About the book
- Winner of the 2020 Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction
About the author
George Amabile has published ten books and has had his work published in over a hundred national and international venues. He has won awards in the CAA National Prize, the CBC Literary Competition, the Petra Kenney International Competition and the MAC national poetry contest, and the National Magazine Awards. His most recent publications are a long poem, Dancing, with Mirrors and Small Change, both of which won Bressani Awards. Amabile lives in Winnipeg.
Excerpt
Malone hesitated and Price cut in, “Let’s just lay it out, Chaz. Nico, it’s boring as tapioca these days. We want you back bustin’ our chops like the old days.”
Nick was touched. “I’d like that too, Corbie, I surely would, but it’s not up to me.”
Malone said, “Well, actually, it kinda is, or uh, you know, it might be?”
Price shook his head. “What monkey mouth is tryin’ to say is that IAB would take another look pronto if you’d do a few rounds with a counsellor.”
Nick felt himself getting hot, and his breathing quickened. He felt surrounded, smothered, trapped.
The beer came and he poured himself a glass, took a long drink before he answered. “Yeah, well, I thought about it, but I don’t see what good it will do.”
“We ain’t saying anything’s broken, bro, it’s just, you know, for the brass.” Malone added, “They want to move you back, but they need some paper.”
“Paper? Don’t they have enough paper in the NYPD? The Department’s drowning in paper. Besides, I haven’t had any, uh, incidents since I left the Sixth. I’ve been sending them letters telling them so every week. That should be good enough. I’m not gonna spill my guts to some office boy with a bullshit degree.”
Malone looked disappointed. He opened both hands in a conciliatory gesture, and shrugged, “Hey, Nico, I’m sorry I brought it up.”
Nick chucked him on the arm. “I understand. And it means a lot that you guys want me back. I just don’t see myself sittin there like Tony Soprano mouthing off about anxiety attacks and stuffing myself with downers.”
Reviews
“Winnipeg poet George Amabile turns his talents to the political-thriller genre in a new novel, which he launches Friday at 7 p.m. at the Grant Park location of McNally Robinson Booksellers.
Amabile, author of 10 previous books…” >>
— Bob Armstrong Winnipeg Free Press