Cardiff Dead — John Williams

A page-turning mystery as funny as it is darkly atmospheric.

Returning to the same territory that made his short story collection so compelling, John Williams explores the dark side of city life-the prostitutes, the drug dealers, the crooked businessmen and the people just watching life, trying not to let it pass them by.

It's 1999 and Charlie Unger is dead. Once a champion boxer, then the heart and soul of a band called the Wurriyas, his death draws together the other members of the band, long since broken up after their one hit faded. Mazz makes his way up from England, nervous about facing Charlie's daughter Tyra since things ended badly between them years before. As Mazz tries to reconcile with her, the two of them dig into the suspicions that surround her father's death, unraveling a mystery that is connected to the very city itself.

A brilliant portrait of a city poised on the brink of change, a story about the possibilities of righting past wrongs-Cardiff Dead is a gritty, thrilling tale written straight from the heart.