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Fadeaway Joe A Novel

Once the most famous bouncer in Hampton Roads, Joe Pendergast has fallen on hard times. He’s been diagnosed with early stage dementia, and it’s cost more than a job. He’s been abandoned by his boss, Maxie Smith, the owner of Captain Maxie’s, a bar known for its beer selection and illegal poker games. Joe has collected more than a few bad debts for Maxie, whom he loved like a brother. Now cast aside, Joe plots his revenge. He’ll kill Maxie and go out with guns blazing. Better that than ending up in a nursing home.

But Joe didn’t count on meeting Paula Jessup, a street-smart young woman with a spikey mohawk and a cutting wit. She’s on the run from labor traffickers, and the two form an unlikely team. She needs the protection an experienced bouncer can offer. And Joe? He needs more than a plan for revenge. Paula may have the answer, but they need to trust each other. That might be impossible.

Short Stories
by HUgh Lessig

More recently, his stories can be found in anthologies from Down & Out Books. Those include the first two volumes of “Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir”; and “Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties.” His first novella, “Refried Beans and Snub-Nosed .44,” is part of the Guns + Tacos series, also from Down & Out.

Groovy Gumshoes

From old-school private eyes with their flat-tops, off-the-rack suits, and well-worn brogues to the new breed of private eyes with their shoulder-length hair, bell-bottoms, and hemp sandals, the shamuses in Groovy Gumshoes take readers on a rollicking romp through the Sixties.

Mickey Finn 21st Century Noir Vol 1

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir is a crime-fiction cocktail that will knock readers into a literary stupor. Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction.

Mickey Finn 21st Century Noir Vol 2

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 2, the second entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is a crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor.

Refried Beans and A Snub-Nosed .44

Each episode of Guns & Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag. Episode 16: Refried Beans and a Snub-Nosed .44 by Hugh Lessig