Nick Kolakowski

Centred around the small California town of San Douglas, Where the Bones Lie is an electrifying new mystery noir novel, perfect for fans of Jordan Harper.Relentless climate change-driven drought has dried up a lake ... revealing an old, rusty barrel. Inside the barrel, the local police discover a skeleton belonging to Ken Ironwood, a notorious L.A. smuggler who rubbed shoulders in the 1980s and 90s with gangsters and movie stars.Ken Ironwood's ultra-hip daughter, Madeline, wants to figure out who killed her father. In her desperation, she turns to Dash McClane, a former Hollywood fixer and bagman for the studios. McClane's life is spiralling the drain, but he's willing to help Madeline because her quest seems righteous and he's looking for a little redemption. Together, they drive to San Douglas and confront crooked cops, stuntmen-turned-thugs, and a mysterious winery owner with something big to hide.As they investigate, Dash and Madeline form a deep bond over their shared losses and a cynical view of the world. They become quite a pair: resourceful, cunning, and relentlessly sarcastic. They'll need to rely on each other as their situation turns increasingly deadly. Fortunately, McClane knows a little something about unearthing old secrets-and this isn't the first time he's had guns fired at him.

Bill and Fiona, the lovable anti-heroes of the "Love & Bullets" trilogy, find themselves in the toughest of tough spots: badly wounded, hunted by assorted cops and goons, and desperately in need of a drink (or five).After a round-the-world tour of spectacular criminality, Bill and Fiona find themselves back in New York. But it's not exactly home-sweet-home: Locked in a panic room on the top floor of a skyscraper, surrounded by pretty much everyone in three zip codes who wants to kill them, they'll need to figure out how to stay upright and breathing... and maybe deal out a little payback in the process.Can they survive?Even better, can they make a profit off all this?Main Bad Guy caps a series described as "a Tarantino movie in prose" (Sons of Spade) and "deliciously deranged" (Raven Crime Reads).Praise for MAIN BAD GUY: "It's no surprise that Nick Kolakowski brought the heat with his latest novel Main Bad Guy. The surprise is that you won't know which landed harder: His stripped-down, hard-boiled prose, the explosive dialogue, or the wickedly insane and diabolical humor. Grab hold of this one with both hands and hold on tight." -Eryk Pruitt, author of Townies and What We Reckon

Bill is a hustler's hustler with a taste for the high life. He pulls off big scores for one of New York City's more vicious gangs...until he suddenly grows a conscience. However, living the clean life takes a whole lot of money, and so Bill decides to steal a fortune from his employer before skipping town.With a bag of cash in the trunk of his car, Bill heads west, ready for a new life. But all that money makes him a tempting target for some bad people he meets on the road-and if that wasn't dangerous enough, some old friends are close behind him, and they intend to make a trophy of his head.Pursued by crooked cops, dimwitted bouncers, and a wisecracking assassin in the midst of a midlife crisis, Bill will need to be a quick study in the way of the gun if he wants to survive his own getaway. Who knew that an honest attempt at redemption could rack up a body count like this?A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps is a gonzo noir journey into obsession, violence, and the power of love.

Slaughterhouse Blues catches up with Bill and Fiona, the chattery and gun-happy anti-heroes of A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps, soon after they've escaped the Rockaway Mob, the criminal enterprise from which Bill "borrowed" several million dollars.Holed up in Havana, Bill and Fiona know the Mob is coming for them-it's just a question of time. But they're not prepared for who the Mob sends: a pair of assassins so utterly amoral and demented, their behavior pushes the boundaries of sanity. Seriously, what kind of killers pause in mid-hunt to discuss the finer points of thread count and luxury automobiles?Forced on the run (again), Bill and Fiona will venture from the crumbling streets of Cuba to the steaming jungles of Nicaragua, and finally back to the mean streets of New York City. If they want to survive, our fine young criminals can't retreat anymore: they'll need to pull off a massive (and massively weird) heist-and the loot has some very dark history...

