On Happiness

Well, some people think life is this simple, and they keep chasing this elusive concept of "happiness" like a dog chases a rabbit. Some things can't be changed, and some things shouldn't. If something, or someone, is making you miserable, then yes, make a move. But the grass ain't always greener on the other side. Sometimes it's best to stay the course and work through the problems at hand, even though they might be difficult and seemingly impossible to surmount. Hightailing it the other way, again and again and again, thinking that "happiness" is just around the corner, is delusional. Happiness is transient, and it has to come from within. You only THINK this shiny new car or this shiny new job with a bigger paycheck or this shiny new relationship is going to make you happy. But those things never will. Those things are like a drug. They'll give you a rush for a little while; but, before you know it, you crash, and you're even further from achieving inner peace than before.  So life isn’t simple. It’s difficult. Accept that and get over it. Happily ever after only exists in fairy tales. But, if you work real hard at self-awareness, and if you disallow external factors to rule your overall state of well being, then snippets of pure joy can be had.

Booklist Review

A slightly uneasy blend of elements from The Hunger Games, the movie Crank 2, and the classic Richard Connell short story “The Most Dangerous Game” (to which the author refers early on), the latest Nicholas Colt novel finds the rock star turned private investigator captured by a wealthy nut-case and forced to compete in a real-world version of a murderous online game, Snuff Tag 9, the object of which is to kill all your opponents or be killed. The book really shouldn’t work as well as it does. The premise is not exactly fresh, and there are some really implausible elements—combatants are fitted with special defibrillators that will kill them if they don’t play by the rules, which Crank 2 fans will recognize as a light twist on that movie’s killer ingredient—and the villain is so over the top that you can’t help picturing him wringing his hands and drooling a little. But, thanks mostly to the book’s narrator, the disgruntled, wisecracking Colt, and to the author’s enthusiastic writing style, readers should have a good time with this one. It’s not meant to be taken too seriously anyway, so put aside the nitpickery and enjoy the show.

Now Available for Pre-Order

Every year, in the United States alone, over 45,000 people disappear without a trace.

Nine of them are forced to play a game…

There’s a word for the player who wins: Alive. 

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Books-A-Million

Review from Booklist

An old girlfriend's request to find her missing brother lands PI Nicholas Colt in a plot hatched by neo-Nazi cult Chain of Life, which engineered the plane crash that killed his wife and daughter and the rest of his award-winning band years earlier. As the investigation leads to the Harvest Angels, the enforcement arm of the cult, Colt puts his new family in deadly peril before he’s kidnapped by an old nemesis who brainwashes him and hooks him on heroin as part of a plan intended to kill millions. The high standard set for this series by Colt’s introduction in Pocket-47 (2011) is generally maintained here, along with plenty of backstory, although the plot loses some suspense when Colt manages to break free with surprising ease well before all loose ends are tied. Still, Colt is a physical, no-holds-barred protagonist in the Jack Reacher mold, and this time he’s left with work to do to mend body, mind, and marriage. Another good bet for fans of hard-boiled fiction. — Michele Leber

 Release date June 5. Available for pre-order now.
Amazon (Kindle version, paperback, audiobook)
Barnes and Noble (paperback)
Books-A-Million (paperback, audiobook)

Coming Soon to a Kindle Near You

Book #2 in the Nicholas Colt Series

Now available for pre-order!

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