An American teen living abroad discovers the truth about himself and his family in this thrilling novel from "one of the best dialogue hounds in the business" (New York Times Book Review). 1972, Beirut, Lebanon. Young American Matthew lives with his father, a rising foreign service attache, and mother, in an exclusive community of ex-patriots. It is the summer Matthew becomes a teenager, falls in love, nearly dies, and watches his family, and the city, fall apart.It is in this world of Western schemers and local merchants, of hoodlums and politicians, that Matthew begins to solve the mystery of who his father really is, and what role he is really playing in the upheaval that is shaking the city loose of its old, civilized and way and ushering in a new and frightening radicalism.This is the story of a boy and a family, besieged. Intimate in scope and wrenching in its vision of lost innocence, City on the Edge is a mystery and spy story from...

Frank Marr was a good cop, until his burgeoning addictions to alcohol and cocaine forced him into retirement from the D.C. Metro police. Now, he's barely eking out a living as a private investigator for a defense attorney—also Frank's ex-girlfriend.Ostracized by his family after a botched case that led to the death of his baby cousin, Jeffrey, Frank was on a collision course with rock bottom. Now clean and clinging hard to sobriety, Frank passes the time—and tests himself—by robbing the houses of local dealers, taking their cash and flushing their drugs down the toilet. When an old friend from his police days needs Frank's help to prove he didn't shoot an unarmed civilian, Frank is drawn back into the world of dirty cops and suspicious drug busts, running in the same circles that enabled his addiction those years ago.Never one to play by the rules, Frank recruits a young man he nearly executed years before. Together—a good man...

In this DC-set standalone from "one of the best dialogue hounds in the business" (New York Times Book Review), Homicide Detective Alex Blum must answer a terrible question: 'how far would you go to love the wrong woman?' In a red brick house on a tree-lined street, DC homicide detective Alex Blum stares at the bullet-pocked body of Chris Doyle. As he roots around for evidence, he finds an old polaroid: the decedent, arm in arm with Arthur Holland, Blum's informant from years ago when he worked at the Narcotics branch. But Arthur has been missing for days. Blum’s only source: Arthur’s girl, Celeste—beautiful, seductive, and tragic—whom he can’t get out of his head. Blum is drawn to her and feels compelled to save her from Arthur’s underworld. As the investigation ticks on and dead bodies domino, Blum, unearths clues with damning implications for Celeste. Swallowed by desire, Blum’s single...

He's a good detective...with a bad habit.One of Booklist's Best Crime Novels of the Year!Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret.A long-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his usage from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of an Adams Morgan drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl—possibly connected to the first—and the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light, too.Frank is as slippery and charming an antihero as you've ever met, but he's also achingly vulnerable. The result is a...

The return of Frank Marr, the "refreshing" protagonist of one of the New York Times' Best Crime Novels of 2016 Frank Marr was a good cop with a bad habit, until his burgeoning addictions to alcohol and cocaine forced him into retirement from the DC police. Now barely eking out a living as a private investigator, he agrees to take on a family case: a favor for his aunt, who was like a second mother to him growing up.Frank's surveillance confirms that his cousin Jeffrey is involved with a small-time drugs operation. Modest stuff, until Frank's own home is burglarized, leaving a body on the kitchen floor: Jeffrey. Worse, Frank's .38 revolver-the murder weapon-is stolen, along with his cherished music collection, his only possessions of sentimental value: dozens of vinyl albums that belonged to his late mother. Only Frank's stash, his dwindling supply of the cocaine he needs to get through the day, is untouched. Why?Clearly, his cousin was deeper in the underworld than anyone realized. With the weight of his family, his reputation, and his own life on the line, he'll have to find the culprit by following the stolen goods through a tangled network of petty thieves, desperate addicts, deceiving fences, good cops, bad cops, and one morally compromised taxi driver.Frank's as determined to uncover the truth as he is to feed his habit, and both pursuits could prove deadly. This time, it may just be a question of what gets him first.**Review''Former DC detective Swinson knows his stuff. . . . His second in the Frank Marr series features sharp prose, spot-on dialogue, and a protagonist as complicated and unlikely as he is appealing. Fans of gritty crime fiction will want to add Swinson to their reading lists.'' --Booklist (starred review) ''David Swinson is one of the most exciting new voices to come along in crime fiction in this decade, and Crime Song is Exhibit A of his remarkable talent. Swinson's writing is heartfelt, powerful, and authentic, and Frank Marr is as fully rendered as any detective in recent memory.'' --Michael Koryta, bestselling author of Rise the Dark ''Frank Marr is a straight-up addict. His life, a train wreck. And he's the good guy. Welcome to the world of David Swinson, author of one of the most compelling P.I. series to come along in a while. Pick up a copy of Crime Song. You'll love it.'' --Michael Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of Brighton ''A veteran detective, David Swinson knows DC's secrets and it shows in this killer noir, so authentic it'll make you get up and lock your doors. Crime Song is even better than the fantastic The Second Girl and Swinson writes with a refreshing, understated realness. This is right up there with Richard Price and The Wire.'' --Matthew Quirk, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Man Switch ''Crime Song is fast and rough and great. The atmosphere is perfect. The details are perfect. Only a cop, someone who's really lived in this world, could get so much so right.'' --James O. Born, bestselling author of Walking MoneyAbout the Author David Swinson is a retired police detective, having served sixteen years with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. Before joining the DC police, Swinson was a record store owner in Seal Beach, California; a punk rock/alternative concert promoter in Long Beach, California; and a music video producer and independent filmmaker in Los Angeles, California. Swinson currently lives in northern Virginia with his family, bull mastiff, and bearded dragon.