Larry Brooks is the author of five critically praised novels and the bestselling writing book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. Brooks teaches writers’ conferences throughout the nation and is the creator of Storyfix.com, named two years running to the Writer's Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers” list. He lives in Arizona.

“Full of surprises, Darkness Bound is one sneaky read.” —Leslie Glass, New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Time From Publishers WeeklyTeasingly erotic, Brooks' first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few, including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the ""Dark Lady""), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters, but the many extremes each takes to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot. ""An absolute must read, Deadly Faux is guaranteed entertainment. In Wolfgang Schmitt, Larry Brooks has created a wise-cracking protagonist who is witty, resourceful, intelligent, and, most surprisingly, vulnerable. Brooks plunges Wolf into a seemingly unwinnable caldron involving Las Vegas casinos, the mob, and femme fatales, then turns the heat up high. I finished Deadly Faux in one sitting, couldn’t put it down, and can’t wait to read the next book. Step aside Nelson DeMille and Stuart Woods—Schmitt happens!"" —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, for Deadly Faux “Crime novelist Raymond Chandler was widely acknowledged in his day as the Poet Laureate of The Dark Side (he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake). He died in 1959 and ever since there have been many pretenders to his throne. Among the best are James M. Cain, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke—all masters of the craft, all wordsmiths of the first order, but none of them had Chandler’s gifts. After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a voice that rivals Chandler’s, one has finally appeared, quietly chugging his way up the bestseller lists with Darkness Bound, Whisper of the Seventh Thunder, Serpent’s Dance, and Bait and Switch. His name is Larry Brooks. The guy has a slick tone and a crackling, cynical wit with lots of vivid descriptions (of both interior and exterior landscapes), and the sparkling figures of speech dance off the page and explode in your inner ear. Though as modern as an iPad 5S, he is truly and remarkably Chandleresque. He’s dazzling. Check out his new one, Deadly Faux—it’s sexy, complex, intelligent; a truly delightful novel with more plot twists than a plate of linguine swimming in olive oil.” —James N. Frey, author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel, for Deadly Faux

Larry Brooks is the author of five critically praised novels and the bestselling writing book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. Brooks teaches writers’ conferences throughout the nation and is the creator of Storyfix.com, named two years running to the Writer's Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers” list. He lives in Arizona.

“Full of surprises, Darkness Bound is one sneaky read.” —Leslie Glass, New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Time From Publishers WeeklyTeasingly erotic, Brooks' first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few, including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the ""Dark Lady""), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters, but the many extremes each takes to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot. ""An absolute must read, Deadly Faux is guaranteed entertainment. In Wolfgang Schmitt, Larry Brooks has created a wise-cracking protagonist who is witty, resourceful, intelligent, and, most surprisingly, vulnerable. Brooks plunges Wolf into a seemingly unwinnable caldron involving Las Vegas casinos, the mob, and femme fatales, then turns the heat up high. I finished Deadly Faux in one sitting, couldn’t put it down, and can’t wait to read the next book. Step aside Nelson DeMille and Stuart Woods—Schmitt happens!"" —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, for Deadly Faux “Crime novelist Raymond Chandler was widely acknowledged in his day as the Poet Laureate of The Dark Side (he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake). He died in 1959 and ever since there have been many pretenders to his throne. Among the best are James M. Cain, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke—all masters of the craft, all wordsmiths of the first order, but none of them had Chandler’s gifts. After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a voice that rivals Chandler’s, one has finally appeared, quietly chugging his way up the bestseller lists with Darkness Bound, Whisper of the Seventh Thunder, Serpent’s Dance, and Bait and Switch. His name is Larry Brooks. The guy has a slick tone and a crackling, cynical wit with lots of vivid descriptions (of both interior and exterior landscapes), and the sparkling figures of speech dance off the page and explode in your inner ear. Though as modern as an iPad 5S, he is truly and remarkably Chandleresque. He’s dazzling. Check out his new one, Deadly Faux—it’s sexy, complex, intelligent; a truly delightful novel with more plot twists than a plate of linguine swimming in olive oil.” —James N. Frey, author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel, for Deadly Faux

Larry Brooks is the author of five critically praised novels and the bestselling writing book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. Brooks teaches writers’ conferences throughout the nation and is the creator of Storyfix.com, named two years running to the Writer's Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers” list. He lives in Arizona.

“Full of surprises, Darkness Bound is one sneaky read.” —Leslie Glass, New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Time From Publishers WeeklyTeasingly erotic, Brooks' first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few, including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the ""Dark Lady""), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters, but the many extremes each takes to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot. ""An absolute must read, Deadly Faux is guaranteed entertainment. In Wolfgang Schmitt, Larry Brooks has created a wise-cracking protagonist who is witty, resourceful, intelligent, and, most surprisingly, vulnerable. Brooks plunges Wolf into a seemingly unwinnable caldron involving Las Vegas casinos, the mob, and femme fatales, then turns the heat up high. I finished Deadly Faux in one sitting, couldn’t put it down, and can’t wait to read the next book. Step aside Nelson DeMille and Stuart Woods—Schmitt happens!"" —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, for Deadly Faux “Crime novelist Raymond Chandler was widely acknowledged in his day as the Poet Laureate of The Dark Side (he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake). He died in 1959 and ever since there have been many pretenders to his throne. Among the best are James M. Cain, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke—all masters of the craft, all wordsmiths of the first order, but none of them had Chandler’s gifts. After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a voice that rivals Chandler’s, one has finally appeared, quietly chugging his way up the bestseller lists with Darkness Bound, Whisper of the Seventh Thunder, Serpent’s Dance, and Bait and Switch. His name is Larry Brooks. The guy has a slick tone and a crackling, cynical wit with lots of vivid descriptions (of both interior and exterior landscapes), and the sparkling figures of speech dance off the page and explode in your inner ear. Though as modern as an iPad 5S, he is truly and remarkably Chandleresque. He’s dazzling. Check out his new one, Deadly Faux—it’s sexy, complex, intelligent; a truly delightful novel with more plot twists than a plate of linguine swimming in olive oil.” —James N. Frey, author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel, for Deadly Faux