Loi cocked her head and gave a laugh.
“What?” Andy asked.
“We’ve got a new ending for Romeo and Juliet.”
He lifted an inquisitive eyebrow.
“They survive, okay?”
“That’s good.”
“And they go on to form Montague-Capulet, Inc., a front for a syndicate that controls all the organized crime in Verona.”
Andy nodded slowly. “Shakespeare meets Bonnie and Clyde. I like it.”
A faint smile blossomed on Max’s face, the first Andy had ever seen. The man’s crescenting lips soon returned to their flat state and he proceeded with the duct taping.
Andy said, “I’ll help you get him in the SUV.”
“Thank you, sir.” Sounding like a BBC period-drama butler, minus, of course, the accent.
Andy rose and pulled on latex gloves too.
Max said, “You get the feet. The lighter end.”
“You sure?”
The big man grunted once more.
On “three” the men hefted, then started down the hallway with their load, Andy calling to Loi, “I’ll be right back.”
She blew him a kiss.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © Gunner Publications
Jeffery Deaver is a former journalist, folk singer, and attorney whose novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and have been translated into twenty-five languages.
The author of forty novels, three collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book, as well as the lyricist of a country-western album, he’s received or been short-listed for dozens of awards.
Deaver’s book The Bodies Left Behind was named best novel of the year by the International Thriller Writers association. His Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and stand-alone novel Edge were also nominated for that prize, as was his Amazon short story “Ninth and Nowhere.” He has been awarded the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association, and he is a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award and the Nero Award. The Cold Moon was named the book of the year by the Mystery Writers of Japan. In addition, the Japan Adventure Fiction Association gave The Cold Moon and Carte Blanche its annual Grand Prix award. Deaver’s book The Kill Room was awarded the Political Thriller of the Year award by Killer Nashville. And his collection of short stories, Trouble in Mind, was nominated for best anthology by that organization as well.
Deaver has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention and the Raymond Chandler Award for lifetime achievement in Italy. The Strand Magazine also presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Deaver has been nominated for eight Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, as well as an Anthony, a Shamus, and a Gumshoe. He served two terms as president of the Mystery Writers of America.
His audiobook The Starling Project, starring Alfred Molina and produced by Audible, won the Audie Award for best original audiobook of the year in 2016. Deaver contributed to the anthologies In the Company of Sherlock Holmes and Books to Die For, which won the Anthony. Books to Die For recently won the Agatha as well.
Deaver’s most recent novels are The Never Game, the first book in his Colter Shaw series; the Lincoln Rhyme novels The Cutting Edge, The Burial Hour, and The Steel Kiss; Solitude Creek, a Kathryn Dance thriller; and The October List, a thriller told in reverse. For the Dance novel XO, Deaver wrote an album of country-western songs, available on iTunes and as a CD; before that, he wrote Carte Blanche, a James Bond continuation novel and a number one international bestseller.
Deaver’s book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme / Amelia Sachs novels are in development as the NBC series Lincoln. Lifetime aired an adaptation of his book The Devil’s Teardrop. And yes, the rumors are true: he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns. He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.
Readers can visit his website at www.jefferydeaver.com.
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