City of Rose

Praise for CITY OF ROSE "CITY OF ROSE has my favorite kind of hero, a tough guy romantic with a smart mouth and a dark past. Terrifically written, and populated with rich characters, this book had me by the throat from page one." --Chelsea Cain, New York Times bestselling author of ONE KICK and HEARTSICK "Brilliant...CITY OF ROSE, Rob Hart's latest Ash McKenna novel, is as sharp as the devil himself. Hart is a master storyteller who can turn a city into just as vital as any flesh and blood character." --Brian Panowich, author of BULL MOUNTAIN "CITY OF ROSE is hard-boiled with a soft heart and packed with the kind of patter and adrenaline-fueled plotting I loved about NEW YORKED. I hope this nomadic knight life becomes the norm for Ash." --Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel "Appealing...readers will enjoy (Hart's) playful, jaded hero and twisty plot." --Publishers Weekly "Well executed and strikes an appealing balance, rough without being sadistic, gritty without being sordid. ...an engaging read...characterized by Hart's quick and witty turns of phrase." --Kirkus Reviews "CITY OF ROSE is briskly told, and Ash's arch, loopy narration is often very funny. It's been a good season for thrillers with a touch of comedy." --Booklist "CITY OF ROSE is playful, snappy, and fun...The Portland setting allows Hart to play into his knacks for dialogue and comedic scene setting...this book is genre writing par excellence." --Entropy Magazine "CITY OF ROSE is as good as hoped...the sharp voice covers -- barely -- the raw emotion roiling within Ash as he searches for a friend's missing girl, learning parts of Portland he'd rather not see because in fact, he knows the violence within them all too well." --Sarah Weinman, editor of WOMEN CRIME WRITERS and TROUBLED DAUGHTERS, TWISTED WIVES "CITY OF ROSE is a fun hardboiled thriller that features an involving mystery and memorable action scenes." --Dead End Follies Praise for NEW YORKED - the first Ash McKenna novel: "The New York of NEW YORKED is a place of heartbreak and murder that I highly recommend you visit." --Josh Bazell, author of BEAT THE REAPER "Outstanding...I loved this novel. It may be the most quixotic hard-boiled I've read in ages. With clever nods to Chandler and lots of muscular metaphors, Hart has written an achingly lovely farewell to one man's past." --Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel "Hart's debut is a terse, grim, gritty, quickly moving noir that deftly explores post-9/11 New York...Ash is a wrecking ball of an investigator, a direct descendant of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer." --Mystery Scene "Edgy... relentless pacing and strong sense of place." --Publishers Weekly "There are good action scenes, nice offbeat characters, but what lingers is the swoony dialogue... Noir with a tingle of doomed but sweet romance." --Booklist "A bloody valentine to a New York fast disappearing, this debut is an urban noir populated with memorable characters." --Library Journal "A hard-boiled crime novelist in the vein of greats like Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain, not to mention modern masters like Lawrence Block and Dennis Lehane." --Staten Island Advance "The literary version of THE WARRIORS." --Lyndsay Faye, author of THE GODS OF GOTHAM "One part Dennis Lehane, one part Lee Child, and one part pure Rob Hart." --Jenny Milchman, author of COVER OF SNOW and RUIN FALLS "With a deft eye for the dirt under its polished fingernails, Rob Hart finds the rotten core inside today's Big Apple." --Todd Robinson, author of THE HARD BOUNCE and editor of THUGLIT "New York is a verb, and the chase is on. You won't be able to turn the pages fast enough." --Suzy Vitello, author of THE MOMENT BEFORE and THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES "A masterful debut... this is a book that sticks with you." --CrimeSpree Magazine "Clever, witty, full of attitude--but never full of itself--Rob Hart's debut novel doesn't waste a syllable." --David Corbett, author of THE DEVIL'S REDHEAD and BLOOD OF PARADISE "Like a sucker punch to the guts before you turn the first page." --Matthew McBride, author of FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER and A SWOLLEN RED SUN