Shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2011.

Life couldn't be better for David Albo, an associate professor of English at a small mid-western university. As he returns to the university after a long and relaxing sabbatical, there's a full professorship in the offing - and, what's more, he's managed to stay off the booze for two whole years. But, once term begins, things deteriorate rapidly.

CWA Judges’ comments: ‘Really well crafted. Intelligent, elliptical story-telling. Good thriller and pace.’

Synopsis

I turned thirty-seven that summer, older than Dante when he toured Hell, but only by a couple of years - Life couldn't be better for David Albo, an associate professor of English at a small mid-western university. He lives in an idyllic, out-of-town, plantation-style mansion with a beautiful and intelligent wife and an adoring teenage stepdaughter. As he returns to the university after a long and relaxing sabbatical, there's a full professorship in the offing - and, what's more, he's managed to stay off the booze for two whole years. But, once term begins, things deteriorate rapidly. The damning evidence that he has sexually harassed his students is just the beginning as Dave finds himself sucked into a vortex of conspiracy, betrayal, jealousy and murder. Unless he can discover quickly who is out to destroy him, all that he is and loves is about to be stripped away.

Reviews

'I got paper friction burns on my fingers and pressure sores elsewhere because I could barely move until I'd finished it. Things were so tense that at several points I had to remind myself to breathe.'
Dovegreyreader

's literary blog 'A marvellously thrilling book... the distinction between villain and hero is constantly blurred... a most enthralling story.'
Paul Doherty, author of the Hugh Corbett mysteries

'...a rattling good yarn. Fast paced, exciting and very very filmic.'
Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover

About the Author

Craig Smith holds a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Southern Illinois and is a former professor of English and Humanities at the University of North Colorado. His first novel, published in the UK and Australia as Silent She Sleeps and in the States as The Whisper of Leaves, won a bronze medal in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards. His first action thrillers The Painted Messiah and The Blood Lance published in 2007 and 2008 have been translated into German, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Russian, Spanish Czech and Serbian and the third of this series will be released in 2010. Craig Smith lives with his wife in Lucerne, Switzerland. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation