Winner of the Minotaur Books/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition introducing a black ex-boxer P.I. working in 1930s New Orleans

The Red Storm is the first novel from licensed private investigator-turned-novelist Grant Bywaters, sure to appeal to fans of fellow competition winners Steve Hamilton and Michael Koryta, and lovers of P.I. novels and historical mysteries.

Newly-minted private investigator William Fletcher is having trouble finding clientele. He’s not the only man out of work, but his past as a former heavyweight contender with a few shady connections—not to mention the color of his skin in race-obsessed New Orleans—isn’t helping lure clients to his door. Stuck without any viable alternative, he takes a case from an old criminal acquaintance, Storm. His only client assures him that the job is simple—locate his missing estranged daughter, Zella, no questions asked.

But when Fletcher starts knocking on doors, he sets off a catastrophic chain of events that turns the city into a bloody battleground between two rival syndicates. Then Storm is murdered and Fletcher finds himself caught between the police and dangerous mobsters. With Zella’s safety in the balance, the unlikely private detective finds himself saddled with a lot more than he bargained for.

 

Grant Bywaters has worked as a licensed private investigator. He now works security at the Portland Airport and is currently finishing his Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Portland State University. Bywaters lives outside of Portland, Oregon. The Red Storm is his first nove.l

 

“[A] promising debut... Bywaters edges near Hammett territory with this unassuming hero who stoically accepts that, even though the odds are heavily stacked against him, he still needs to go on doing the best he can.” —Publishers Weekly

“Debut novelist Bywaters loses no time in creating a slow-moving, agreeable story with a lot of atmosphere sans the dull details…Period dialog is standout…This is damned good—it even won the Minotaur Books/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition, which is more than you did, pal. Historical fiction and hardboiled fans will enjoy this, reminiscent as it is of Walter Mosley’s higher-quality Easy Rawlins mysteries.”—Library Journal

“This debut novel introduces an African-American boxer-turned-shamus struggling to ply his trade in Depression-era New Orleans...The best things here are Fletcher’s detailed, precise first-person descriptions of boxing and slugging and his accounts of the racism to which he’s routinely subjected.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The Red Storm is the debut novel from licensed private investigator-turned-novelist Grant Bywaters, and what a debut it is. Fast-paced and action packed, it was the winner of the Minotaur Books/PWA Best First Private Eye, and rightly so. Fletcher is a great creation, one the reader will quickly emphasize with. Told flawlessly in the first person, The Red Storm has Hammett-esque qualities mixing with Elmore Leonard smart-talking bad guys with bad-ass attitudes, guns and punch-power knockouts. Hopefully, it will become a series and we’ll get to see more of PI Fletcher.” —New York Journal of Books

“A hardened P.I. with a touch of soul, authentic fight scenes, and evocative descriptions of rough-and-tumble 1930s New Orleans should cause lovers of historical mysteries to race to pick up this noir gem. This one’s a knockout.” —Layton Green, internationally bestselling author of The Dominic Grey series