Monsters and monster-killers come in all shapes and sizes in this collection of three horror novellas by Glenn Rolfe, Tom Deady, and Nick Kolakowski. IT CAME FROM THE LAKE by Glenn Rolfe: Owens Lake is protected by a reclusive war vet by the name of Francis Owens, but this man is not the only threat around. When Leilani runs away from the nicest foster home she's ever known, she winds up two hours north in a town called Belgrade. It isn't scary-boring, maybe-but the town appears peaceful and slow.Quincy appreciates that serene quiet, and has his own hideaway from life in one of the empty cabins surrounding Owens Lake. He knows about Francis, but facing a crazy vet is nothing compared to his old man. These two teens' paths cross when they discover there's something else to this particular body of water...It Came from the Lake is the latest horror from the imagination of Glenn Rolfe, author of August's Eyes and Blood and Rain. IN THE GLASTENBURY WOODS by Tom Deady: It was supposed to be the road trip to end all road trips. The summer of 1986, a few weeks before Dave and his two friends went their separate ways to college and the military. One last hurrah to Toronto to see Hulk Hogan and the rest of the WWF in The Big Event. It all goes wrong when they take a detour through Vermont's notorious Glastenbury Woods. There's something in the forest, and it's out for blood. But Dave has another reason for the trip, and he doesn't plan on letting anyone, or anything, get in his way. GROUNDHOG SLAY by Nick Kolakowski: It's the summer of 1987. Around Lake Legionnaire, locals whisper tales of an unstoppable monster rampaging through the night, killing everyone in its way. But what if the monster's just trying to stop something far worse-a threat that could destroy all existence? "Groundhog Slay" shows that not all heroes wear capes: sometimes they wear creepy masks, and they're a little bit too skilled with a chainsaw... This book is perfect for fans of monsters, slasher movies, classic horror, mystery and suspense fiction, small town horror, and thrillers.

Monsters and monster-killers come in all shapes and sizes in this collection of three horror novellas by Glenn Rolfe, Tom Deady, and Nick Kolakowski. IT CAME FROM THE LAKE by Glenn Rolfe: Owens Lake is protected by a reclusive war vet by the name of Francis Owens, but this man is not the only threat around. When Leilani runs away from the nicest foster home she's ever known, she winds up two hours north in a town called Belgrade. It isn't scary-boring, maybe-but the town appears peaceful and slow.Quincy appreciates that serene quiet, and has his own hideaway from life in one of the empty cabins surrounding Owens Lake. He knows about Francis, but facing a crazy vet is nothing compared to his old man. These two teens' paths cross when they discover there's something else to this particular body of water...It Came from the Lake is the latest horror from the imagination of Glenn Rolfe, author of August's Eyes and Blood and Rain. IN THE GLASTENBURY WOODS by Tom Deady: It was supposed to be the road trip to end all road trips. The summer of 1986, a few weeks before Dave and his two friends went their separate ways to college and the military. One last hurrah to Toronto to see Hulk Hogan and the rest of the WWF in The Big Event. It all goes wrong when they take a detour through Vermont's notorious Glastenbury Woods. There's something in the forest, and it's out for blood. But Dave has another reason for the trip, and he doesn't plan on letting anyone, or anything, get in his way. GROUNDHOG SLAY by Nick Kolakowski: It's the summer of 1987. Around Lake Legionnaire, locals whisper tales of an unstoppable monster rampaging through the night, killing everyone in its way. But what if the monster's just trying to stop something far worse-a threat that could destroy all existence? "Groundhog Slay" shows that not all heroes wear capes: sometimes they wear creepy masks, and they're a little bit too skilled with a chainsaw... This book is perfect for fans of monsters, slasher movies, classic horror, mystery and suspense fiction, small town horror, and thrillers.

Miller thought it was the perfect heist: Five minutes to hit the cash room of an amusement park, then another two minutes to the getaway car, then gone. As a professional thief, he'd done jobs like that dozens of times. But Miller's partners had other ideas. When things go bad and bloody, Miller is forced to flee back to familiar territory: New York City's West Village, where even the target of a nationwide manhunt can hide out amidst the freaks.But Miller's refuge might prove even more dangerous. Approached by an old friend about a shady protection job, Miller finds himself thrown into a bizarre world of pint-sized gangsters, aging war criminals, and shady government agents... all of whom are pursuing a prize beyond imagination.Early Praise"With PAYBACK IS FOREVER, Nick Kolakowski has crafted a quick, clever story that feels both classic and fresh. This one hits the ground running and never lets up. Highly recommend."-Steve Weddle, author Country Hardball"Like a demented fun-house mirror version of a Richard Stark novel, Kolakowski deconstructs hoary crime cliches with the sort of panache you don't want to miss. Our tour guide, Miller, is cut from the tough-guy mold, but twisted so askew by the end of the book, he's carved out his own niche."-Brian Asman, author of Man, F*ck This House

