Devil's Redhead

Read Devil's Redhead Storyline:

Dan Abatangelo and Shel Beaudry are two 'for life' lovers, whose adventures as the last of the independent 'gentleman' marijuana smugglers ('no violence - it's all about the money') come to an abrupt end with their arrest in Las Vegas. Dan pleads guilty and receives a ten-year sentence in exchange for a more lenient term for Shel. Released from prison, Shel struggles to keep her life on track without Dan's emotional support. Succumbing to a weakness for 'strays' she becomes the sole caregiver of Frank Maas, a psychologically scarred and unstable loner on the fringes of a crime ring operating in the delta. With Dan's release from prison imminent, Frank plans a quick, ill- conceived score, hoping with money in hand to persuade Shel to disappear with him. The plan backfires miserably, and Frank, Shel and Dan are caught up in an inferno they cannot hope to survive.From Publishers WeeklyCorbett thunders out of the gate with this gritty, moving debut about an ex-con's readjustment to freedom and his efforts to reunite with a former lover. Ten years after being sentenced for drug dealing, Dan Abatangelo emerges from prison with one thought in mind: finding Shel Beaudry and rekindling their relationship. Abatangelo is a changed man harder, less patient, prone to bursts of violence. Despite the advice of friends, who warn him that no good can come from reuniting with Shel, he pushes forward. He eventually finds her living north of San Francisco, beholden to a drug-addled, mentally unstable man named Frank Maas and the crime ring that employs him. When Shel and Abatangelo finally meet, she waffles on returning to him, but before he can convince her, a local drug war breaks out and Shel is taken hostage. Abatangelo responds with a daring rescue mission that takes him deep into his former world and ignites a gruesome chain of violence and death. Corbett, a San Francisco private investigator for more than a decade, brings a wealth of real-world detail to his swift, highly atmospheric narrative. His plotting could sometimes use a little more glue, and a few characters particularly newspaperman Bert Waxman border on caricature. But Corbett's prose dazzles, cutting across the page with passionate force, articulating themes of devotion, lost hope and spiritual renewal in an unforgiving world.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Review“Will leave you weak and shaken, exhilarated.”—JOE GORESAuthor of *Hammett“CORBETT WRITES WITH AN INTENSITY OF FEELING. . . . Without compromising the stark realism of his bruising style, [he] has written an astonishingly tender love story.”—The New York Times Book Review“A TENSE, TERRIFIC STORY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN . . . When I finished it I thought of Ross Macdonald; David Corbett is that good.”—MAX BYRDAuthor of Jefferson, Jackson, and Grant “ENGROSSING . . . RICHLY DEVELOPED . . . [A] STAR IS BORN WITH THE DEVIL’S REDHEAD.”—Deadly Pleasures“ADDICTIVE, BRUTALLY REALISTIC, AND ULTIMATELY VERY MOVING . . . Corbett writes crime with a deft touch, a professional investigator’s knowledge, and a rare talent for telling details.”—MARK COGGINSAuthor of The Immortal Game“The Devil’s Redhead isn’t a walk on the wild side, it’s a flat-out run for your life with the hounds chasing after you. David Corbett writes with flair and passion, creating characters who live and breathe and do very bad things. I believed every word of it. Hit me again.”—ROBERT FERRIGNOAuthor of Flinch* “Corbett handles both selfless love and unspeakable brutality with a poet’s hand. The Devil’s Redhead is the best debut novel I’ve read in years.”—MARTIN J. SMITHAuthor of Straw Men“Often dark, often hopeful, The Devil’s Redhead takes you deep into the world of crime and drugs and the lives they inevitably consume. This is a compelling novel about loyalty, love lost and renewed, and the price we all must pay when we live too close to the edge.”—JAMES BROWNAuthor of *Lucky Town*&#...