Fail

by Rick Skwiot

Overview

Exiled to the city's tough North Side, disgraced St. Louis Police Lieutenant Carlo Gabriel wants nothing more than to return to the headquarters hierarchy. To get his wish, all he has to do is track down the missing husband of the mayor's press secretary. Instead he unearths a morass of corruption, educational malpractice, and greed that threatens to consign thousands of at-risk youths to the mean streets of America's erstwhile murder capital. Worse, it';s the kind of information that could get a cop killed. Fighting for his life and his honor, Gabriel ultimately must make a choice that could affect not only his own future, but also that of the city and its top leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780985808693
Publisher:	Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC
Publication date:	10/27/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
Sales rank:	970,063
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Former journalist Rick Skwiot is the author of three previous novels--the Hemingway First Novel Award winner Death in Mexico, the Willa Cather Fiction Prize finalist Sleeping With Pancho Villa, and Key West Story--as well as two memoirs: the critically-acclaimed Christmas at Long Lake: A Childhood Memory and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Memoir of a Sensual Quest for Spiritual Healing. He also works as a feature writer, book doctor and editor. From St. Louis, he currently resides in Key West. rickskwiot.com 

What People are Saying About This

Kelly Daniels

The twisting plot and fascinating characters will keep readers turning the pages... --Kelly Daniels, author of Cloudbreak, California

Michael Pearson

…as good as it gets in detective stories. --Michael Pearson, author of Reading Life—On Books, Memory, and Travel

Brian Wiprud

…a gritty knockout crime story you won't soon forget. --Brian Wiprud, author of The Clause

Author of Enigma of China: An Inspector Chen Novel - Qiu Xiaolong

"A page-turner not to be missed in any circumstances, an eye-and-mind-opener to be held against the backdrop of Ferguson tragedy, Rick Skwiot's Fail is a compelling crime novel in the cool and crisp language, but also much more than that with convincing insight into the cultural and political problems prevalent in today's American society."

Peter H. Green

…rapid pace, seamless unfolding and well-crafted plot... --Peter H. Green, author of Crimes of Design

Ryan Stone

This is detective fiction at its finest. --Ryan Stone, author of Best Road Yet

Michael Mewshaw

…a sheer success…rendered in crackling prose. --Michael Mewshaw, author of Sympathy for the Devil: Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal

Michael A. Kahn

Fail succeeds, and does so with compassion. --Michael A. Kahn, award-winning author of Face Value and The Flinch Factor

Scott L. Miller

…an intelligent read that refuses to pass the buck, earning a classy A. --Scott L. Miller, author of Counterfeit and Interrogation

John Leslie

Skwiot's finest…a big, two-hearted yarn of political corruption and moral decay. --John Leslie, author of Border Crossing

John Baugh

…a riveting spellbinding tale with intricate characters… --John Baugh, author of Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice

Terry Baker Mulligan

Both crime fiction and a clarion call to rescue America's underserved schools… --Terry Baker Mulligan, author of Afterlife in Harlem

Editorial Reviews

…much more than a story about the haves and the have-nots; it is a story about good triumphing over evil, greed, and corruption.

The Book Diva's Reads

…a page-turning mystery thriller.

Vic's Media Room

"The plot is intriguing — dirty dealings at City Hall, corruption in government and a super-smart cop who has gotten on the bad side of the bigwigs...an enjoyable read with such a St. Louis feel..."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Chicago has Scott Turow, Boston Dennis Lehane, LA James Elroy. Finally St. Louis has its laureate of fiction, Rick Skwiot. His new novel, FAIL, is a sheer success. Skwiot hits for the fences and stylishly touches all the bases — money, municipal politics, police corruption, infidelity, suicide, homicide, all rendered in crackling prose.”

author of Sympathy for the Devil: Four Decades Michael Mewshaw

“Rick Skwiot proves himself a master weaver who deftly knits the threads of this suspense tale into a compelling—and surprising—conclusion. In short, FAIL succeeds, and does so with compassion.”