Bill is a conman with a taste for high-end cars, beautiful suits, and top-shelf liquor. But he's getting tired of the cons he needs to maintain that lifestyle-and he's sick of the violence that's sometimes part of the job.Bill's girlfriend Fiona doesn't have a problem with violence, though. She'll crush anyone who stands in her way-and some days, it seems like the whole world wants a piece of her. She loves Bill, but she's tired of cleaning up after him.When Bill decides to "borrow" a couple million from one of New York City's most vicious gangs and flee for the tropics, it puts their relationship to the test-and while they're working out their issues, they'll also need to fend off crooked cops, dimwitted bouncers, and an irate assassin in the midst of the world's weirdest midlife crisis."Love & Bullets" is the story of a 21st century Bonnie & Clyde, a wisecracking duo who'll blast their way from Brooklyn to Cuba and back in order to stay alive. It's a wild ride.Praise for Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition"Nick Kolakowski takes us on another incredibly visceral and vivacious ride among the lowlife and the lovers that populate his unique imagination. Love and Bullets is vintage Nick . Funny, fast paced and just tinged with just enough darkness to make you afraid for his characters. Not to be missed "-S.A. Cosby NYT's best selling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland"This one's for die-hard Kolakowski fans"-Publishers Weekly"Dark, bleak and in-your-face, take-no-prisoners prose, everything you want in crime fiction."-Frank Bill, author of Donnybrook and Crimes in Southern Indiana

"Action-packed, gory, and hilarious. I loved it " - Michelle Garza Absolute Unit is a dark carnival ride through the underside of the American Dream, where hustlers and parasites fight to survive against gun-toting furries, sarcastic drug kingpins, old ladies who are startlingly good with knives, and angry ex-girlfriends. It's a hardboiled slice of modern American horror that asks the deepest question of all: Is the human race worth saving? Bill is a nobody, a health inspector who's not above taking a few dollars to overlook a restaurant's mouse problem, and hated by nearly everyone except his long-suffering girlfriend. His nephew, Trent, isn't much better: sexually and morally confused, he's probably the worst teenage con artist on the East Coast. But today, these two losers are going to become the most important people in the world. That's because Bill and Trent harbor a sentient parasite with a sarcastic sense of humor and a ravenous appetite. As the parasite figures out how to control its new human hosts, the focus of its desires grows from delicious cheeseburgers and beer to something much darker and more dangerous. The apocalypse might come from within us... " This] bizarro crime horror story is a friggin' blast, packed chock full of comedy, outrageousness, and violence."-Michael Patrick Hicks, author of The Resurrectionists

In upstate New York, three generations of a farming family will do anything to survive-even murder. On Alcatraz Island, one of the most famous musicians in the world prepares for a concert that will plunge inmates into literal Hell. And in Florence, an American woman has a rendezvous with righteous revenge.FINEST SH*T features all of these tales and more, including the Derringer Award-nominated "Sonny the Wonder Beast." More than just crime fiction, these stories plunge into the heart of darkness within us all.

Switchblade is going south-way down south, like a thong bikini in the Daytona Beach heat, where there's no escaping the humidity. Half of these fifteen tales of vice and suspense take place in the sunshine state, the other half are the same potency of beloved filthy noir, from someplace else. Cult leaders, serial killers, private eyes, rock stars, cigarette boats, bare knuckle fighters, alligators, fugitives, strip clubs, mobsters, and government spooks; add in some stepped on lines of dirty white powder, and you've got Switchblade Issue Seven. Featuring the criminal minds of Nick Kolakowski, J.L. Boekestein, William R. Soldan, Mark Slade, Jack Bates, Stephen D. Rogers, Jon Zelazny, C.W. Balckwell, Arthur Evans, Bill Davidson, R. Daniel Lester, Bryce Wilson, Mathew X. Gomez, Scott Hallam, David Rachels, and Michael R. Colangelo.

A bounty hunter tears through the underworld in search of a pair of stolen assault rifles. Somewhere in the Southwestern desert, a college dropout trades textbooks and keggers for ripping off mob dealers. Up in Harlem, a liquor-store owner gambles with his life during a high-stakes robbery, while down in Brooklyn, a penniless novelist finds himself tangled in a mystery involving tattooed freaks, damaged supermodels, and hipsters who can't shoot straight.SOMEBODY'S TRYING TO KILL ME features seventeen adrenaline-charged noir thrillers, including the titular novella. Some of these dark tales have been published in Thuglit, Shotgun Honey, Crime Syndicate, and other crime-fiction magazines; more are all new; and every single one of them is guaranteed to keep you turning pages until dawn.

For some, nothing is as pleasurable as the smell and taste of a great cigar. For them, Playboy The Book of Cigars will be the next best thing to lighting up. Whether you want to learn the finer points of cutters, cutting, or humidors, or want to understand more about how fine tobacco is grown and fine cigars rolled, it’s all here for you. Learn why Cuban cigars are so sought-after, what fine cigars from the Dominican Republic and Honduras have to offer, and whether cigars from Cameroon and the Canary Islands are worth your time. With a foreword by artist and bon vivant LeRoy Neiman and an afterword by award-winning actor Joe Mantegna, there is more than a touch of the good life here. Sprinkled with photographs from around the world, enlivened by sexy Playboy beauties, and featuring illustrated images of celebrities by Risko, there has never been a cigar book offering more of the good life than Playboy The Book of Cigars. It’s the perfect book to keep next to your humidor.