Speak of the Devil

Richard Hawke

Hawke writes with a flair and quick wit. This was great fun.'

John Ruszczyk, Manly Daily

‘I can’t remember a more likable and engaging P.I. coming down the literary street. Hawke and Fritz have long careers ahead of them. Lucky for us.’

Peter Mergendahl, Rocky Mountain News

View all reviews

‘The crime thriller is not the easiest genre to write. Hence the pleasure when a debut novelist delivers a page-turner from page one, right through to the book’s end ... Not a book written by numbers.’

Lucy Sussex, Sunday Age

‘Speak of the Devil has plenty to recommend it as a fast-paced, well-written and good-humoured crime fiction read.’

Ed Wright, Sydney Morning Herald

‘Speak of the Devil is riveting crime fiction. Richard Hawke weaves his fast-paced, high-octane plot around an attractively sardonic hero. This is an addictively readable thriller that will have you hanging out for the next one.’

The Age

‘Malone is a terrific new loner, a true successor to Dashiel Hammett’s deadly breed of big-city private eyes. The dialogue is crisp, funny and sharp as a razor, and the insight into politics of the metropolis is utterly convincing and more than a little chilling. This is Hawke’s first novel but let’s hope he and his intriguing leading man follow up soon with another cold-eyed excursion into 21st-century noir.’

Jonathan Dawson, The Mercury Magazine

‘fast-moving, first-rate’

Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

‘Hawke’s plot twists, turns and does a loop-the-loop, keeping the denouement a surprise for even the most analytical of thriller readers. It’s well-researched and rings true, Hawke has a good ear for dialogue and keeps the pace at rapid at all times. In a word: Exciting.’

Mary Vernon, Townsville Bulletin

‘Suspense fans will be talking about Speak of the Devil and its memorable hero. In this gritty and surprising novel, Richard Hawke grabs you on page 1 and never lets go.’

Harlan Coben

‘ Speak of the Devil has everything — breakneck pace, a sharp eye for characters both good and not-so-good, and, best of all, a gripping story. The novel is richly detailed, intelligent, and effortlessly entertaining.’

T. Jefferson Parker

‘A smart, wry mystery with a hero who is the perfect balance of noir PI and decent guy. Richard Hawke has done a first-rate job of creating characters and re-creating New York.’

Susan Issacs

‘From first line to last, Speak of the Devil moves with a rare combination of intrigue and intensity. Its engine runs on high-octane adrenaline. Richard Hawke delivers a winner.’

Michael Connelly

‘ ... hugely enjoyable debut ... a loaded backstory, compelling minor characters and clever, literate writing promise great things ahead for Hawke ... Note to Spenser: best stay in Boston — Fritz has got the Big Apple covered.’

Publishers Weekly

‘Hawke explores the moral high and low ground ... in a deftly paced debut that crackles and pops from page one. In a genre populated with predictable PI’s, Fritz Malone is a fresh, engaging blend of laconic detective and likable guy.’

Booklist (starred review)

‘This gritty and thrilling novel grabs the reader’s attention from the opening pages and does not relinquish its hold until the final surprising twist ... an impressive debut.’

Jeff Popple, Canberra Times

It all begins on a perfect Manhattan morning: a gunman’s bullets shatter the festival atmosphere of the world-famous Thanksgiving Day parade. Only one man in the crowd sees it happening but, fortunately for the unsuspecting throng gathered for the parade, he’s the right man for the moment.

Meet Fritz Malone, New York’s sharpest PI — an outsider with an insider’s nose for City Hall politics, and a man who knows the rules just well enough to work around them. He’s seen enough police work to know the ‘the usual procedure’, and this sure ain’t it. Before the echo of gunshots has died down he’s up to his neck in an insidious game involving cold-hearted criminals, crooked cops, and a long-buried secret that implicates the city’s most powerful players.

Speak of the Devil is a fast-paced, high octane thriller full of sharp dialogue, vivid characters, and shocking intrigue that propels classic crime-noir into the twenty-first century.

Hawke writes with a flair and quick wit. This was great fun.'

John Ruszczyk, Manly Daily

‘I can’t remember a more likable and engaging P.I. coming down the literary street. Hawke and Fritz have long careers ahead of them. Lucky for us.’

Peter Mergendahl, Rocky Mountain News

View all reviews

Lucy Sussex, Sunday Age

‘Speak of the Devil has plenty to recommend it as a fast-paced, well-written and good-humoured crime fiction read.’

Ed Wright, Sydney Morning Herald

The Age

Jonathan Dawson, The Mercury Magazine

‘fast-moving, first-rate’

Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

Mary Vernon, Townsville Bulletin

‘Suspense fans will be talking about Speak of the Devil and its memorable hero. In this gritty and surprising novel, Richard Hawke grabs you on page 1 and never lets go.’

Harlan Coben

T. Jefferson Parker

‘A smart, wry mystery with a hero who is the perfect balance of noir PI and decent guy. Richard Hawke has done a first-rate job of creating characters and re-creating New York.’

Susan Issacs

‘From first line to last, Speak of the Devil moves with a rare combination of intrigue and intensity. Its engine runs on high-octane adrenaline. Richard Hawke delivers a winner.’

Michael Connelly

Publishers Weekly

Booklist (starred review)

Details

Format:Paperback

Size:

Extent:336pp

ISBN (13):9781921215858

RRP:$27.99

Pub date:7 Jan 2008

High-res cover:Download Image

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AUTHOR

Richard Hawke

Richard Hawke is the author of Speak of the Devil (Scribe), the first novel in the Fritz Malone series. He lives in New York City. Visit his website at: www.rhawke.com.

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We publish books that matter — narrative and literary nonfiction on important topics, and the best of local, international, and translated fiction.

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