Canary

by Duane Swierczynski

  Narcotics Field Unit-Central South is no more. Having lasted just a little over six months, it will be expunged from the history of the department. Conceived in secret, it was buried in secret, in a shallow grave right beyond the land of Who Cares.

  Tons of Mexican heroin about to flood the streets. The smaller ethnic gangs have either been forced out or have been compelled to fall in line. What Mahoney and D’Argenio were setting up would have been torn apart anyway. Unlike before, there is only going to be one supplier. One pipeline. Prices will fall, customers will flock. Then will come the stranglehold. There’s going to be a drug war the likes of which this city has never seen.

  Good thing Wildey, head of a completely new aboveboard narcotics unit, has a secret weapon in this war.

  His burner buzzes. A message he’s been waiting for all day finally arrives. It’s his informant; she’s all the way inside the cartel now.

  It’s going to be a good new year.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Canary was inspired by dozens of true crime stories in Philadelphia and across the country, so let me tip my hat to the journalists working on the front lines, among them: George Anastasia, Emily Babay, William Bender, Mensah M. Dean, Jeff Deeney, Jenny DeHuff, Daniel Denvir, Dana DiFilippo, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, Mark Fazlollah, David Gambacorta, Dan Geringer, Barbara Laker, Samantha Melamed, Jason Nark, Mike Newall, Jeremy Roebuck, Wendy Ruderman, David Simon, Joseph A. Slobodzian, Allison Steele, Sarah Stillman, Steve Volk, Aubrey Whelan, Sam Wood, and Morgan Zalot. Also, Matthew Cooke’s 2012 film How to Make Money Selling Drugs was an invaluable resource.

  Special thanks to Lou Boxer for assisting me with location scouting, as well as an early read. And thanks to the good folks at CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia for providing me with a quiet place to write.

  This bird wouldn’t have flown without the Mulholland Books team: Joshua Kendall, Wes Miller, Garrett McGrath, Reagan Arthur, Michael Pietsch, Pam Brown, Morgan Moroney, Kate MacAloney, Jayne Yaffe Kemp, and Janet Byrne. And let me pass the spliff of thanks to the gang at Inkwell, especially David Hale Smith, Lizz Blaise, Alexis Hurley, and Richard Pine, as well as Lindsay Williams and Shari Smiley at The Gotham Group.

  At its heart, Canary is a family story, and I couldn’t have written it without my family. My wife, best friend, and first reader Meredith Swierczynski makes it all possible—you have no idea. My son, Parker, and daughter, Sarah, are sources of constant delight and inspiration, and I’m proud to have finally written a novel they can read without warping their delicate minds. (Too much.)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Duane Swierczynski is the author of several crime thrillers, including the Shamus Award–winning Charlie Hardie series (Fun and Games, Hell and Gone, Point and Shoot), which is being developed by Sony Pictures Television. He writes the monthly comic series Judge Dredd for IDW and X for Dark Horse, and has written various bestselling comics for Marvel, Dynamite, and DC. He has also collaborated with CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker on the bestselling Level 26 trilogy. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children.

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