award-winning author of Face Value and The Flinch Michael A. Kahn

“Not all the snowthatblankets St. Louis cityinFailcan begin to whitewashits political corruption and educational malpractice, butthrough all the darkness hope for change emerges. A cynicaldetective ventures far outside his comfort zone,risking everythingtokeep an idealisticteacher alive long enough toexposeugly truths.Amicrocosm for what ails society,Failis an intelligent read that refuses to pass the buck, earning aclassyA.”

author of Counterfeit and Interrogation Scott L. Miller

“The rapid pace, seamless unfolding and well-crafted plot of this mystery… [are] balanced with the incisive depiction of two contrasting main characters—a crusading English teacher and [a] worldly-wise, battered cop. This tale is a trenchant reminder that the urban cocktail of poverty in the face of wealth, St. Louis’s famous segregated sprawl…and corruption in high places nationwide, is an explosive mix.”

author of Crimes of Design Peter H. Green

“Skwiot's finest. Set on the mean streets and back alleys of St. Louis, FAIL is a big, two-hearted yarn of political corruption and moral decay. The unforgettable police detective Carlo Gabriel, who handles the investigation, must first grapple with his own transgressions before he can unravel the wooly skein of betrayal and depravity surrounding him. A tale that could well have been ripped from the front page of any city in the country.”

author of Border Crossing John Leslie

“Failis a riveting spellbinding tale with intricate characters that are depicted through carefully crafted imagery of iconic St. Louis landmarks bolstered by lucid vernacular accuracy reflecting the rich cultural diversity of the city.”

John Baugh

“The twisting plot and fascinating characters will keep readers turning the pages, but the underlying problem exposed by this vital novel is dead serious. In snappy, vivid, hard-boiled language, Skwiot lays bare the root cause of most of our societal woes: our failed education system. It is no mere coincidence the story takes place in St. Louis, the heartland city that has come to represent our greater national tragedy.Failis a wake-up call.”

Kelly Daniels

“Art imitates life in this prescient novel. Both crime fiction and a clarion call to rescue America's underserved schools,Failis also proof positive that the Ferguson, Missouri, uprising was inevitable.”

author of Afterlife in Harlem Terry Baker Mulligan

2014-10-06
A St. Louis police detective investigates a missing person case and finds the man's disappearance linked to local political corruption.In this St. Louis noir, disgraced police detective Lt. Carlo Gabriel sees the chance to make up for his sins by locating the missing husband of the mayor's press secretary, Ellen Cantrell. Jonathan Stone had recently lost his adjunct teaching position at a local university where he was working on his Ph.D. dissertation on Mark Twain. Getting hold of the missing man's files, Gabriel learns of Stone's disaffection with current teaching methods and his possible discovery of corruption in the administration of Mayor Angelo Cira who, in another lifetime, was Gabriel's partner on the police force. A clue embedded in the missing man's dissertation leads the dogged Gabriel to Hannibal, Missouri, home of Samuel Clemens, where part of the mystery is solved. Meanwhile, back in St. Louis, another linked mystery unfolds when a member of the mayor's inner circle is found dead, a suspicious suicide. Gabriel returns home to confront all those who stand between him and the truth, but will the effort cost him more than his badge? Skwiot's detective novel is rooted in the pulp tradition that was created by Dashiell Hammett almost a century ago and refined over the decades by Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Robert B. Parker and others. His story takes place on the mean streets of St. Louis and involves a lurid cast of corrupt pols and complacent academics and at least one good man risking everything to do the right thing. The slick prose readily entertains ("When she arrived on the scene fresh out of J-school she was aggressive and confident and didn't know a damn thing….I'd try to steer her in the right direction.…Not that I ever got any thanks for it"), but the plot resolves a bit too neatly. And there are no real surprises in this novel, which sometimes borrows heavily from other detective novels.Well-executed but not all that original.

Kirkus Reviews