THE BLONDE It’s your typical love story: Boy meets girl. Girl kidnaps boy. Boy loses girl, and is pursued by a professional killer carrying a decapitated head in a gym bag. The night before a big meeting, Jack Eisley is sitting in an airport bar in Philadelphia, chatting up a pretty young blonde. Sure, Jack has a wife and daughter at home, but this is just a little harmless flirting. Harmless, that is, until the blonde leans forward and says: “I poisoned your drink.” She tells Jack that unless she can keep someone within 10 feet of her at all times, she'll die. And if he wants the antidote, he’ll have to take her back to his hotel room, and promise to stay by her side. Jack thinks: psy-cho. But as the violent night wears on, and he encounters a relentless government assassin, a threatening voice on a cell phone, a deadly waitress, dirty cops, and shady cab drivers… He begins to believe her. * Paperback edition includes a bonus novella sequel, "Redhead" * * Mystery Bookshelf Top Ten Best Reads of 2008 * * A BookSense Pick for December 2006 * * A Mystery Bookstore Top 10 of 2006 Employee Pick * * A Mystery Bookstore November Crime Club Pick * * A Mysterious Bookshop November Employee Pick * * A January Magazine Best Crime Fiction of 2006 Pick * Rights Information Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, Hardcover (November 14, 2006) St. Martin's Minotaur, Paperback (October 30, 2007) Territory: North American Rights Available: UK, Audio; Translation via Baror International; Film/TV via Cheng Caplan Co. Reviews: "Two parts adrenaline rush, one part medical thriller, this twisted story starts with a bang and rarely slows down. Full of offbeat characters, excruciatingly reckless twists, and sardonic humor, this fun ride shows great promise for a rising author.” - Library Journal (Starred review) "[An] entertaining thriller… rapid-fire pacing, hard-boiled dialogue and excellent local color." - Publishers Weekly "Page-turning tension… a story so bizarre that is just might be true." - Kirkus "Another fast, funny, and action-packed outing from a writer who, fortunately for us, doesn't seem to know how to slow down." - Booklist "Quite a ride. The prose is hardboiled enough to crack walnuts and the action more precipitous than a bobsled run." - The Philadelphia Inquirer "Mr. Swierczynski knows how to streamline a story, keep the pace break neck, sucking all the oxygen out of the room while he tells you this very gritty and nervy story about a pick-up gone wrong. Delicious dialogue, funny realizations, and one hell of a ride." - Frank Bascombe, Ain’t It Cool News "The Blonde… rockets forward with inventive ferocity. [The] double helix of a plot uncoils in a rapid-fire series of time-coded moments that generate a relentless tension… brilliantly paced insanity." — The Houston Chronicle "The Blonde will be the most madcap, mordantly funny and completely mesmerizing novel you will read this year." - Mystery News "Swierczynski’s lean writing is gritty and darkly comedic. The Blonde is riveting from the first page to the last." - Mystery Scene "Awesome… Full of double-crosses, secret identities, exploding body parts, bullets and blood (you know, all the good stuff), The Blonde reads at break-neck speed and doesn’t let up till the cadavers come home." - The Myserious Bookshop Newsletter “Done right, a slam-bang, nonstop thriller is a squirmy pleasure. One of recent vintage I can highly recommend is Duane Swierczynski's The Blonde…It's all ludicrous, but never less than uproariously entertaining… "The Blonde" is (film noir classic) "D.O.A." for a new generation.” - Eddie Muller, SF Chronicle Blurbs: "This is delicious postmodern hard-boiled punk rock storytelling. Swierczynki’s hit man character is funny and fresh as he is fierce and quick. THE BLONDE is masterfully paced, wonderfully rendered, and devastatingly entertaining." - Greg Rucka, Eisner-Award winning author of Queen & Country and 2006 Barry Award nominated thriller Private Wars "Duane Swierczynski's new novel, The Blonde, is as lean as a starving model, mean as a snake, and fast as a jet. It's also one hell of fine read. This guy has got to be the hottest new thing in crime fiction, and The Blonde is one of the best crime reads I've had in some time." - Joe R. Lansdale, Edgar-winning author of Sunset and Sawdust "THE BLONDE had me at hello. Well, technically she had me at ‘I poisoned your drink.’ It's a hilarious nail-biter, a tour-de-force by a young writer who has already carved out this unique take on the crime genre so it’s futile to compare it to anything else, or try to come up with those weird combinations, such as if X married Y while on Drug Z, their baby might come out looking like THE BLONDE. It is sui generis. It is perfect." - Laura Lippman, bestselling author of What the Dead Know "I’ve rarely seen a review where the word adore was used. I adored this novel. The opening few pages are sheer brilliant—black as sin, [with] demented laugh-out loud tension. Dialogue to sell your soul for and an array of characters as weird and wondrous as anything Hiassen ever conceived. This is new noir: neon lit with marvellous beautiful writing. And okay, I fess up... I fell in love with The Blonde. Jeez, I’d let her poison me any day." - Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-winning author of Calibre and American Skin "Insanely inventive. This inspired high-concept thriller rockets from climax to climax with an intensity that will leave you breathless. It's like the movie Speed—only with brains." - Charles Ardai, editor of the Hard Case Crime series "I got whiplash from turning these pages so fast. The cleverest, wittiest and most relentless novel I've read in a long, long time. A dazzling piece of work." — Ed Gorman, award-winning author of the Sam McCain mysteries "The Blonde is a shot of pure noir adrenaline for the 21st Century. It left me battered, bruised, bleeding, dazed, confused, and downright goofy. And all I did was read it! Think how the poor characters must feel. Duane Swierczynski writes the way Sam Peckinpah used to direct: with a mad passion to awaken the slumbering masses and energize them with his enthusiasm for the material at hand. The Blonde rocks!" - Terrill Lee Lankford, author of Earthquake Weather and Blonde Lightning "A frenzied, surreal, gore-splattered exploration into the dark side of humanity's psyche -- from our self-absorbed dreams to our twisted obsessions and addictions. The Blonde is wild, fast, and breathtakingly bodacious—an absolute bombshell of a read." - Paul Goat Allen, Barnes and Noble "Swierczynski’s follow-up to The Wheelman—my favorite book of 2005—is a high-concept thriller that's a masterclass in succinct, imaginative, intelligent, suspenseful writing. The characters are fresh, the action is original, the pace is relentless and the central premise is a doozy." - Allan Guthrie, Edgar-nominated author of Hard Man "A crazy but compelling yarn… great fun." — J. Kingston Pierce, January Magazine Pick of the Week "Pure pulp-fiction popcorn, in all the best ways—simply one of the most rip-snorting reads of the year. Hook up with this blonde as soon as you can." - Kevin Burton Smith, January Magazine’s Best Crime Fiction of 2006 list "[The Blonde is] a great thriller and easily one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. It’s also the first thing I’ve read by Duane Swierczynski, but it sure won’t be the last." - James Reasoner "A wild ride. Swierczynski knows how to make a book move and the pages fly—and he has a terrific ear for dialogue. The Blonde is wonderful, risky and very funny." - Sandra Scoppettone, award-winning author of This Dame for Hire and Too Darn Hot Purchase at Amazon.com

THE BLONDE

It’s your typical love story:
Boy meets girl.
Girl kidnaps boy.
Boy loses girl, and is pursued by a professional killer carrying a decapitated head in a gym bag.

The night before a big meeting, Jack Eisley is sitting in an airport bar in Philadelphia, chatting up a pretty young blonde. Sure, Jack has a wife and daughter at home, but this is just a little harmless flirting. Harmless, that is, until the blonde leans forward and says: “I poisoned your drink.”

She tells Jack that unless she can keep someone within 10 feet of her at all times, she'll die. And if he wants the antidote, he’ll have to take her back to his hotel room, and promise to stay by her side.

Jack thinks: psy-cho. But as the violent night wears on, and he encounters a relentless government assassin, a threatening voice on a cell phone, a deadly waitress, dirty cops, and shady cab drivers… He begins to believe her.

* Paperback edition includes a bonus novella sequel, "Redhead" *
* Mystery Bookshelf Top Ten Best Reads of 2008 *
* A BookSense Pick for December 2006 *
* A Mystery Bookstore Top 10 of 2006 Employee Pick *
* A Mystery Bookstore November Crime Club Pick *
* A Mysterious Bookshop November Employee Pick *
* A January Magazine Best Crime Fiction of 2006 Pick *

Rights Information

Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, Hardcover (November 14, 2006)
St. Martin's Minotaur, Paperback (October 30, 2007)

Territory: North American

Rights Available: UK, Audio; Translation via Baror International; Film/TV via Cheng Caplan Co.

Reviews:
"Two parts adrenaline rush, one part medical thriller, this twisted story starts with a bang and rarely slows down. Full of offbeat characters, excruciatingly reckless twists, and sardonic humor, this fun ride shows great promise for a rising author.” - Library Journal (Starred review)

"[An] entertaining thriller… rapid-fire pacing, hard-boiled dialogue and excellent local color." - Publishers Weekly

"Page-turning tension… a story so bizarre that is just might be true." - Kirkus

"Another fast, funny, and action-packed outing from a writer who, fortunately for us, doesn't seem to know how to slow down." - Booklist

"Quite a ride. The prose is hardboiled enough to crack walnuts and the action more precipitous than a bobsled run." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Mr. Swierczynski knows how to streamline a story, keep the pace break neck, sucking all the oxygen out of the room while he tells you this very gritty and nervy story about a pick-up gone wrong. Delicious dialogue, funny realizations, and one hell of a ride." - Frank Bascombe, Ain’t It Cool News

