A Billion Ways to Die - Hardcover

CHRIS KNOPF'S ten previous mysteries have received exceptional accolades, with critics likening Sam Acquillo, the narrator of five Hamptons-based mysteries, to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe while repeatedly comparing Knopf to Elmore Leonard. In the process he's been a finalist for The Connecticut Book Award three times (2006, 2008 and 2010), and Head Wounds, was cited as one of the best mysteries of the year in 2008 by both Mysterious Reviews and Deadly Pleasures, winning the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery. His thrillers have had overseas subrights sales in eight other countries. His other series of mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Arthur Cathcart began with the Nero Award winner Dead Anyway (2012) named one of The Ten Best Crime Novels of 2012 by The Boston Globe. The sequel Cries of the Lost, was released in 2013.

''At the start of Knopf's highly inventive third mystery featuring market researcher Arthur Cathcart, armed men seize Cathcart and girlfriend Natsumi Fitzgerald from their sailboat and threaten them with torture unless they reveal the location of a missing billion dollars, of which they know nothing. A temporary reprieve allows the couple, who have been living in the Caribbean under aliases, to assess their situation and conclude that they will never be safe until they get out from under the (false) charges against them back in the States . . . Lending a hand are former FBI agent Shelly Gross, cyber geek Strider, and Cathcart's doctor sister, Evelyn. Throughout, Cathcart proves as nimble on his feet as he is quick witted.'' --Publishers Weekly

''Knopf's first two Cathcart-Fitzgerald tales were widely acclaimed, and this third maintains that standard. Tension starts high and just keeps growing in this smart tale revolving around cybersecurity and cybercrime in which millions of dollars can be gained or lost with a keystroke. Riveting.'' --Booklist (starred review)

"They're back! Tech genius researcher and financial wiz, Arthur Cathcart and his lady love, blackjack dealer and psychologist, Natsumi Fitzgerald. But so are some powerful adversaries, out for billions, and out for blood. Knopf's crafted an exciting caper here that moves all over the world. It's Arthur's embrace of imagination as well as scientific expertise that proves most endearing in our over-specialized, data-centered world. Not your typical murder mystery but for that, well worth reading." --Joan Baum, NPR

"The pace is fast, and writing smooth. Keeps the reader turning the pages. Highly recommended." --Detective Mystery Stories