Hard Freeze: A Joe Kurtz Novel (Joe Kurtz Thriller)
Having proven he can write hard-nosed noir with 2001'sHardcase, prolific  genre-crossing author Dan Simmons reintroduces his gritty protagonist Joe Kurtz  and promptly pitches him into the icy waters ofHard Freeze. Two pages  into the book, the ex-private investigator is just minding his business on the  frozen streets of Buffalo and already he's got a contract on his head. As Kurtz  says, "It was shaping up to be an especially tough winter." When he finds out  who the money behind the hit is, Joe's already outgunned and outmanned but never  outsmarted. This wily warrior is always one step ahead of whoever is chasing  him, be they crooked cops, calculating serial killers, corpulent mob bosses, or  not-so-distressed damsels.Simmons has crafted a perfectly ruthless crime novel with a relentless pace that  doesn't let up until the final page. The single-minded Joe Kurtz is a  wonderfully flawed and deliciously soiled noir icon. He's smart, salty,  literate, smushy in all the right places, and not somebody to cross. In all,Hard Freezeis a fast-paced thriller that successfully interweaves  amazingly disparate plot threads in an explosive--really explosive--climax.--Jeremy Pugh