When rookie private detective, Errol Black, gets mixed up in the killing of gangster Dutch Schultz, he vows to clean up his act. But when former partner Dyke Spanner is shot to death, Black is drawn into a violent and bloody quest for a mythical, priceless diamond.
New Jersey 1935: When private detective, Errol Black and his fellow agents, are protecting an Irish mobster they become embroiled in the killing of Dutch Schultz. A gunfight leaves bloody chaos.
Ten years later, Black's past is about to catch up with him. A young woman hires Black for a seemingly routine surveillance job, former partner Dyke Spanner is shot dead and Black is drawn deeper into a violent and bloody quest.
The search for the priceless blue Tavernier Diamond throws Black into the line of fire of New York's ruthless Tongs. To even hope to solve the mystery, Black must journey into his past where both the secret to Dyke's murder and the clues to the hidden diamond lay.
Black Shadows is a crime thriller blending fact and fiction. In the finest hardboiled tradition, it is filled with gangsters, beautiful dames, colourful villains and red herrings.
Black Shadows is a tightly written piece of noir fiction, inviting obvious comparisons to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. --HarperCollins
The setting, the wisecracks, the gangster element, the upright but flawed detective falling for the beautiful woman - what's there not to like? --Gerry McCullough, author of Belfast Girls
Excellent read. One of the best detective stories I've read. Great characters and a very good plot. The pace is fast and really holds your interest. This one is well worth reading. I highly recommend it. --John Harold McCoy, author of Bramwell Valley
If you fancy being drawn into the world of film noir, slick private eyes and femme fatales, this is the book for you. Here's lookin at you, kid. --Catherine Chisnall, author of Surfacing and Descending
It is one of the best NY stories I've read. LOVE LOVE that opening - the mention of the shooting and the visual of the bloody steak. Not-so-subtle brilliance. --Elizabeth Lindberg, New York actress, playwright and author of Dionysus and Out of Sync
Black Shadows is Raymond Chandler or James Ellroy reinvented for the 21st century. There's a real authenticity about the period; the setting - New York in the 1940s - the characters - all coming together in a detective story that really hits the heights.
From the dramatic opening onwards, the reader is hooked. It's a proven formula: a wisecracking detective, exotic female characters and shady gangsters, but here everything works so well. --Jake Barton, bestselling crime author of Burn Baby Burn
The setting, the wisecracks, the gangster element, the upright but flawed detective falling for the beautiful woman - what's there not to like? --Gerry McCullough, author of Belfast Girls
It is one of the best NY stories I've read. LOVE LOVE that opening - the mention of the shooting and the visual of the bloody steak. Not-so-subtle brilliance. --Elizabeth Lindberg, New York actress, playwright and author of Dionysus and Out of Sync
