Acknowledgments
Bear No Malice began, as so many novels do, with a “what if” question: what if I took the villain of Impossible Saints and made him a hero? What would Thomas Cross’s story look like from his own perspective? This was an experiment, a writing exercise meant to tide me over until I thought of an idea for a new novel, but it surprised me by turning into the new novel. Years of revisions ensued, and I would have given up on it completely if not for the advice and support of the following people:
Christine Thorpe and Joyce Pitzel, who managed to find things to like even in an early draft.
Ruth Zavitz’s critique group, an invaluable resource in the early stages. Special thanks to beta readers Ruth herself, for reading to the end despite disliking Tom, and Chris Mazmanian, for the necessary capitalized reminders about Jack.
Andrew Murray, Kelley Armstrong, John Jeneroux, and Bev Irwin, who inspired me to dig up this novel years later and revise it yet again. Without you, the end of the first chapter would still be puzzling and illogical.
Karen Harwood, for much-needed help with the boxing scene.
Jennifer Delamere, for beta reading two different drafts and making excellent suggestions, as always.
Abby Murphy, who was again the bright, clear voice in my dark editing cave. You have a true gift for supportive, insightful critique.
Ellen Winters, for being on Tom’s side from the beginning.
Katie McGuire, my editor at Pegasus. Getting to work with you on two books makes me feel as though I’ve won the lottery. You continue to amaze me with your preternatural ability to cut to the heart of knotty story problems and communicate so clearly and effectively. And to the Pegasus design team, I would buy any book with this gorgeous cover no matter what the story!
Laura Crocket, my agent, who has made so many of my writing dreams come true. Thanks for having my back and being the best agent any writer could hope for. Thanks also to the team at TriadaUS for all your hard work behind the scenes.
Michael Harwood, for helping me fix plot holes, being my PR guy, and tolerating the Richard Armitage photos. You’re the best man I know.
ALSO BY CLARISSA HARWOOD
Impossible Saints
BEAR NO MALICE
Pegasus Books Ltd
148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2018 by Clarissa Harwood
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition January 2019
Interior design by Sabrina Plomitallo-González, Pegasus Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-64313-052-1
ISBN: 978-1-64313-090-3
Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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