Product Details
Smoked

Smoked
By Patrick Quinlan

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Product Description

Smoke Dugan is on the run.
      A bomb-maker by profession, he dropped out of sight because of a misunderstanding with his employers about an airplane crash and $2.5 million in cash. Unfortunately, they've found out where Smoke's living--a picturesque seaside city in Maine. And Denny Cruz, a highly paid assassin, is on his way from New York to collect him.
      Smoke's girlfriend, Lola Bell, is unaware of his past. Sexy, smart, and tough, Lola's a weed that grew up through the cracks in an inner-city housing project. Her big eyes belie her secret weapon: she's spent a decade studying the martial arts. The tattoo on her shoulder reads girls kick ass. When Cruz decides to use Lola to get to Smoke, he has no idea what he's taking on.
      A time bomb is ticking as Smoke, Lola, Cruz, and anyone unlucky enough to come into their orbit are caught up in a drama of abduction, car chases, and triple bluff, where escape or violent death look like the only options. But nothing turns out quite as anyone might expect . . .
      Patrick Quinlan's fast-paced, edgy, and brilliantly original first novel introduces a cast of characters worthy of Tarantino in their sophistication and resourcefulness, in a stylish thriller that marks the debut of a stunning new talent.
 

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1266830 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-04-03
  • Released on: 2007-04-03
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 304 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
James "Smoke" Duggan, a natural-born bomb maker, plays an unwitting role in a heinous tragedy when his talents are exploited by a New York mob boss; nobody's fool, Smoke double-crosses the mob in a final, lucrative play and then goes into hiding in Portland, Maine. In pursuit, world-weary hit man Denny Cruz begins to see in Smoke a role model for escaping from New York and from crime—unless, of course, Denny and his disparate crew succeed in killing him. Graphic action and exhilarating chases ensue as Quinlan's characters play cat-and-mouse through Portland, giving a memorable look at the city's patchwork culture of industrial shipping, tourism, yuppies and foreign refugees. Denny and Smoke share an unlikely, endearing sensitivity and intelligence, and Smoke's girlfriend, Lola, is a fierce delight. This is Maine resident Quinlan's debut, and it makes one hope that Smoke hasn't quit the life entirely. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Smoked should absorb any fan of Bruckheimer blockbusters and everything else that goes boom." --Entertainment Weekly
"Graphic action and exhilarating chases ensue as Quinlan's characters play cat-and-mouse through Portland. Denny and Smoke share an unlikely, endearing sensitivity and intelligence, and Smoke's girlfriemd, Lola, is a fierce delight. It makes one hope that Smoke hasn't quit the life entirely." --Publishers Weekly
"A sizzling crime caper paced at NASCAR-style velocity, Smoked features a shillelagh-toting bomb maker on the run, an alluring martial arts vixen and a setting as exotic and unexpected as Portland, Maine. Quinlan's taut thriller is already garnering the kind of electrifying buzz that reminds Hollywood that there are engrossing stories to be discovered beyond the Universal Studios backlot…A turbo-charged tour de force." --Mark Griffin, Port City Life
"Smoked is a first novel rich in characters lovingly drawn and mercilessly executed. Often literally. Gives the whole expression 'character assassination' a brand new meaning." --London Times
"Tarantino-esque first novel about the past catching up with an ex-criminal turned children's toymaker, and by extension with his young girlfriend Lola. Lots of villains and violent deaths plus likeable characters and some quirky humour. The first chapter - in which Lola busts her way out of a thoroughly nasty rape scenario with karate-kicking panache - would hook anyone." --The Bookseller (UK)
"A tight and compelling novel. You will not be able to put Smoked down. My shaking hand was turning pages. What a debut. Patrick Quinlan is a wonderful new writer." --Carolyn Chute, New York Times bestselling author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine 
 "Smoked is one cool read. Tough, suspenseful, gritty and raw. I enjoyed the hell out of it."--Victor Gischler, Edgar-nominated author of Gun Monkeys and Suicide Squeeze

About the Author

This is PATRICK QUINLAN's first novel. He lives on the coast of Maine.