The Killers Are Coming by Jack Bludis

A fledgling private detective tries to make ends meet when opportunity seems to present itself. Then he learns the scope of the case. That $250 seemed like such an easy payday …

Ken Sligo returns in THE KILLERS ARE COMING, a cat-and-mouse investigation across the backstages and back alleys of “The Block,” Baltimore’s red-light district. Forged by the criminals and police, to isolate criminal activity, it can’t contain the various mobsters and shake-down artists sticking their toes outside the perimeter.

The paint hasn’t dried on the door to Sligo’s detective agency, and he’s contemplating closing shop. When Rudy Cohan offers him a cash-filled envelope in Baltimore’s Penn Station, Sligo crosses his fingers and hopes for the best. Is Rainy Dawn cheating on her producer boyfriend? Where does she get her extra spending money? The answers don’t align with the questions, and Sligo realizes his client is holding out, but not before a mob hit points the finger right at him …

Prolific author, Jack Bludis, discussed his latest novel, THE KILLERS ARE COMING, with The Big Thrill:

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

A sense of what it is like to be a fledgling Private Investigator.

How does this book make a contribution to the genre? 

In some ways, it is a P.I. procedural.

Was there anything new you discovered, or surprised you, as you wrote this book?

That even after serving in a great war like World War II, a person must make his own way in the world, and that both friends and enemies build character.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

No job can be done alone.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

Hemingway and Faulkner, Hammett and Chandler, and James Lee Burke and Robert J. Randisi, founder of the Private-Eye Writers of America.

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Jack Bludis is the author of more than sixty novels and novellas and almost 700 short stories in many genres and subgenres. He has published under many names, but his mysteries have all been in the name Bludis. He has been a nominee for both the Shamus and Anthony awards. Except for sojourns to Europe, Los Angeles, and New York City, he has been a lifetime resident of Baltimore.

To learn more about Jack, please visit his website.