The Curious Eat Themselves

An investigator for the public defender of Alaska, Cecil Younger investigates the sexual assault and then the murder of a cook employed at an isolated mining site. 25,000 first printing.

Praise for John Straley

"Lesser writers look to their characters' poor choices and attempts to rectify them, John Straley loves his characters for just those choices. Holderlin wrote: 'Poetically man dwells on the earth.' Some of us wind up in limericks, some in heroic couplets. But damned near every one of us, sooner or later, ends up in one of Straley's wise, wayward, wonderfully unhinged novels."
--James Sallis, author of Drive and the Lew Griffin mysteries

"Like the Coen brothers on literary speed, John Straley is among the very best stylists of his generation."
--Ken Bruen, Shamus Award winning author of The Guard

"Strong and sobering . . . with his storyteller's sense of dramatic action [Straley's] in his glory."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Crumley . . . Straley proves once again that he is up there with the great ones . . . His prose is as smooth as a well-tuned cello. He has tremendous feeling for the setting: not only the open waters and frosted countryside outside of Sitka and Juneau, but also the somewhat seedy streets of these cities."
--Chicago Tribune

"Superior thriller writing, once again by Straley--an excellent plot against Alaska's gigantic and bizarre backdrop."
--Janwillem van de Wetering

"Now and then a writer dares to flout the rules and in so doing, carves out a niche that belongs to him alone. John Straley's novels are like no others."
--San Diego Tribune

"Like James Lee Burke, Straley transcends the genre . . . Marvelous."
--The Tampa Tribune and Times

"Straley's beautifully understated narrative, vivid sense of place and unapologetic, unadorned characters make this a riveting, unpredictable ride."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Outstanding . . . satisfies on all levels."
--The Kansas City Star

"Straley hits all the right notes"
--Booklist, Starred Review

Praise for The Curious Eat Themselves
"Strong and sobering . . . with his storyteller's sense of dramatic action [Straley's] in his glory."
--The New York Times Book Review

"One of the strongest series since Hillerman set up shop."
--Kirkus Reviews

"With the second adventure of Cecil Younger, a PI in southeastern Alaska, Straley reconfirms his claim to the regional territory he staked out in The Woman Who Married a Bear . . . Straley's atmospheric prose takes hold and the action hums along, through unethical dealings and more killings, to the rugged, backwoods Alaska finale."
--Publishers Weekly

Praise for John Straley
"Lesser writers look to their characters' poor choices and attempts to rectify them, John Straley loves his characters for just those choices. Holderlin wrote: 'Poetically man dwells on the earth.' Some of us wind up in limericks, some in heroic couplets. But damned near every one of us, sooner or later, ends up in one of Straley's wise, wayward, wonderfully unhinged novels."
--James Sallis, author of Drive and the Lew Griffin mysteries

"Like the Coen brothers on literary speed, John Straley is among the very best stylists of his generation."
--Ken Bruen, Shamus Award winning author of The Guard

"Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Crumley . . . Straley proves once again that he is up there with the great ones . . . His prose is as smooth as a well-tuned cello. He has tremendous feeling for the setting: not only the open waters and frosted countryside outside of Sitka and Juneau, but also the somewhat seedy streets of these cities."
--Chicago Tribune

"Superior thriller writing, once again by Straley--an excellent plot against Alaska's gigantic and bizarre backdrop."
--Janwillem van de Wetering

"Now and then a writer dares to flout the rules and in so doing, carves out a niche that belongs to him alone. John Straley's novels are like no others."
--San Diego Tribune

"Like James Lee Burke, Straley transcends the genre . . . Marvelous."
--The Tampa Tribune and Times

"Straley's beautifully understated narrative, vivid sense of place and unapologetic, unadorned characters make this a riveting, unpredictable ride."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Outstanding . . . satisfies on all levels."
--The Kansas City Star

"Straley hits all the right notes"
--Booklist, Starred Review