Book excerpt: An Ex-Cop Who Lost Everything. A Killer Who Will Stop At Nothing. In the exclusive enclave of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a woman who builds custom guitars is murdered. A disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator is hired by the dead woman's father and immediately becomes the target of a violent ex-convict. An enigmatic music star performs damage control on her links to the dead woman. And a professional killer who idolizes Keith Richards is brought into town by a mysterious employer. Dead Wood is what great mysteries are all about: love, hate, faith and vengeance, all wrapped up in an explosive story that simply refuses to let up. "Dead Wood is a fast-paced, unpredictable mystery with an engaging narrator and a rich cast of original supporting characters." -Thomas Perry, Edgar-winning author of The Butcher's Boy. "From its opening lines, Dan Ames and his private eye novel DEAD WOOD recall early James Ellroy: a fresh attitude and voice and the heady rush of boundless yearning and ambition. Ames delivers a vivid evocation of time and place in a way that few authors achieve, nailing the essence of his chosen corner of high-tone Michigan. This is the first new private eye novel in a long time that just swept me along for the ride. " - Edgar-nominated author Craig McDonald "Dan Ames's writing reminds me of the great thriller writers -- lean, mean, no nonsense prose that gets straight to the point and keeps you turning those pages." --author Robert Gregory Browne "As gritty as the Detroit streets where it's set, DEAD WOOD grabs you early on and doesn't let go. As fine a a debut as you'll come across this year, maybe any year." --author Tom Schreck