Welcome to Brash Books
We publish the best crime novels in existence. A brash claim? You bet it is. But our award-winning, critically acclaimed authors prove it with each and every one of their amazing books.
We’ve got it all: psychological thrillers, murder mysteries, international espionage, and police procedurals from established masters of the craft – as well as premiere books from new voices who are sure to become crime fiction stars.
Life is short – don’t waste your time on bad books. Browse through our fantastic library of unmissable mysteries, terrific thrillers and compelling crime novels – then pick up one of the best books you’ll ever read.
Featured Author
David Wagoner
David Wagoner (1926- 2021) was a two-time National Book Award finalist, an acclaimed poet, respected novelist and a beloved University of Washington professor. He won many prestigious awards, including two Pushcart Prizes, and was the author of ten novels, all of which we are re-issuing here and under our Cutting Edge imprint, and many poetry collections. He was also the editor of Poetry Northwest until 2002 served as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 1978.
Latest Additions
The Hanging Garden By David Wagoner
"This is a powerful, shocking story, the full pay-off of David Wagoner's astonishing talent." James Dickey, author of terrifying classic Deliverance
Simon Burrows is a divorced, retired politician looking who retires to the country with his new, young girlfriend to raise show dogs. But his simple dream turns into a gruesome nightmare when he discovers that his neighbors, and the verdant, tranquil landscape around him, hide an unspeakable horror...
The Complete D.C. Man - All Four Novels By James Cody
All FOUR novels in the legendary DC Man series of breathtaking thrillers, back in print for the first time in 50 years!
Brian Petersen is an ex-military intelligence officer-turned-D.C. lobbyist recovering from his family’s tragic death in a car accident. With his lobbying business in the toilet, he’s become a political fixer who uses his sharp intellect, his vast political connections, and his lethal, combat skills to solve sensitive problems.
The Escape Artist By David Wagoner
Danny Masters is a teenage magician, pick-pocket and escape artist who learned it all from his late father. All he wants to do is make it in the big city. But along the way he picks the wrong pocket, stealing a wallet full of stolen cash, and finds himself having to use all of his skills just to stay alive… while still chasing his dreams.
Murder on the Dodder By Keith Bruton
Patrick Callen is a bike-riding hitman with mild OCD trying to save his crumbling relationship with his live-in girlfriend while racing through Dublin to save his kidnapped mentor from execution. The ransom: ticking off a to-do list of murders that will make Patrick a target of the police, the mob, and his closest friends...and doom his romance...if it doesn't get him killed first.
The French Killing By James Cody
The fourth, action-packed adventure for The D.C. Man. Petersen is hired by the French embassy to protect a visiting millionaire…who gets himself murdered anyway. Now Petersen relentlessly hunts the killers, a blood-soaked pursuit that spans continents and leads to a global conspiracy that only he can destroy.
Your Daughter Will Die! By James Cody
The third brutal mission for The D.C. Man. A conservator Senator’s daughter is kidnapped by a leftist revolutionary group demanding a huge ransom. Petersen is hired to make the exchange with the terrorists… and then make them pay.
Search and Destroy By James Cody
The second exciting assignment for The D.C. Man. Petersen doesn’t buy it when a U.S. Senator spearheading an investigation into organized crime blows his own head-off on the eve of exposing a vast, criminal conspiracy. So the D.C. Man picks up where the Senator left off…and won’t stop until he takes the mob down.
Top Secret Kill By James Cody
The first adventure in the legendary D.C. Man series of breath-taking thrillers, back in print after fifty years.
Brian Petersen is an ex-military intelligence officer-turned-D.C. lobbyist recovering from his family’s tragic death in a car accident. With his lobbying business in the toilet, he’s become a political fixer who uses his sharp intellect, his vast political connections, and his lethal, combat skills to solve sensitive problems.
Boudica and the Lost Roman By Mike Ripley
In Britain, the far western edge of Roman Empire, one Celtic tribe rebels against their ruthless oppressors. They are led by Boudica, their widowed queen, on a rampage of violence across the country. Reluctantly at her side is Olussa, a Roman spy struggling with torn loyalties and desperate to survive. But despite Boudica’s initial success, he knows she and her tribe are doomed. Emperor Nero and the mighty Roman legions will drench Britain in blood to avoid being defeated by a woman.
The Man in the Middle By David Wagoner
The first book by acclaimed novelist and poet David Wagoner, back in print for the first time in 70 years, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as ”a breathtaking novel filled with terror and pathos.”
Middle-aged Charlie Bell, a crippled watchman at a railroad crossing, sees a woman thrown out of passing train. He takes the injured woman, and the briefcase she was clutching, with him in search of a phone. She’s a reporter, and the briefcase contains papers that could destroy a corrupt Senator. But before Charlie can get her help, a thug attacks them and kills her. Now Charlie is relentlessly pursued through the Chicago underworld by cops who think he’s a murderer…and killers intent on silencing him.
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Featured Video
Tom Simon Uncovers THE DC MAN
Private Investigator Tom Simon uncovered the secret identity behind a series of 1970s adventure novels by “James Cody” -- all now the books from Brash Books with a new introduction by Tom.
From The Blog
Tom Simon Uncovers THE DC MAN
Former FBI agent turned private eye Tom Simon, a reviewer on the beloved Paperback Warrior […]
Writing THE LEMON MAN
They say write what you know and I know Dublin: the wet streets, the mad people, the pubs (751 of them, currently I’ve done 160) the bad weather, the parks, the tourist spots. How can ye not love this dirty city?
WRITING OLD ANGER: The Heart of the Matter in a Southern Crime Story
Phillip Thompson’s crime novel Outside the Law scored wide acclaim from critics and major league authors like David Morrell, Linwood Barclay and Reed Farrel Coleman. Now the long-awaited sequel, Old Anger, is now available and is already scoring raves from Publishers Weekly, and authors like Joe R. Lansdale and S.A. Cosby. Phillip stopped by to share with us the story behind the story….
Brash News: All Kinds of Praise
Our discovery and publication this month of Ralph Dennis’ lost manuscript ALL KINDS OF UGLY is big news in the publishing industry, making headlines in this week’s issue of Publishers Weekly…and CHAMPAGNE COWBOYS, the long awaited sequel to the double Spur Award winner DOUBLE WIDE, is coming out in just a few days!
Uncovering the “DUST IN THE HEART”
I struggled over whether to publish Dust in the Heart or to keep it in a drawer. The original manuscript was nearly 100,000 words and it was a mess … and yet, there was still something haunting, melancholy, and powerful about the book that wouldn’t let me go…
Barbara Neely Named Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster
Brash author Barbara Neely has been named this year’s Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America.
FIREBALL – Long Lost, Unpublished Jimmy Sangster Novel Found
BIG NEWS! We’ve found a long-lost, never-before-published Jimmy Sangster novel! It’s called Fireball…and here is the incredible story behind the major, literary discovery.
The Wit and Wisdom of Shell Scott
“He lay there with his face on the cement, in his own blood and wastes. Lesson for would be killers: Either don’t miss with your first shot, or else eat light, go to the john, take an enema, and be ready to die neat.” Kill Him Twice
