Winner of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A very accomplished debut, a gripping thriller based on a real event in 60’s America. Moving quickly from perspective to perspective, it scoops the reader up from page 1 and does not let go. This is not only a crime novel, but a brilliant evocation of 60’s New York in terms of its prejudices, its corruption and its humanity.'
Katrina Marino is about to become America's most infamous murder victim. This is Katrina's story, and the story of her killer. It is also the story of Katrina's neighbours, those who witnessed her murder and did nothing: the terrified Vietnam draftee; the woman who thinks she's killed a child, and her husband who will risk everything for the truth; the former soldier planning suicide and the man who saves him. And others whose lives are touched by the crime: the elderly teacher whose past is catching up with him; the amateur blackmailer who's about to find out just what sort of people he's been threatening; the corrupt cop who believes he is God's 'red right hand'. Shocking and compassionate, angry and gripping, Acts of Violence is a sprawling, cinematic tour-de-force, a terrifying crime novel unlike any other.
Ryan David Jahn grew up in Arizona, Texas and California. He left school at sixteen to work in a record store and subsequently joined the army. Since 2004 he has worked in television and film. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Mary.
