Chris Knopf Sam Acquillo is getting to be a lot more sociable. People are constantly dropping by, including guys in black outfits with .45 automatics breaking into his cottage in the middle of the night. Though on doctor’s orders to stay clear of violence and mayhem, Sam does what’s needed to encourage a candid conversation with the home invader, with surprising results. Suddenly Sam’s past reaches out to pull him back into the world of big money and even bigger egos, where the term “corporate intrigue” is redundant and ambition the only virtue. It seems a person important to the private life of a very important person has gone missing in the Hamptons. And it looks like the best way to get her back is to extort Sam’s cooperation. “Sam gets a visit from his past in a dandy opening action scene and finds out that he can't quite escape his old life, and with big bucks in the offing, he takes on a job for his ex-employer. What he turns up is high-level chicanery and, of course, murder. Good writing, some humor, a complex mystery. If you haven't met Sam Aquillo yet, this would be a good book to begin with. Or go back and read the others first and catch up. You'll have a good time.” —Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine “Acquillo is a savvy operator who loves problem solving and has the tenacity of a pit bull. His penchant for intriguing predicaments bodes well for a long and successful series.”        —Publishers Weekly “An appealing hero and a colorful entourage that includes endearing Eddie, the anti-Marley dog, make for a lively and entertaining mix.” —Kirkus “Knopf moves in fast and doesn’t hold his narrative punches. In his delightfully terse and incremental style, Sam is off and running, with his fight training and smart mouth kicking in. In his mid-fifties now—and this is his fourth appearance in a Sam Acquillo Hamptons Mystery—Sam is as cynical, funny and decent as ever.” —Joan Baum, National Public Radio “Another clever caper in an underappreciated series starring a hard-boiled curmudgeon.” —Booklist Click here for more information ->

Internal Affairs When Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Jim McGann goes out for his morning jog, he finds a car blocking his driveway. It’s no ordinary car, though. It’s a cop car and in the trunk is the naked, mutilated body of police officer Alexandra Williams. For the LAPD brass, it’s an unmitigated nightmare they’re determined to clean up fast and keep from the public. For Mike Turner, the investigator for Internal Affairs who’s assigned the case, it’s a double edged sword—a chance to become a real cop again or have his career destroyed. For the reader, it’s a rare insider look into one of our country’s most controversial police departments. "A fascinating thriller in which the savage murder of a female police officer with an edgy personal life exposes an LAPD we haven't seen before: the gulf between careerists and crime-fighters; the half-supportive, half-cutthroat coterie of high-ranking women; the undercover surveillance specialists who are never in the news. Connie Dial brings a fresh, authentic voice to the genre… a talented writer with an observant eye and a good ear for dialogue. It was a pleasure to read her first book.” —Thomas Perry, whose mysteries include The Butcher's Boy (an Edgar Award winner), Metzger's Dog (a New York Times Notable Book), and Pursuit (a national bestseller). “Dial, a former LAPD Hollywood Division commanding officer, puts 27 years of experience and a lot of heart into her gritty,  powerful debut. Sgt. Mike Turner, like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, walks L.A.'s mean streets as a man of honor, doing the right thing in an organization that rewards the weak and destroys the strong. Dial's realistic, often poignant portrayal of police work make her a crime writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly "Connie Dial's unique whodunit may well produce a bidding war for the film rights." —Joseph Wambaugh “Be on the look out for this significant debut dealing with the upper echelons of the LAPD.” —Gerald Petievich, author of To Live and Die in L.A. “A tough potboiler with swagger to spare.” —Kirkus CONNIE DIAL has led a remarkable life. A graduate of Cal State in Literature and Journalism, a former reporter at the Copley newspaper chain, writer of TV news, and an associate editor at BP News, she was always intrigued by the law. At age 25, looking for a more exciting job, she applied to the Los Angeles Police Department and was accepted ("Where else can you drive fast and shoot guns?"), working her way up from patrol officer, to undercover agent, to narcotics detective, to internal affairs detective, to captain and commanding officer in the Hollywood Division, with 400 uniformed officers, detectives and civilian personnel under her supervision (she was first on the scene when Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered). At the same time, she earned a law degree and was one of the few women who helped break the glass ceiling when it came to police work. A 27 year veteran of the LAPD, COnnie was responsible for arresting members of the Black Guerrilla Family and returning the paroled Onion Field killer, Jimmy Lee Smith, to prison; and served as watch commander at Newton Division in South Central L.A. when the Rodney King riots started. Click here for more information ->