Haunted by a tragedy in his past and wanted by the cops for his latest malfeasance, Jimmy Payne needs to skip town. That’s when he crosses paths with twelve-year-old Tino Perez, newly arrived from Mexico with no money and no papers. The gutsy kid first robs Payne, then pleads for his help. Marisol, the boy’s mother, is missing, after crossing the border with a vicious coyote.
Following a chain of greed, corruption, and betrayal, Payne traces Marisol’s steps from Mexicali to California’s Hellhole Canyon. Before long, the cynical lawyer and the savvy kid are bonding…and battling predators on both sides of the border. It’s the two of them against an army of cops, coyotes, vigilantes, and sex slavers. Most dangerous of all is Simeon Rutledge, a wealthy rancher and the biggest employer of farm workers in California. Read more
"The Road to Hell"
Four Stories for the Price of One!
Author’s Note: The four stories in this ebook original anthology priced at $0.99 have something in common besides the word "hell" in their titles. The heroes travel dark and dangerous paths as they confront devilish and powerful villains. The journeys are by land, by sea, and in one case, perhaps only in the mind.
"El Valiente en el Infierno"(The Brave One in Hell) is an original short story inspired by a roadside sign I saw near the Mexican border and a tale I heard in Mexicali. After his mother dies, a 13-year-old Mexican boy crosses the border in search of his father, a migrant worker in the United States. The boy’s courage is tested when he runs into two gun-toting American vigilantes.
"Development Hell"is a well-known term in Hollywood. The phrase symbolizes the purgatory where books and screenplays are stuck while being "developed," rather than being made into films. "Development Hell" imagines a "pitch session" in which a bedraggled Poe squares off with a slick Hollywood producer.
"A Hell of a Crime"presents a dysfunctional family of lawyers. An insecure prosecutor exists in the shadow of his more prominent parents. His father was a revered District Attorney, his mother a powerful trial lawyer in her own right. So just why does the mother interfere when her son prepares to prosecute a murder trial?
"Solomon & Lord: To Hell and Back"features two of my favorite characters. The ethically-challenged Steve Solomon and the very proper Victoria Lord are mismatched Miami law partners. Steve says he's going fishing with Manuel Cruz, a sleazy con man. Victoria knows that Cruz embezzled a bundle from Steve's favorite client and is an unlikely fishing buddy. So just what is Steve up to now? Something between mischief and murder.
"The Road to Hell" is available at Kindle.
Four Stories for the Price of One!
Author’s Note: The four stories in this ebook original anthology priced at $0.99 have something in common besides the word "hell" in their titles. The heroes travel dark and dangerous paths as they confront devilish and powerful villains. The journeys are by land, by sea, and in one case, perhaps only in the mind.
"El Valiente en el Infierno"(The Brave One in Hell) is an original short story inspired by a roadside sign I saw near the Mexican border and a tale I heard in Mexicali. After his mother dies, a 13-year-old Mexican boy crosses the border in search of his father, a migrant worker in the United States. The boy’s courage is tested when he runs into two gun-toting American vigilantes.
"Development Hell"is a well-known term in Hollywood. The phrase symbolizes the purgatory where books and screenplays are stuck while being "developed," rather than being made into films. "Development Hell" imagines a "pitch session" in which a bedraggled Poe squares off with a slick Hollywood producer.
"A Hell of a Crime"presents a dysfunctional family of lawyers. An insecure prosecutor exists in the shadow of his more prominent parents. His father was a revered District Attorney, his mother a powerful trial lawyer in her own right. So just why does the mother interfere when her son prepares to prosecute a murder trial?
"Solomon & Lord: To Hell and Back"features two of my favorite characters. The ethically-challenged Steve Solomon and the very proper Victoria Lord are mismatched Miami law partners. Steve says he's going fishing with Manuel Cruz, a sleazy con man. Victoria knows that Cruz embezzled a bundle from Steve's favorite client and is an unlikely fishing buddy. So just what is Steve up to now? Something between mischief and murder.
"The Road to Hell" is available at Kindle.
"Ballistic"
A Nuclear Missile…
A Band of Terrorists…
And Only Two People Who Can Prevent Armageddon.
When a doomsday cult captures an U.S. Air Force missile base, it's up to a lowly sergeant and a female psychiatrist to prevent a nuclear holocaust.
Morale and discipline suffer as missile squadrons are dismantled under the latest nuclear arms treaty. An Air Force base in Wyoming is ripe for terrorist attack, and it comes from an unexpected source: home-grown religious commandos. Brother David, son of a nuclear physicist, leads a well-armed cult bent on bringing out Armageddon, as prophesied by the Book of Revelations.
