Quick River

By Tom Ardies

Hollywood brat Hollis Delaney, a.k.a. Haul-Ass, a nickname she doesn't appreciate, knew she was headed for trouble when she ventured into the American Alps, to claim an old farm left by her father, Daddy Jack. Nick Romano, a big grizzly bear of a man who owns half of the Quick River Valley, sorely covets the farm, originally owned by Jack's spinster aunt, Em, and he'd do anything to get it, short of paying a fair price. Enter a cast of characters who'd do credit to a farcical Crime and Punishment. Meet Virgil Jackson, a one-legged escapee from Spirit Lake Mental Hospital, who got his big nose from shoving beans up it, and who is a crucial element in the Crime of the Century. Cutter Duffin, the real villain of the piece, who engineered Virgil's escape with a note in a meat pie, and who entertains the populace by castrating horses. Grodin, the police chief, an overbearing incompetent in danger of becoming crumbs, not toast, if Romano has his way. Lucille, a fat-ass, D-cup country girl, the valley's official ditch walker, Romano's mistress, and a pretty good guitar-playing songwriter. Sanitary Phil, proprietor of the Sommerset Free Museum, guardian of the Bang rifle, which Pvt. Hughie Watson allegedly used to shoot 22 Krauts in the battle for Cantigny. Luke, a handsome smoke jumper enthralled with Romano's ravishing daughter, Gina, and who is embarrassed about peeing in the snow. And you'll meet many more. Tom Ardies is an accomplished and highly acclaimed writer with ten published hard cover novels including Kosygin Is Coming, which was made into the film RUSSIAN ROULETTE, starring George Segal. He had first screenplay credit. The former newspaperman and advertising executive lives in San Diego. Critical acclaim for Tom Ardies and Jack Trolley [his pseudonym]:"Ardies has a knack of writing taut thrillers.... [he] brings the action down to the last breathless second, and he does it with considerable skill, humor and style. A lot of fun." The New York Times Book Review"...a deft and entertaining writer." Chicago Tribune"... a really superior chronicler of suspense and intrigue. " Wilmington [Del.] News "His bawdy sense of humor makes for a refreshingly different novel. Impossible to put down...suave and sophisticated." Publishers Weekly"Superb!" [of Palm Springs] Kirkus Reviews""Tom Ardies will hold you spellbound." New York Times"We cannot praise enough the succinct wit of Ardies' prose." Toronto Star"Balboa Firefly is multi-stranded, tough, and amusing. Trolley [a.k.a. Ardies] is like a noir voice out of the past, fast-talking, sardonic, heavy on action, short on rumination, generating a good deal of suspense...a very enjoyable read." Los Angeles Times Book Review"A nice edge of irony and wit. Unadulterated enjoyment." Buffalo Evening News"...one of the upcoming top fiction writers or our time. A book you can't put down once started." Toronto Sun"Sparrow et al are just great. Plan to read this in one sitting. It's that good." Hartford Courant"A first-rate page-turner. This is a most engaging hero - worthy of a sequel -as is Trolley [a.k.a. Ardies]..." Publishers Weekly [starred review]"There is a lot of good detective work in Balboa Firefly, which is sharp, tough, realistic, and very well written." The New York Times Book Review "His writing is red hot." Times Literary Supplement [London]"...leaves the reader breathless." Booklist from Coast to Coast"Nonstop, madcap storytelling delivers great escape reading...Trolley [a.k.a. Ardies], in complete command of thick atmospherics, lights a long sparkling fuse of a plot and follows it all the way through to an explosive ending." Publishers Weekly "The biggest mystery is why Jack Trolley [a.k.a. Tom Ardies] hasn't won an Edgar award yet." Detroit Free Press

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1463693249
• ISBN13: 9781463693244
• Release Date: August 2011
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"