I’m thrilled to be able to show you the cover for my second novel, Gunshine State, out this September from the wonderful folks at 280 Steps.
Gunshine State is a heist thriller set in Melbourne, Queensland and Thailand. Think Richard Stark’s Parker, Garry Disher’s Wyatt, and Wallace Stroby’s Crissa Stone. Add a touch of Surfers Paradise sleaze and a very dangerous stopover in Asia.
Here’s the elevator pitch:
Gary Chance is a former Australian army driver, ex-bouncer and thief. His latest job sees him in Queensland working for Dennis Curry, an aging Surfers Paradise standover man. Curry runs off-site, non-casino poker games, and wants to rob one of his best customers, a high roller called Frederick ‘Freddie’ Gao.
While the job may seem straightforward, Curry’s crew is anything but. Frank Dormer is a secretive former Australian soldier turned private security contractor. Sophia Lekakis is a highly-strung receptionist at the hotel where Gao stays when he visits Surfers. Amber is Curry’s attractive female housemate and part of the lure for Gao. Chance knows he can’t trust anyone, but nothing prepares him for what unfolds when Curry’s plan goes wrong.
The novel has already had some good advance praise from authors I admire with, I hope more to come:
“A tense, fast-moving, vividly-drawn thriller.”
Garry Disher, author of the Wyatt novels
“A lean, mean, hard-boiled knockout.”
David Whish Wilson, author of Line of Sight and Zero at the Bone
Needless to say, I’ll be talking more about Gunshine State in the lead-up to its release. I’ll also be doing some posts to celebrate my love of heist film and fiction.
