Shovel Ready

In this hard-boiled dystopian thriller, Spademan talks like Marlowe, handles a blade like Dexter, roams the streets like Reacher, and has a style all his own.

'I don't want to know your reasons. I don't care. Think of me as a bullet. Just point.'

Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, before New York became a burnt-out shell. Now the wealthy spend their days tapped into virtual reality; the rest have to fend for themselves in the streets. Now there's nothing but garbage.

So he became a hit man. He doesn't ask questions, he works quickly, and he's handy with a box-cutter.

When he's hired to kill the daughter of a high-profile evangelist, Spademan's life is upended. He will have to navigate two worlds - both the slick fantasy and the wasteland reality - to finish the job, clear his conscience, and make sure he's not the one who winds up in the ground.