"The Blonde… rockets forward with inventive ferocity. [The] double helix of a plot uncoils in a rapid-fire series of time-coded moments that generate a relentless tension… brilliantly paced insanity." — The Houston Chronicle

"The Blonde will be the most madcap, mordantly funny and completely mesmerizing novel you will read this year." - Mystery News

"Swierczynski’s lean writing is gritty and darkly comedic. The Blonde is riveting from the first page to the last." - Mystery Scene

"Awesome… Full of double-crosses, secret identities, exploding body parts, bullets and blood (you know, all the good stuff), The Blonde reads at break-neck speed and doesn’t let up till the cadavers come home." - The Myserious Bookshop Newsletter

“Done right, a slam-bang, nonstop thriller is a squirmy pleasure. One of recent vintage I can highly recommend is Duane Swierczynski's The Blonde…It's all ludicrous, but never less than uproariously entertaining… "The Blonde" is (film noir classic) "D.O.A." for a new generation.” - Eddie Muller, SF Chronicle

Blurbs:
"This is delicious postmodern hard-boiled punk rock storytelling. Swierczynki’s hit man character is funny and fresh as he is fierce and quick. THE BLONDE is masterfully paced, wonderfully rendered, and devastatingly entertaining." - Greg Rucka, Eisner-Award winning author of Queen & Country and 2006 Barry Award nominated thriller Private Wars

"Duane Swierczynski's new novel, The Blonde, is as lean as a starving model, mean as a snake, and fast as a jet. It's also one hell of fine read. This guy has got to be the hottest new thing in crime fiction, and The Blonde is one of the best crime reads I've had in some time." - Joe R. Lansdale, Edgar-winning author of Sunset and Sawdust

"THE BLONDE had me at hello. Well, technically she had me at ‘I poisoned your drink.’ It's a hilarious nail-biter, a tour-de-force by a young writer who has already carved out this unique take on the crime genre so it’s futile to compare it to anything else, or try to come up with those weird combinations, such as if X married Y while on Drug Z, their baby might come out looking like THE BLONDE. It is sui generis. It is perfect." - Laura Lippman, bestselling author of What the Dead Know

"I’ve rarely seen a review where the word adore was used. I adored this novel. The opening few pages are sheer brilliant—black as sin, [with] demented laugh-out loud tension. Dialogue to sell your soul for and an array of characters as weird and wondrous as anything Hiassen ever conceived. This is new noir: neon lit with marvellous beautiful writing. And okay, I fess up... I fell in love with The Blonde. Jeez, I’d let her poison me any day." - Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-winning author of Calibre and American Skin

"Insanely inventive. This inspired high-concept thriller rockets from climax to climax with an intensity that will leave you breathless. It's like the movie Speed—only with brains." - Charles Ardai, editor of the Hard Case Crime series

"I got whiplash from turning these pages so fast. The cleverest, wittiest and most relentless novel I've read in a long, long time. A dazzling piece of work." — Ed Gorman, award-winning author of the Sam McCain mysteries

"The Blonde is a shot of pure noir adrenaline for the 21st Century. It left me battered, bruised, bleeding, dazed, confused, and downright goofy. And all I did was read it! Think how the poor characters must feel. Duane Swierczynski writes the way Sam Peckinpah used to direct: with a mad passion to awaken the slumbering masses and energize them with his enthusiasm for the material at hand. The Blonde rocks!" - Terrill Lee Lankford, author of Earthquake Weather and Blonde Lightning

"A frenzied, surreal, gore-splattered exploration into the dark side of humanity's psyche -- from our self-absorbed dreams to our twisted obsessions and addictions. The Blonde is wild, fast, and breathtakingly bodacious—an absolute bombshell of a read." - Paul Goat Allen, Barnes and Noble

"Swierczynski’s follow-up to The Wheelman—my favorite book of 2005—is a high-concept thriller that's a masterclass in succinct, imaginative, intelligent, suspenseful writing. The characters are fresh, the action is original, the pace is relentless and the central premise is a doozy." - Allan Guthrie, Edgar-nominated author of Hard Man

"A crazy but compelling yarn… great fun." — J. Kingston Pierce, January Magazine Pick of the Week

"Pure pulp-fiction popcorn, in all the best ways—simply one of the most rip-snorting reads of the year. Hook up with this blonde as soon as you can." - Kevin Burton Smith, January Magazine’s Best Crime Fiction of 2006 list

"[The Blonde is] a great thriller and easily one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. It’s also the first thing I’ve read by Duane Swierczynski, but it sure won’t be the last." - James Reasoner

"A wild ride. Swierczynski knows how to make a book move and the pages fly—and he has a terrific ear for dialogue. The Blonde is wonderful, risky and very funny." - Sandra Scoppettone, award-winning author of This Dame for Hire and Too Darn Hot

Purchase at Amazon.com