Hello Everyone! Today I have an excerpt from the book Dead Money Run by J. Frank James. This book is the first book in a series and is in the action/adventure, crime fiction, mystery, and thriller genres. Check below for an excerpt and to learn more about the author and series!
There are currently 4 books in the Lou Malloy Crime Series by
J. Frank James: The Run Begins, Dead Money Run, Only Two Cats, and Blue Cat
In Paradise.
The Run Begins is the prequel to the Lou Malloy Crime Series:
Lou Malloy is 18 years old and ready for the world... but is the world
ready for him? His brother Sam has left and his sister wants to move to Florida
with the family. Malloy is having none of it and on a wild moment decides to hop
on a rail car, unsure of where he is going. The important thing is that he will
no longer be in Kansas, but the problem is that he doesn't have any
money. Henry Lowe, who is in the same rail car, offers Malloy the deal of
a lifetime... All he has to do is help Lowe rob a casino in Georgia. With the
promise of a big payday, Malloy throws in with the scheme and seals his
fate forever.
What starts off as a quick way for Malloy to get a share of $15 million
turns into a run for his life. Malloy learns the hard way that nothing comes
easy when you’re alone and your life is about change forever…
Read how Malloy survives against all odds in J. Frank James’s next Lou Malloy novel Dead Money Run.
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Dead Money Run (Lou Malloy Crime Series #1)
By J. Frank James
Published August 26th, 2013 by Createspace
306 pages
On the day Lou Malloy is to be released from prison, the warden
calls him for a private meeting. “Ten percent of fifteen million is a lot of
money,” the warden tells him. He’s probing Lou for the whereabouts of the $15M
that was stolen from a casino 15 years earlier. Lou, however, doesn’t bite.
He’s got big plans, which include finding the person who killed his sister
while he was in the joint.
Enter Hilary Kelly, a 20-something beauty who gives Lou a
motorcycle ride from the bus station. She claims to be a student, but Lou is
far too wise to fall for it. After crashing in Hilary’s trailer, Lou soon finds
her .38 Smith and Wesson and discovers she’s a private investigator who knows
something about his sister.
Hilary a great character, and loaded with memorable lines: “Lou,
sometimes you can be the nicest killer I have ever known.” Alas, she and Lou
were made for each other - he likes to think of himself as a
"compassionate killer."
Fans of James Ellroy and Elmore Leonard are going to love James’
ingenious capers, devious characters and wry humor. The entire book goes down
like a strong yet smooth shot of bourbon.
Will Lou reclaim his money, or will he be lured into one last big
score? And who killed his sister, anyhow? To James’ credit, the answers will
surprise you. This is one crime novel well-worth finishing.
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Excerpt:
CHAPTER
1
The warden was a small man, but dressed neatly. Everything
about him was neat-from his hair to his shoes. He was almost too neat.
“So what are your plans, Lou?”
When I walked into the room, the
warden turned over a little hour-glass full of sand. We both watched it for a
few seconds and then looked at each other. This was the first time I ever met
the man. What did he care about me now? Since he never cared before, I figured
the man was just looking for information. Perhaps he wanted to give me a
warning. I didn’t say anything.
“Do you ever think about time,
Lou?”
“After fifteen years, what do you
think?” I said.
He smiled and said, “Most
valuable thing we have and no one seems to mourn its passing until it’s too
late.”
I had nothing to say to that.
Conversations with a prison warden came with a lot of maybes. While in prison I
trained myself to watch a man’s hands. If he rubbed his hands in a washing
motion, he was lying. If he messed with his fingernails, he wasn’t interested
in the conversation. The warden was rubbing his hands as if he had touched
something distasteful.
“I haven’t given it a lot of
thought, Warden Edwards.”
“Call me John, Lou. We’re friends
now,” Edwards said while rubbing his hands in a determined kind of way.
So now we were friends. I wanted
to tell him he was a liar, but my better judgment stopped me. Probably a good
way to delay my release-things get lost, papers go unsigned. Things happen.
“Okay, John,” I said.
“You know, we never found the
fifteen million,” he said.
“I didn’t know you were looking
for it.”
I watched his eyes flicker
briefly. I seemed to hit a sweet spot.
“No, Lou. You misunderstand,” he
said as he caught himself. “There is a reward for the recovery of the money.
Did you know that?”
Edwards said it more as a
statement than a question. I said nothing and waited. Edwards shifted in his
chair and started to rub his hands again.
“It would be in your best
interest to tell them what you know.”
“Who’s the ‘them’ John?” I asked.
“They’re the people looking for
the money.”
I thought about that for a few
moments. The statement covered a lot of ground.
“Since I didn’t take the money in
the first place, I don’t have anything to tell them. They need to ask the
people that took it,” I said.
Edwards was smiling now and he
stopped rubbing his hands.
