Another Collaboration Bruen (Brewin’ geddit? No? Dec Burke’s much better at these pun things, and he knew about this before me, mutter-mutter...)

So, Ken Bruen. In 2008 he released Once Were Cops, Sanctuary and a UK and Ireland version of American Skin. He also teamed up with Jason Starr for the third time and released The Max through Hard Case Crime. Have we had enough of the most accomplished crime fiction writer to come out of Ireland? Hell, no. He’s the best for a reason. So I was delighted to learn that 2009 would see another collaboration release from the Galway gentleman.

Talk about prolific.

And who’s he teaming up with? Why don’t I let David Thompson of Busted Flush Press field that one?

“Coming fall 2009, Tower marks the first collaboration between crime writers Ken Bruen (The Guards, Once Were Cops) and Reed Farrel Coleman (The James Deans, The Fourth Victim), and the first original novel published by Busted Flush Press. With four Shamus Awards and four Edgar Award nominations (and plenty of other trophies!) between them, Bruen and Coleman combine forces with a novel that is steeped in metaphysics, baseball, and brutality...”

And how about a little bit about the book, David? Something blurb-like, maybe?

"Born into a rough Brooklyn neighborhood, outsiders in their own families, Nick and Todd forge a lifelong bond that persists in the face of crushing loss, blood, and betrayal. Low-level wiseguys with little ambition and even less of a future, the friends become major players in the potential destruction of an international crime syndicate that stretches from the cargo area at Kennedy Airport to the streets of New York, Belfast, and Boston to the alleyways of Mexican border towns. Their paths are littered with the bodies of undercover cops, snitches, lovers, and stone-cold killers.”

That sounds brilliant, man.

But I have to wait so frickin’ long. What’ll I do until then?

Well, thanks to David’s Busted Flush Press, I’ll soon be enjoying Reed Farrel Coleman’s Walking The Perfect Square and Ken Bruen’s A Fifth of Bruen. I’ll be sure to let you know what I think.

Pop on over to Busted Flush and see what else they have to offer.

Oh, one more thing. Call it a cherry on top, or a belt of scotch. Allan Guthrie, Scotland's Noir Original, is feckin' editing Tower! A triumvirate of talent I tell you.