Description:
Boston, 1978. Four dead. One P.I. Ex-cop Shane Cleary is pushed by dirty politicians and the mob to solve the murders before the city erupts. Navigating corrupt cops and a killer, Shane fights a new war in a concrete jungle.
Brief description: Gabriel Valjan is a member of ITW, MWA, and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. He is the author of The Company Files and the Shane Cleary Mysteries with Level Best Books. His work has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, and the Silver Falchion awards. Gabriel received the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story and the Shamus Award for Best Original PI Paperback Novel in 2024. He is a regular contributor to the blog Criminal Minds and an active supporter of writers on social media. Gabriel lives in Boston and answers to a tuxedo cat named Munchkin.
Review Quotes:
"Gabriel Valjan's obvious love for the tradition of hardboiled PI fiction shines through on every page of Four on the Floor. He honors the tradition while moving it forward, weaving a compelling voice, authentic 1970s atmosphere, and propulsive pacing around a riveting story based on an infamous real-life Boston crime. Shane Cleary belongs on any list of noir's great private eyes, and his latest adventure is not to be missed."-Joseph S. Walker, Edgar-nominated author
"Gabriel Valjan's latest Shane Cleary novel, Four on the Floor, is a tour de force. I loved this book. The dialogue is sharp, pointed, and takes no prisoners. This is a world where some cops are clean, most are corrupt, and where justice is skewed, maybe not in the right direction, but just enough so you can sleep at night. Valjan takes the bare bones of a sensational murder that remains unsolved and parachutes Shane Cleary into the scene. What I enjoyed most about this novel is the sense of Boston's neighborhoods and how rigid those lines once were, and the men who ran these neighborhoods like minor potentates. Four on the Floor is a highly recommended read."-Claire M. Johnson, author of the Fog City Noir series
"Four On the Floor is a first-rate gut-punch that will keep you turning pages right up to the end."-Gregory Stout, author of the award-winning Jackson Gamble series
"Great Crime Noir Is Not Dead. It's Living In Boston."-T.J. O'Connor, award-winner author of The Pappa Legacy and The Dead Detective Casefiles series.