Back Bay Blues
  • Published: 21 September 2021
  • ISBN: 9781496723444
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $19.99

Back Bay Blues

Formats & editions
Paperback
21 Sep 2021
Hardback
21 Dec 2020
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"A classical mystery with an honor-bound detective and a keen sense of place... Besides having the P.I. spiel and the P.I. moves down pat, Roark is genuinely likable (not too tough, but not a patsy) and very much a character of his time." - The New York Times Book Review on BACK BAY BLUES


In the second hardboiled P.I. mystery by law enforcement officer and Iraq veteran Peter Colt, a Boston P.I. struggling to come to terms with his role in the Vietnam war investigates the murder of a beautiful, young Vietnamese woman's uncle in 1985 New England.

"A classical mystery with an honor-bound detective and a keen sense of place... Besides having the P.I. spiel and the P.I. moves down pat, Roark is genuinely likable (not too tough, but not a patsy) and very much a character of his time." - The New York Times Book Review on BACK BAY BLUES


In the second hardboiled P.I. mystery by law enforcement officer and Iraq veteran Peter Colt, a Boston P.I. struggling to come to terms with his role in the Vietnam war investigates the murder of a beautiful, young Vietnamese woman's uncle in 1985 New England.

Theft, greed, and corruption collide in Peter Colt's hard-edged mystery featuring Vietnam veteran turned Boston P.I. Andy Roark.

1985, Boston. In Vietnam, Andy Roark witnessed death and horrifying destruction. But for the soldiers who made it back alive, there are other casualties of war--the loss of tenderness, trust, and connection. Still feeling adrift, Andy has struck up a welcome friendship with Nguyen, a Vietnamese restaurant owner. Sipping beer and trading memories after the restaurant shutters, Andy gradually learns of the extraordinary lengths Nguyen took to flee Saigon shortly after its fall.

Andy's latest case, too, has ties to Vietnam. His new client, a young Vietnamese woman, hires him to investigate her uncle's murder. Andy discovers a connection to a group of refugees determined to overthrow the communist government--and extorting local business owners to raise funds. The search for more answers takes Andy to D.C. and San Francisco, and into a web of political and personal betrayal. For near the heart of this mystery is a link to Nguyen's daring escape. Decades have passed, but sometimes the price of freedom twists allies into enemies, loyalties into betrayals, and truth into lies...
  • Published: 21 September 2021
  • ISBN: 9781496723444
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $19.99
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Praise for Back Bay Blues

Praise for Peter Colt's Andy Roark Mysteries:

"A classical mystery with an honor-bound detective and a keen sense of place... Besides having the P.I. spiel and the P.I. moves down pat, Roark is genuinely likable (not too tough, but not a patsy) and very much a character of his time." - The New York Times Book Review on BACK BAY BLUES

"Readers yearning for a noir mystery in the vein of Mike Hammer or Sam Spade are in luck. Peter Colt has delivered just such a tale of intrigue...Colt, an Army veteran who served in Kosovo and Iraq and now is a police officer in a small New England city, captures his firsthand, on-the-job experience in moody prose. The novel spends nearly as much time exploring Roark's inner demons from the Vietnam War and life afterward as it does with the case at hand, adding a deeply evocative perspective to events." --BookPage   on THE OFF-ISLANDER

"Like Philip Marlowe--or Robert Parker's Spenser--Andy has a sharp eye for telling detail and male haberdashery." --Publishers Weekly    on THE OFF-ISLANDER
 
"New England police officer Colt's first novel is a boozy pipe dream of a private eye's search for a long-missing father...[with] lots of attitude." --Kirkus Reviews   on THE OFF-ISLANDER
 
"This atmospheric debut mystery should appeal to fans of the early works of Dennis Lehane and Robert B. Parker." --Library Journal  on THE OFF-ISLANDER

"Atmospheric and witty...Andy Roark is all instinct and tarnish--the perfect companion for your next reading binge." --Kyle Mills, # 1 New York Times bestselling author   on THE OFF-ISLANDER

"If you like your mysteries to be old-school in the vein of John D. MacDonald, or even farther back to Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, then you will appreciate this striking debut by Peter Colt. Long on atmosphere, detail, and character, it could place detective Andy Roark amongst the classic noir sleuths." --Raymond Benson, author of Blues in the Dark  on THE OFF-ISLANDER
 
 "Where were you in 1982? Peter Colt's The Off-Islander is much more than a period piece. Colt's maiden effort introduces P.I. Andy Roark trying to locate a mysterious missing person. The closer this former Vietnam vet gets to finding his mystery man, the more people seem to want him dead. Colt knows the terrain, and the character, and has the personal background to make the most out of them. The Off-Islander is a gripping debut, and readers will certainly want more." --Alan Russell, author of Gideon's Rescue  on THE OFF-ISLANDER