Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Carsten Stroud writes with a brutal intensity that mesmerizes readers as it brings them onto the front lines of high-stakes police work. Now Stroud has written his most gripping novel to date, a high-voltage tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption — deeply rooted in the violent underworld of East Coast crime.
Jack Vermillion is an ex-Marine who came back from Vietnam and turned a two-truck shipping outfit into a multimillion-dollar empire. His work is his life. His only grief, a son, Danny, who ran off the rails years back and is now serving a ten-year sentence for armed robbery. A little downtime in Lompoc cooling his heels might do him some good.
But a desperate late-night phone call from Danny, in the prison clinic after a suicide attempt, forces Jack to go looking for a federal deal to save him. So when Jack is approached by a retired U.S. Army colonel named Earl V. Pike to ship his private gun collection — very simple, very illegal — Jack makes the fateful decision to flip one illegal gunrunner for one slightly imperfect kid, and turns Pike in to the ATF.
At the same time, Casey Spandau, a female cop working Sex Crimes at the Two Five in Harlem, finally snaps — and decks a sleazy public defender who richly deserves it. After she’s bounced straight into an NYPD—state police task force, Casey’s future looks like a self-inflicted tour in cop hell.
Then she takes a call from a state cop searching for a blue Mercedes involved in a savage double homicide. The suspect? Earl V. Pike, U.S. Army, Ret.
What had appeared to be two separate cases are now on a deadly collision course to disaster. For almost as soon as Spandau starts her investigation into the double homicide, her unit slams straight into an ATF sting, and an explosive blue-on-blue firefight erupts with fatal results. Five officers down.
Jack Vermillion finds himself on his way to prison — his company assets seized, his whole world shattered. But Jack isn’t going down without a fight. He has only one way to prove his innocence, and it won’t be pretty. And if anyone tries to get in his way? Well, there isn’t a law enforcement agency in the world that can stop Jack Vermillion now.
A heart-stopping, explosively paced novel of suspense, Black Water Transit is a tough and gritty take on what it means to be trapped on the wrong side of the law — and what can happen when a pretty good guy takes on the really bad ones.
From the Back Cover:
“[A] ferociously driven, intricately woven thriller ... As for the writing, it's brawny and vigorous and seasoned with dark humor.... Stroud provides a brutally frank glimpse into government deceit, personal ambition and criminal motivation.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Densely stylish, superdramatic waterfront suspense from Stroud.... gritty ... leavened by classic hard-boiled humor.... In a field overrun with snapping jaws, this bites through the bone.”
— Kirkus Reviews, (starred review)
“Don’t pick up Black Water Transit unless you have enough time to finish it, because you’re not going to put it down, except maybe to take a few long breaths. Carsten Stroud is an exceptionally talented and smart writer. Razor-sharp characters, time-warp pacing, and a hell of a plot. This book has it all.”
— Nelson DeMille, author of The Lion’s Game
“Black Water Transit is a nerve-jangling thrill ride — taut, gritty, gripping, edgy, and very well-written. Carsten Stroud has given us an enthralling crime novel. Very highly recommended.”
— Harlan Coben, author of Tell No One and Darkest Fear
“I made a terrible mistake with this book — just before bedtime I read the first chapter and met Earl V. Pike, ‘an aerodynamic little mook named Martin Glazer,’ and a small crowd of crazy S.O.B.s who murdered my sleep til 5 AM. I read to the last page of this wild, scary, uninhibited ride and wanted to start all over again. So I did. Carsten Stroud has always been in the front rank of suspense novelists. This is his best.”
— Jack Olsen, author of The Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt and The Night of the Grizzlies.
“Black Water Transit is a roller-coaster ride into a dark world of corruption, ruthlessness and high intrigue. Psychologically penetrating and peopled with unforgettable characters, this is tough-minded suspense fiction at its finest.”
— Jonathan Kellerman, author of Dr. Death
“Gritty, funny, and savagely entertaining, Black Water Transit is the best book I’ve read in a long, long time. If you dig Elmore Leonard or Michael Connelly, you’ll fall in love with Carsten Stroud. Yes, Black Water Transit is that good!”
— Christopher Reich, author of Numbered Account
“Carsten Stroud knows cops, feds, and criminals, but in Black Water Transit he gives us much more than anecdotes and dry facts. This is exciting fiction that moves. It’s hard, fast, and real.”
— George P. Pelecanos, author of Right as Rain
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
