Dead Heat with the Reaper

In Legacy, retired steel mill worker Frank Trask is a badass who passes out in front of his Oakland, California apartment and wakes to find he won't live much longer. The news leaves him with a big problem: how to use more than $400,000 in savings. His solution is good but not strictly legal and Frank may not live long enough to pull it off. In The Creep, Sergeant Alan Baldocchi survived the IED that killed his armored carrier crew in Afghanistan, but the blast left him so scarred that people he meets look away in disgust. Now a civilian, Baldocchi meets Susan, a nurse who against her better judgment takes a liking to him. Unfortunately the run-down apartment house they live in is infested by young criminals and the leader of the gang has violent plans for both of them. Really, you must acquaint yourself with this novella duo by William Wallace. He's next in line for Best of the Year lists. -- Anonymous-9, author of Hard Bite, Bite Harder Like Raymond Chandler, Wallace has a penchant for that turn of phrase that burns and blazes long into the night. -- Joe Clifford, author of Junkie Love and Lamentation A two-punch wallop of perfect pulp. -- Tom Pitts, author of Hustle, Knuckleball and Piggyback