publish the best mysteries, police procedurals, thrillers, and spy novels of the last 30 years—as well as innovative new titles that will be the among the best of the next 30 years.

In other words, Brash Books publishes the best crime novels in existence. Their roster features an unparalleled list of highly acclaimed Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and National Book Award-winning or nominated titles.

First up for Brash, Tom Kakonis’s TREASURE COAST is a new novel described as “Get Shorty” meets “No Country for Old Men.”

A compulsive gambler goes to his sister’s funeral on Florida’s Treasure Coast and gets saddled with her loser-son, who is deep in debt to a vicious loan shark who sends a pair of sociopathic thugs to collect on the loan. But things go horribly awry and the gambler finds himself in the center of an outrageous kidnapping plot involving a conman selling mail-order tombstones, a psychic who channels the dead, and the erotically super-charged wife of a wealthy businessman.

The New York Times says, “Kakonis is a sharp gambler in the literary crap game – He just takes the pot.”Amazon link to purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Coast-Tom-Kakonis/dp/194129801X
1. Treasure Coast is one of the first releases from the new publishing company, Brash Books. Bestselling authors Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman created Brash to publish “the best crime novels in existence.”
About the Author
Master of Crime Fiction Tom Kakonis has been hailed by critics nationwide as the heir-apparent to Elmore Leonard… and for good reason. His stunning thrillers blend dark humor with gritty storytelling for compelling, and innovative crime noir capers packed with unique, sharply drawn characters and shocking twists. All of those talents are on full display in Treasure Coast, his bold new thriller from Brash Books. But that success is built on a foundation of incredible crime writing. In his highly-praised debut Michigan Roll, Kakonis introduced Tim Waverly – a loveable gambler who constantly finds himself playing a game of survival against the odds. The Waverly series continued with Double Down and Shadow Counter, and Kakonis also penned the hilarious and harrowing Christmas car heist Criss Cross. Kakonis took a darker turn with Blind Spot and Flawless, two mind-blowing thrillers he initially wrote under the pseudonym “Adam Barrow.” Blind Spot is a tour-de-force that tracks a father’s relentless, driving obsession to save his family at any cost, while Flawless, picked as a People Magazine Chiller of the Week, centers on a chilling serial killer as his perfectly-ordered life begins to crumbled when he falls in love, his imprisoned father is released, and a relentless, and sleazy, PI starts to follow the trail of bodies to his door. And now Tom Kakonis is back with the thriller his fans have been waiting to read for years. It was worth the wait. Treasure Coast Is “Get Shorty” meets “No Country for Old Men” on a sunny Florida coast that’s teeming with conmen and killers – and marks the return of Tom Kakonis at his best.

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BOOK: My thoughts Meet Jim Merriman: a man whose life has had so many downs. Not making it as a gambler, forced to care for his nephew as requested by his sister as her one final wish before leaving this world, Jim’s life is anything but ordinary. Leon just wants Jim to take care of him but he’s in debt and someone is after him. But, as with most that are in debt to loan sharks Leon is not going to get away scot free. Enter Morris Biggs, Jr. a debt collector. Morris is mean, racist, an ex-con and his sidekick Hector, Hispanic together makes an unholy pair. Add in some other wild characters like Brice Bott whose scam is to sell those mourning their loved one a link to their loved one that has passed or other words
“ someone or something that is used as a way of sending something (such as information or money) from one place or person to another.” Add in Waneta whose mannerisms and personality are questionable and odd and one hot woman who seems to have caught the yes of many you had a story that is fast paced, filled with twists and turns and the unexpected. Billy Swett is the third wife of Big Lonnie a man whose noted for his large bank account.

So what happens when all of these world’s collide and bang into each other? Jim finds himself entangled with Billy Swett and cannot seem to shy away from her charms when meeting her. Billy has fallen prey to Bott and has been giving him money in order to get messages from the next world related to her past. But, Jim is not that naïve and does not really buy the whole connection to the spirit or other world. His goal is to help his nephew out of debt and sometimes the best intentions go awry. Leon thinks that by giving Bott’s money he might get a message from his long gone mother to help solve his problems.

What happens when the debt collectors, Jim, Leon and the grifter join forces? You just won’t believe what Bott has in mind and how he plans to decrease the walled of “Big Lonnie,” thinking everyone will profit. How about kidnapping his wife? What does Biggs really have in mind? Just what will the split be when all is said and done? Add in “Cheetah,” McReedy an ex-cop who has turned investigator and the mayhem continues. Will anyone stop them? Will Cheetah be able to close in on them before their plan is hatched? What happens when a hurricane strikes? Find out when you read Treasure Coast!

Many thanks to Lee at Brash for an ARC of this. Brash are in the process of republishing all of Tom’s previous books, including a couple previously published under the pseudonym of Adam Barrow. Several are available now, with more to come in February 2015. Happy days!
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