Boats Against the Current

' More tightly knit than his even more grisly debut.' - Kirkus Reviews

Jason Kennedy is a hard-nosed Vietnam Vet and no-nonsense Homicide Detective who is not afraid to tell it as he sees it.

Drafted at the age of 19, Jason - known to those close to him as J.R - returned from the Vietnam War a changed man. After dedicating his life to the service of both his family and the Chicago Police Department, J.R is tested time and time again.

He must fight to retain his dignity and honour as he comes up against the pervasive corruption of the police department, the loss of a partner and the exasperation of an unsolved string of murders.

As he struggles to keep both the streets and his conscience clean, J.R's past reverberates throughout his life as he comes to terms with the trauma of his experiences in Vietnam and on the violent Chicago streets.

Yet as J.R's retirement appears on the horizon and the nation stands on edge following the tragedy of 9/11, he and his partner Billy receive a tip off of potentially enormous proportions.

As they race to uncover a plot that threatens the life of the President of the United States of America, J.R finds himself dealing with an odd-ball assortment of part-time drug dealers, violent Mafiosiand religious fundamentalists.

Can he unravel the plot before it is too late?

Boats Against the Current is a gripping crime thriller and a comprehensive portrait of a life lived on the thin blue line - a line that will become increasingly blurred.

Praise for Thomas Laird:

'Although Anglin's supposed connection with the Kennedy assassination becomes clear early on, Laird keeps the suspense churning as leads fall apart.' - Publishers Weekly

' More tightly knit than his even more grisly debut.' - Kirkus Reviews

'It's always good to get in at the start of something major. And I think that Lieutenant Jimmy Parisi ... could be very major indeed. The publishers have come up with a winner here' - Mark Timlin, Independent

Thomas Laird has several short stories published in US literary magazines and a collection of short fiction called Blue Collar and Other Stories. He is also the author of Black Dog, Season of the Assassin, My Brother's Keeper and Healer. He teaches creative writing, literature and composition in central Illinois.


Genre: Thriller