Smokey Dalton

"Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author." SalonChicago, 1969: The trial of eight protestors from the Democratic Convention the previous year has the whole world watchingand all of Chicagoland on edge.Smokey Dalton feels the pressure: more cops on the streets, more FBI in his neighborhood. But when the landlord at one of Sturdy Investments' South Side properties dies alone in his apartment, Smokey agrees to investigate. He finds old human bones in the basement, along with hints of more.Smokey and his girlfriend, Sturdy's CEO Laura Hathaway, worry that Laura's father knew who used that basement and why. Without involving law enforcement, they decide to hold a thorough investigation and discover secrets they never ever imagined, secrets that could threaten Smokey, Laura, Sturdy, and one of Chicago's greatest institutions. Secrets worth killing for."When Kris Nelscott started her impressive series about Smokey Dalton, many critics and readers wondered how long she could keep up the pace. Days of Rage, her sixth book in the Dalton series, indicates there seems to be no end in sight." Chicago TribuneRead the whole gripping series:A Dangerous Road, Book 1Smoke-Filled Rooms, Book 2Thin Walls, Book 3Stone Cribs, Book 4War at Home, Book 5Days of Rage, Book 6Street Justice, Book 7Kris Nelscott is an open pen name used by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune's best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books "a high-class crime series" and Salon says "Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author."

Private detective Smokey Dalton does his best to protect his adopted family, from his 11-year-old son Jimmy to his friends, the Grimshaws. But Smokey can't see everything. Jimmy notices that Lacey Grimshaw"thirteen going on trouble," Smokey saysskips school to hang out with an adult man. Jimmy doesn't want to tattle, but he's worried about Lacey. So he pretends he's Smokey, and follows her, learning secrets that will change himand Laceyforever."ExcellentKris Nelscott's first short case for Smokey Dalton requires him to be as sensitive and brave as her novels (do)."Kirkus"(A) crime writer deliberately taking chances."Chicago Tribune"Kris Nelscott has created an intriguing character in Smokey Dalton, a tough-guy black private eye based in Chicago."Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Herodotus Award winner for Best Historical Mystery"Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author." SalonWho is Smokey Dalton?Private Investigator Smokey Dalton works for Memphis, Tennessee's black community. He has almost no interaction with the white hierarchy, even though they exist only blocks away. So he's surprised the day a white woman walks into his Beale Street office. Laura Hathaway has sought him out because he's a beneficiary in her mother's will, and Laura wants to know why.So does Smokey. He's never heard of the Hathaways, but his search will take him on a journey that will change everything he's ever known.Set against the backdrop of the strike and protests that will end with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, A Dangerous Road combines the politics of race, betrayal, unexpected love, and the terrible cost of trust.It's a story so memorable the Mystery Writers of America chose it as one of the top five novels of the year and the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society honored it as the winner of the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery.What the critics say:"Powerful stuff, with a role for every major black actor in Hollywood."Kirkus Reviews"More than just offering a puzzle, this novel encourages self-examination about identity, responsibility and the consequences of choices. Smokey proves himself a man of conscience able to make tough choices." Publishers Weekly"Nelscott's series setting, in the turbulent late '60s, gives her books layers of issues of racism, class, and war, all of which still seem to remain sadly timely today." Oregonian"It's not hard to draw parallels between Nelscott's PI Smokey Dalton and Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins, another secretive, canny black man trying to solve mysteries while circumspectly navigating the white world. But Dalton's no knock-off. (Would you label the hundreds of hard-boiled detectives who've appeared in Raymond Chandler's wake mere Marlow Xeroxes because they're white?)" Entertainment WeeklyThe Smokey Dalton books are "a high-class crime series." BooklistRead the whole series of gripping novels:A Dangerous Road Smoke-Filled Rooms Thin Walls Stone Cribs War at Home Days of Rage Street Justice Awards for the series:The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune's best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for the Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.Street Justice was nominated for a Shamus award for the Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel.Kris Nelscott is an open pen name used by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

"Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author." SalonSmokey Dalton and Jimmy, the young boy he protects, have settled into a new life on Chicago's South Side. But when Smokey gets hired to investigate the death of a black man in a local park, he realizes that the murder might not be an isolated case. The Chicago Police Department doesn't really investigate black deaths, particularly near the South Side.The case forces Smokey to dig deeper into the history of the area, a history that includes gangs, racism, and secrets so dark they threaten his very existence.Chosen as one of the top ten mystery novels of the year by the Chicago Tribune, Thin Walls shows why Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review, and Booklist calls it "another fine entry in an outstanding series."Read the whole gripping series:A Dangerous Road, Book 1Smoke-Filled Rooms, Book 2Thin Walls, Book 3Stone Cribs, Book 4War at Home, Book 5Days of Rage, Book 6Street Justice, Book 7"Somebody needs to say that Kris Nelscott is engaged in an ongoing fictional study of a thorny era in American political and racial history. If that's not enough to get 'serious' critics and readers to pay attention to her, it's their loss." Charles Taylor, SalonKris Nelscott is an open pen name used by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune's best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books "a high-class crime series."

"Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author." SalonIn the first week of the new decade, an emergency phone call shatters Chicago Private Detective Smokey Dalton's hopes for a good 1970. His adopted son Jimmy and Jimmy's best friend and cousin Keith Grimshaw need help.Smokey arrives at a South Side hotel across from the boys' school in time to clean up a horrible mess, one the boys mostly solve on their own. But the boys' heroic actions echo across all of Chicago. Smokey finds himself standing alone against street gangs, the mob, and the Democratic Machine.If he fights this battle and fails, he stands to lose not only Jimmy and their future together, but also his life.A finalist for the 2015 Shamus Award for Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America."Easy comparisons can be made to Dave Robicheaux, Spenser, and Easy Rawlins, but Smokey is his own man. Women want to be near him and cook his dinner as he settles his nerves with three fingers of Scotch. A great read for fans of detectives guarding an inner city's grimy streets."Library Journal"Dalton's hard won small victory vividly illustrates a turbulent period of our recent cultural history."Publishers Weekly"... a gripping read that drags us deeper into [Smokey] Dalton's uneasy world."Entertainment Weekly on War at HomeRead the whole gripping series:A Dangerous Road, Book 1Smoke-Filled Rooms, Book 2Thin Walls, Book 3Stone Cribs, Book 4War at Home, Book 5Days of Rage, Book 6Street Justice, Book 7Acclaim for the Smokey Dalton Series Edgar Award nomination Shamus nomination for Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel Winner of two Spotted Owl Awards for Best Mystery by a Northwest Writer Oregon Book Award NominationKris Nelscott is an open pen name used by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune's best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books "a high-class crime series" and Salon says "Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author."