Forced to retire from the D. C. police, newly minted P.I. Frank Marr is recovering from rock bottom when a friend asks for help -- and now, he must revisit the dark, drug-fueled world he left behind. Ostracized by his family after a botched case that led to the death of his baby cousin, Jeffrey, Frank was on a collision course with catastrophe. Now clean and clinging hard to sobriety, he's barely eking out a living as a private investigator for a defense attorney -- who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. Frank passes the time -- and tests himself -- by robbing the houses of local dealers, taking their cash and flushing their drugs down the toilet. But when an old friend from his police days needs Frank's help to prove he didn't shoot an unarmed civilian, Frank is drawn back into the world of dirty cops and suspicious drug busts, running in the same circles that enabled his addiction those years ago. Never one to play by the rules, Frank recruits a young man he nearly executed years before. Together -- a good man trying not to go bad and a bad man trying to do good -- detective and criminal charge headfirst into the D.C. drug wars. Neither may make it out.

In this epic standalone from David Swinson "one of the best dialogue hounds in the business" (NYTBR), Homicide Detective Alex Blum must answer a terrible question: 'how far would you go to love the wrong woman?' In a red brick house on a tree-lined street, DC homicide detective Alex Blum stares at the bullet-pocked body of Chris Doyle. As he roots around for evidence, he finds an old polaroid: the decedent, arm in arm with Arthur Holland, Blum's informant from years ago when he worked at the Narcotics branch. But Arthur has been missing for days. Blum's only source: Arthur's girl, Celeste-beautiful, seductive, and tragic-whom he can't get out of his head. Blum is drawn to her and feels compelled to save her from Arthur's underworld. As the investigation ticks on and dead bodies domino, Blum, unearths clues with damning implications for Celeste. Swallowed by desire, Blum's single misstep sends him tunnelling down a rabbit hole of transgression. He may soon find the only way out is down below. Set in 1999, Swinson, a former DC cop, offers a look back at a rougher, grittier, bygone DC replete with seedy strip clubs, pagers beeping, and Y2K anxiety. It's here we're taken inside sting operations, fluorescent-tinged interrogation chambers, and rooms that have seen irreversible mistakes. At once authentic, gritty, tragic, and profound, SWEET THING asks how far can you fall when the world teeters on the edge?

David Swinson returns with a thrillingly dark novel, featuring Frank Marr, 'a masterly piece of characterisation.' (Tana French) Frank Marr was a good cop with a bad habit. Now forced to retire from the Washington D.C police, he scrapes a living as a private investigator. His latest case is personal - Frank's cousin Jeffrey is involved with a drugs operation. But when Jeffery's body is turns up in Frank's house, it's clear he was in deeper than anyone realized. Stolen from the scene are Frank's revolver - the murder weapon - and his cherished music collection. With his reputation on the line, Frank is as determined to uncover the truth as he is to feed his habit, and both pursuits could prove deadly.

He's a good detective... with a bad habit. 'A down-and-dirty thriller with real heart from an author who knows what he's talking about. This is firmly in George Pelecanos territory and it doesn't get much better than that.' Mark Billingham on THE SECOND GIRL Frank Marr was a good cop, until his burgeoning addictions forced him into retirement from the Washington D.C. police. Now, he's barely eking out a living as a private investigator. Ostracized by his family after a botched case that led to the death of his cousin, Frank is now clean. He passes the time by robbing the houses of local dealers, taking their cash and flushing their drugs down the toilet. But when an old friend from the police needs his help, Frank is drawn back into the world of dirty cops and suspicious drug busts. Never one to play by the rules, Frank recruits a young man he nearly executed years before. Together, detective and criminal charge headfirst into the D.C. drug wars. Will either make it out? Praise for David Swinson: 'David Swinson pulls off a masterly piece of characterization...The writing throws sparks, and the ferocious plot peels back layer after layer of Frank's character as we - and he - find out how much of his humanity is still left.' Tana French 'A gripping, authentic tale (the author is an ex-cop) of a man's journey into the heart of darkness that will appeal to fans of The Wire' Shortlist 'Frank Marr, the winningly debauched private investigator [is the] hero of this gritty thriller...A complex, vulnerable but brilliant creation, with a unique personal morality' Crime Scene Magazine

1972, Beirut, Lebanon. Young American boy Matthew lives with his mother and father, a rising foreign service attache, in an exclusive community of ex-patriots. It is the summer Matthew becomes a teenager, falls in love, nearly dies, and watches his family, and the city, fall apart. It is in this world of Western schemers and local merchants, of hoodlums and politicians, that Matthew begins to solve the mystery of who his father really is, and what role he is really playing in the upheaval that is shaking the city loose of its old, civilized and way and ushering in a new and frightening radicalism. This is the story of a boy and a family, besieged. Intimate in scope and wrenching in its vision of lost innocence, CITY ON THE EDGE is a mystery and spy story from the past, and a coming of age story for our time.

'The writing throws sparks, and the ferocious plot peels back layer after layer of Frank's character as we - and he - find out how much of his humanity is still left' Tana French 'A gripping, authentic tale (the author is an ex-cop) of a man's journey into the heart of darkness that will appeal to fans of The Wire' Shortlist He's a good detective... with a bad habit. Frank Marr may be a decorated former cop and an excellent private investigator, but Washington DC doesn't know his dirty secret. Frank has managed to keep his drug habit hidden. But after accidentally rescuing a kidnapped teenage girl, he's thrust into the spotlight. Reluctantly, he agrees to investigate another - possibly connected - disappearance, all the time knowing that the heightened scrutiny may expose him... The Second Girl is a raw, real and incredible thriller from a former DC Major Crimes detective.