Two Jakes

PRIVATE EYE JAKE SCARNE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SUCKER FOR A LOST CAUSE AND A LOST WOMAN -- AND HE GETS BOTH IN THE FIRST TWO THRILLERS IN LAWRENCE DE MARIA'S ACCLAIMED SERIES THAT HAS "A TOUCH OF BOURNE, A DASH OF BOND AND A SPRIG OF SPENSER". (John Crudele, the New York Post)

SOUND OF BLOOD: In this, the first Jake Scarne thriller, the rogue New York City cop turned private eye is sent to Florida by a grieving father to uncover the truth about his son’s death -- only to be caught in a chain reaction of revenge involving a financial empire built on murder, sex and fraud. Bodies pile up as Scarne finds himself in the crosshairs of a powerful media baron, vicious mobsters, homicide cops, the F.B.I. – and a beautiful, amoral woman.

This is the rare novel that has some critics praising it as a terrific financial thriller and others likening it to JAWS. But at the novel's heart is a tragic love story that tests the boundaries of loyalty and loss. With crucial and colorful scenes set in New York, Florida, Georgia, Seattle, Argentina and the Caribbean, SOUND OF BLOOD will hook you right up to its last, stunning twist.

MADMAN’S THIRST: In his second outing, private eye Jake Scarne, haunted by his last case, has been letting himself go physically and mentally, content to cash easy paychecks. But then his best friend asks for a favor he can’t refuse. Seeking personal and professional redemption, Scarne sets out to find out who is behind the rape and murder of young girl.

The police are convinced the brutal crime was random. But right from the start Jake knows better. The only problem: He can never reveal the source of his information. The one person, a stone killer, who can prove what really happened has disappeared, and may even be dead. The seemingly hopeless search for the man pits Scarne against an assassin for the ages whose shadowy employer cannot afford to have the crime solved.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“SOUND OF BLOOD is a rollicking good adventure mystery with all the essential ingredients: an intrepid private eye, bizarre murders, international intrigue, missing documents, gorgeous women and slippery financial dealings. For those who enjoy dialog of the jocular irony-exaggeration genre, De Maria is a master. We read books like this to have a fast ride in another world, where lots of bad things happen to new and believable characters, where the good guys, though badly flawed, win out, and the villains get what’s coming to them. SOUND OF BLOOD delivers.” -- THE WASHINGTON INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF BOOKS

"Suspense, gritty scenes, clever banter, the visceral rendering of Staten Island and a dogged private eye combine to make MADMAN'S THIRST and Jake Scarne a strong contribution to the tough guy tradition." -- FLORIDA WEEKLY

“While De Maria may have been an award-winning financial reporter, he's an awfully good fiction writer as well.” (THE NAPLES DAILY NEWS)

“What is really almost beyond belief is how easily De Maria has transitioned from the dry world of financial reporting to the wild and lavish world of novel writing.” (THE COLLIER CITIZEN)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Winner of an Associated Press award for crime reporting, Lawrence De Maria is a Pulitzer-nominated journalist who cut his teeth on financial corruption at The New York Times and Forbes.