★Studio 8電影公司（李安《半場無戰事》）簽下電影改編權！新聞連結：http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/man-a-menace-crime-thriller-900982

身兼私家偵探與作家身分的派崔克．霍夫曼以處女作《The White Van》（中繁版權available）在犯罪小說界嶄露頭角，這部銀行搶案驚悚小說以舊金山錯綜複雜的不法世界為背景，筆法絲毫不顯生澀，一舉入圍2015年CWA鐵匕首獎決選。第二部作品《Every Man a Menace》潛入殘暴不仁的搖頭丸走私集團與跨國交易網絡的內部鬥爭，未出版即獲電影公司青睞。

「出獄就像拔掉一顆爛牙：擺脫了感覺很好，但很難忍住不一直去碰那個洞。」雷蒙就是這麼一個頻繁出入監獄的年輕人，才剛四年刑滿，馬上接著執行新任務。他並非大奸大惡之徒，有時被逮純粹是運氣太差，但這次在獄中庇蔭他的大哥亞瑟是加州少數在黑白幫派都吃得開的人物，亞瑟差遣他去視察舊金山的搖頭丸交易生意，雷蒙沒理由拒絕。難道還有可能洗心革面嗎。

他不知道，美國西岸近年來貨量最龐大的一批搖頭丸即將抵達舊金山。雷蒙與負責進貨的菲律賓女子葛洛麗雅碰頭後，得知另外那位負責銷貨的印第安混血男夏德瑞克，最近行為越發瘋狂失控，道上已人心惶惶，懷疑聲浪四起：亞瑟為什麼會派壓不住場面的小夥子來辦這差事？

在邁阿密，負責將毒品從太平洋對岸入口美國的以色列人賽米恩，在毒品交易圈多年浮沈，終於遇見他認為命中注定的那個女人，她的故事卻疑點重重。另一方面，數千哩外的曼谷，位於供應鍊更上游的某人即將撥出一通電話，讓所有人陷入命在旦夕的絕境……

《Every Man a Menace》場景從舊金山拉到邁阿密，再到東南亞黃金三角，倒帶的敘事手法既是時序上也是整個毒品產業鍊的回溯，揭露一起看似獨立的暴力事件，如何在複雜而脆弱的結盟關係網中掀起波瀾，成為關鍵的轉捩點，生動描繪出暱稱「莫莉」的毒品進入市場、大量流通的背後，一個個貪婪的、恐懼的、駭人的、迷人的人物，一道道驚心動魄的血腥與背叛。

 

Patrick Hoffman is a writer and private investigator based in Brooklyn. His first novel, The White Van, was a finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and was named a Wall Street Journal best book of the year. He was born in San Francisco and worked there as an investigator, both privately and at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office.

 

Advance Praise for Every Man a Menace:

“Every Man a Menace is everything you could want in a thriller—lightning pace, dead-on dialogue, and a twisting, high-torque plot. But, most of all, this novel is smart and authentic, a welcome jolt at a time when so much fiction reads like it rolled off an assembly line.”—Carl Hiaasen

“Every Man a Menace reveals an isolated act of violence to be a shift in the fragile balance of a complex chain of alliances built to bring the drug Molly into existence and transport it from Bangkok across the world to Miami and San Francisco. Caught in the narrative’s sharp focus is the whole network of greedy, scared, frightening, and fascinating characters. Whatever you're reading right now, put it down and read this book first.”—Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Forty Thieves

Praise for The White Van:

"[An] exhilarating crime debut . . . Hoffman gives his story a stunner of a twist, where roles are reversed, lies become truths, and it all gives way to the most perfect hustle of all . . . Hoffman's crime plot doesn't just thicken, it boils with surprise after surprise and suspense as tight as a noose . . . He cinematically captures a seamy San Francisco . . . the hard-boiled prose glints like a broken mirror . . . wildly satisfying."—San Francisco Chronicle

"[A] gritty, exhilarating . . . Everything in his unpredictable fiction has the dissonant clink of alarming truth . . . The White Van, with its quick and scary turns, provides a hell of a ride; the action never stops—even after the final page."—Wall Street Journal

“Edgy and suspenseful.”—Buzzfeed, “The 22 Most Exciting Literary Debuts of 2014”

"A seedy bar, a woman on the prowl, a man in a suit. The opening scene of Patrick Hoffman’s superb first novel, The White Van could be an Edward Hopper painting, all shadow and stillness . . . the unadorned elegance and irresistible vitality of Hoffman’s writing freshen even this familiar chase . . . Accelerating to a just-right conclusion, The White Van vibrates with cop and street dialogue reminiscent of Elmore Leonard in his prime."—Barnes & Noble Review

“My favourite debut of 2015 so far is Patrick Hoffman's The White Van . . . Almost perfect in the way it oscillates between black comedy and high suspense. The White Van is a caperish delight, channelling Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake to exhilarating and unexpected effect.”—Guardian (UK)

"Outstanding . . . Hoffman writes with great authority."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)