The Barbed-Wire Kiss

Two years ago, Harry Rane took early retirement from the New Jersey State police after being shot in the line of duty. Now he lives one day at a time. It's not much, but he gets by. Things change when Bobby Fox, an old childhood friend, calls for help. A small-time dealer who's taken one last chance, Bobby's in over his head for $50,000 to Eddie Fallon, a local crime boss. Harry goes to see Fallon, hoping to work something out, but it's hard to negotiate with a man like Fallon. The one thing Harry does learn is that he and Fallon have something in common-Fallon's wife is an ex-girlfriend Harry hasn't seen since he was eighteen, a girl who was pregnant with his child when she ran away. In this brooding, blistering debut set against the spare, atmospheric background of working-class New Jersey, Harry gets caught between his past and his future, between justice and vengeance.

Genre: Mystery

"The Barbed-Wire Kiss is as gritty and tough as its Soprano-land New Jersey setting, and Wallace Stroby is a no-nonsense guide and a fine writer." - C J Box