Only two people can stop the greatest disaster in the history of mankind: Sgt. Jack Jericho, who is haunted by an act of cowardice in his past, and Dr. Susan Burns, a psychiatrist trapped in the launch control capsule during routine tests of the missile crews. To prevent a nuclear holocaust, these two must work together to defeat the terrorists and to exorcize their own demons.
"Ballistic" is available for download at Kindle.
PRAISE FOR "BALLISTIC"
"Ballistic" is ‘Die Hard’ in a missile silo. Terrific!" – Stephen J. Cannell
"Imagine Paul Levine channeling Tom Clancy but with a sense of humor and far, far better writing." – Kindle Nation Daily
"It's easy to compare Levine to Tom Clancy but I think he's better for two simple reasons—he's a better storyteller and his characters are more believable, good guys and bad guys alike." – Ed Gorman, author of Blood Moon
A Nuclear Missile…
A Band of Terrorists…
And Only Two People Who Can Prevent Armageddon.
When a doomsday cult captures an U.S. Air Force missile base, it's up to a lowly sergeant and a female psychiatrist to prevent a nuclear holocaust.
Morale and discipline suffer as missile squadrons are dismantled under the latest nuclear arms treaty. An Air Force base in Wyoming is ripe for terrorist attack, and it comes from an unexpected source: home-grown religious commandos. Brother David, son of a nuclear physicist, leads a well-armed cult bent on bringing out Armageddon, as prophesied by the Book of Revelations.
Only two people can stop the greatest disaster in the history of mankind: Sgt. Jack Jericho, who is haunted by an act of cowardice in his past, and Dr. Susan Burns, a psychiatrist trapped in the launch control capsule during routine tests of the missile crews. To prevent a nuclear holocaust, these two must work together to defeat the terrorists and to exorcize their own demons.
"Ballistic" is available for download at Kindle.
PRAISE FOR "BALLISTIC"
"Ballistic" is ‘Die Hard’ in a missile silo. Terrific!" – Stephen J. Cannell
"Imagine Paul Levine channeling Tom Clancy but with a sense of humor and far, far better writing." – Kindle Nation Daily
"It's easy to compare Levine to Tom Clancy but I think he's better for two simple reasons—he's a better storyteller and his characters are more believable, good guys and bad guys alike." – Ed Gorman, author of Blood Moon
"Impact"
A Jetliner Crashes in the Everglades.
A Billion-Dollar Lawsuit: Negligence or Terrorism?
The Defense: Kill Anyone, Even a Supreme Court Justice, to Win the Case.
Supreme Court Justice Sam Truitt takes the bench with high ideals, lofty intentions…and a troubled marriage. Lisa Fremont, his stunning and brilliant law clerk, has a dark secret in her past. If Lisa doesn’t get Truitt’s vote in multi-million dollar case involving a catastrophic airplane crash, she’ll be killed. The Justice, too. "Impact" is a tale of seduction and betrayal, of passion and greed. Truitt, who has always followed the rules, and Lisa, who never has, join together to battle those who live by no law at all.
"Impact" was the inspiration for "First Monday," the television drama starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. (Author’s Note: Now available as an ebook, "Impact" was published in hard cover as "9 Scorpions").
The ebook edition of "Impact" is available at Kindle.
THE CRITICS WEIGH IN ON "IMPACT"
"A relentlessly entertaining summer read." –New York Daily News
"A breakout book, highly readable and fun." –USA TODAY
"A big brash blend of violence, sex, and the Supreme Court." –Miami Herald
A Jetliner Crashes in the Everglades.
A Billion-Dollar Lawsuit: Negligence or Terrorism?
The Defense: Kill Anyone, Even a Supreme Court Justice, to Win the Case.
Supreme Court Justice Sam Truitt takes the bench with high ideals, lofty intentions…and a troubled marriage. Lisa Fremont, his stunning and brilliant law clerk, has a dark secret in her past. If Lisa doesn’t get Truitt’s vote in multi-million dollar case involving a catastrophic airplane crash, she’ll be killed. The Justice, too. "Impact" is a tale of seduction and betrayal, of passion and greed. Truitt, who has always followed the rules, and Lisa, who never has, join together to battle those who live by no law at all.
"Impact" was the inspiration for "First Monday," the television drama starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. (Author’s Note: Now available as an ebook, "Impact" was published in hard cover as "9 Scorpions").
The ebook edition of "Impact" is available at Kindle.
THE CRITICS WEIGH IN ON "IMPACT"
"A relentlessly entertaining summer read." –New York Daily News
"A breakout book, highly readable and fun." –USA TODAY
"A big brash blend of violence, sex, and the Supreme Court." –Miami Herald