ICE COLD IN THE CARIBBEAN

My first novel from a major publisher in 4 years - and my first stand-alone novel since 1995's Night Feast - is now available from Simon & Schuster/Pocket Star.

Tropic of Darkness is set mostly in Havana, Cuba, with the action shifting from the present day to the late Fifties, when the Mob virtually ran that city. In fact, the action starts with none other than Meyer Lansky stepping off a plane at Havana Airport, only to receive some rather strange and troubling news. Here's the book's back-cover blurb:

"Enter a dim-lit, sultry world full of the darkest secrets, where age-old legends come to life, dreams get mixed up with reality, and nothing save for death is truly as it seems.

Jack Gilliard is a man with a dark past, and he hasn’t been back to the United States for more than a decade. But when he washes up in Havana, Cuba, he finds himself being drawn into a business darker than he ever dared think. Ancient passions, ancient treacheries, an age-old curse, and the evils of his past are now consuming the present—and Jack is caught in the midst of it all. To survive, all he has to do is leave the country—a prospect much more difficult than anticipated. But the real question is: can Jack escape before the darkness claims him altogether?"

And the first review's an excellent one:

“The tension built well as the story progressed and kept me turning pages. All in all, Tropic of Darkness is a well-crafted tale, and well worth reading. I rate this work as Highly Recommended for adult readers” – The Monster Librarian.

Read an extract here.

Tropic of Darkness is available in a wide variety of different ebook formats. Find out more here. 

A paperback version will be released in 2014.

I'VE MOVED TO SIMON & SCHUSTER

My first stand-alone novel in a good while -- I'm not counting my Raine's Landing series from Harpers -- has been accepted by Simon & Schuster. TROPIC OF DARKNESS is a supernatural thriller set in Cuba, mostly in Havana, and the action alternates between the present day and back in the Fifties, when the Mob largely ran that city. The novel will be appearing as an ebook first and in print later, and I'll let you have more information as soon as I have it.


The accompanying photo, btw, is of the beautiful but crumbling rooftops of central Havana, taken by yours truly from the roof terrace of the Hotel Inglaterra.