“There are some people that think
you do.”
“I can’t help what people think.”
“Ten percent,” he said.
“Ten percent of what,” I said.
“The money, Lou. Ten percent of
fifteen million is a lot of money.”
“I hadn’t heard about that,” I
said.
“Yeah, it seems the Indian casino
had insurance. The insurance company that paid off on the claim put up a ten
percent reward for the return of the money. A million five is a lot of money.”
“I hope they find it,” I said.
Edwards blinked his eyes signaling
he was moving on to something else.
“Sorry to hear about your
sister,” he said. “I understand they are doing all they can to find her
killer.”
Edwards was a real card and
running out of things to say. On any other day, in any other place, he would be
dead or wishing he was.
“Thanks, John. Your words are
real comforting,” I said and returned my gaze to the little hourglass and the
sand as it accumulated on the bottom.
I had nothing else to say except
make him happy. Make them all happy. Just one big happy group sitting around
smiling at each other; happy, happy, now let’s just get the money and spread it
all around and we can go on being happy. In the meantime my sister lies in a
hole feeding worms. I had money on the worms being real happy. No word on how
my sister felt.
Edwards looked disappointed when
I didn’t add to our conversation.
“Lou, it might be a good idea for
you to help them find the money. It could be a big windfall.”
Now we were getting somewhere.
Just like all the rest of the treasure hunters, the miserable bastard was just
in it for the money.
“Windfall for who, John? Me or
you?”
As if tasting a lemon, Edwards
twisted his face and, at the same time, waived his hands at an imaginary fly.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Lou.
I’m just trying to give you a head start. If it was my decision, you would
still be with us. Fifteen million dollars is a lot of money to lose.”
“It still is,” I said.
I sat and watched Edwards shift
in his chair some more. We had nothing left to talk about. I could feel him
working out in his mind how he was going to present his failure to get a lead
out of me on the money.
“So, what are you going to do
now?” Edwards said.
Finally, I had enough.
“Leave. Isn’t that what we all
do?”
His smile vanished. He knew he
was wasting his time on someone who had maxed out. He also knew he couldn’t
hold me. There would be no parole violation with the threat to re-incarcerate
me. No work release effort to rehabilitate me. Just a new suit made in the
prison cut and sew area and a hundred bucks was the sum total of it. That
probably hadn’t changed since the 30s. I wondered if Al Capone wore the suit
they gave him when he got out.
We were both looking at the
little hourglass of sand now. The sand had drained from the top of the glass to
the bottom. Suddenly, as if being shot out of a cannon, we both stood up.
Edwards stuck out his hand. I turned and left the room. I didn’t shake his
hand. I didn’t want to touch him.
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About the Author:
J. Frank James is the author of crime thriller novels. His crime
fiction books are gripping and suspenseful with readers being unable to put
them down once they get into them. Jim has a passion for writing, and he
certainly has the knowledge and experience to write realistic crime thriller
novels, thanks to his extensive background in law. Jim attended law school,
where he was a member of the law review. He even went on to pass the state bar
and started his own law practice that specialized in complex litigation.
Jim’s experience in law helps lend credibility to his crime
fiction books. Not only that, Jim has traveled extensively and gains
inspiration for his crime thriller novels from his travels. Some of the
countries that Jim has visited include Peru, Brazil, Italy, Greece and
countless others. From observing other cultures and gaining new experiences,
Jim is able to infuse new life into his books and develop believable characters
that readers can identify with.
At present, Jim has published four crime thriller novels in
the Lou Malloy Crime Series: The Run Begins, Dead Money Run, Only
Two Cats, and Blue Cat In Paradise. They offer the readers just
enough information to keep them guessing and trying to solve the crimes until
the end of the books when they are actually revealed. Jim’s books are also
fresh and unique takes on crime as well, though. They are not the same whodunit
type books that have been done over and over again. By infusing his personal
travels into his books, Jim creates characters and atmospheres based on just
enough truth to be relatable.
Jim’s books have everything in them from robbery to prison to
family. They have hard and soft elements simultaneously to really capture the
life of a hardened criminal who is still very human and struggles with the same
emotions as the rest of society. At the same time, Jim gives the reader perspectives
from private investigators to balance out the story.
Jim’s books even have a hit of romance when his characters come to
care for each other as more than just friends. Then, crime and love mixes to
create a dynamic atmosphere that is even more complicated than ever before
since characters care not only for each other but for their other family
members as well. Jim has an amazing way of incorporating various elements into
his latest crime novels to create thrillers that readers cannot get enough of,
which is perhaps why all four of his books so far carry on one from the other
to continue the same story concerning the hardened criminal who did 15 years in
prison, Lou Malloy and who comes to be his partner, private investigator,
Hilary Kelly. The two of them go it together to create gripping stories that
keep readers coming back for more.
Amazon:
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