COMING this month
The FBI has plenty of undercover agents, but when they need someone with special skills, when they need someone who can take on a case in a hurry, someone no one knows – not even his real name – they call undercover specialist Danny Barrett.
This case is a particularly difficult one. For more than a century the Danby family have ruled as kings in their corner of the Pacific Northwest. The Feds were mostly willing to look the other way while the family smuggled everything from liquor to cigarettes across the border, but lately things have taken a darker turn.
A recent bank robbery in Seattle looks like it may have been committed by the Danbys, but there's no way the FBI can get any locals to turn against them. Only Danny Barrett has what it takes to get inside the organization and shut them down.
But before Danny can do that he's going to have to contend with Henry Carter, a former in-law and current psychopath. The Danbys thought they left Henry for dead in the deepest part of the woods, but he's coming back. He'll go to hell to get his revenge, and he's willing to take the whole family with him.
Praise for The Sweet Goodbye
“Ron Corbett’s dynamite new series debut…has a snappy voice, the action is perfectly paced...And it brims with heart and grit, always a winning combination.”
New York Times Book Review
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From the opening line, “The first time I worked undercover, I arrested my brother,” Corbett makes Barrett a distinctive figure, nuanced enough to carry multiple sequels, and goes on to humanize even some of the bad guys, no mean feat. Vivid and detailed descriptions of the Maine woods enhance the intricate plot. Paul Doiron fans will be enthralled.
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
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“Small town secrets and big-time corruption. The Sweet Goodbye is a throwback to the days of moody, flawed heroes and fun, complex bad guys. Compelling classic noir that plays out in a forgotten America.”
Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of
The Heathens and Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby.
Praise for the Frank Yakabuski Mystery Series
Frank Yakabuski Mystery Series Book 4 by Edgar®-nominated author Ron Corbett.
Have you ever looked into the eyes of a cold-blooded killer?
In this throw-back mystery, Frank Yakabuski is on his first case. High on the Northern Divide, in the mill town of Muskie Falls, a man loved by no one has been murdered behind a run-down hotel. The cops soon have four good suspects, men who were with the murdered man the night he was beaten to death, and likely know what happened.
But to the cop’s surprise, and growing frustration, none of the men will talk. Threats, promises, old-fashioned police grilling by a seasoned inspector, nothing gets the men to tell what they know.
As the investigation stalls, a killer with a vendetta against Yakabuski is on his way to Muskie Falls. He’s the one who started the investigation, the one who brought the young Yakabuski to the attention of the inspector. And he’s the deadly predator who will end the investigation, in a shocking confrontation that will leave the murder unsolved.
For twenty-one years. Until the reason the four good suspects never talked is finally revealed, in a final, heart-breaking
plot twist that will leave you thinking and wondering about a place called Muskie Falls for days to come.
Take a return trip to the Northern Divide, where the villains are as out-of-scale as the rivers and the fish, and tough
men always seem to find a way to surprise you. A classic noir tale that will keep you guessing to the final page.
Yak is back.Get MUSKIE FALLS, the fourth book in the FRANK YAKABAKUSKI MYSTERY SERIES, a dark northern
noir thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from cover to cover.
“Corbett’s well-crafted first foray into fiction takes the reader into a grisly claustrophobic world . . . it's a visceral, occasionally blood-soaked tale that unwinds slowly and provides a shocking conclusion. Both the danger and the stark beauty of the place ring true on every level.”
Publisher's Weekly Review of Ragged Lake
“Familiar ingredients rarely combined — a starkly etched natural setting, a gung-ho cop, a series of soulful flashbacks, a violent climax — are expertly blended and brought to a full rolling boil.”
Kirkus Reviews on Ragged Lake
“Ron Corbett is a rare breed: journalist and poet. His detailed knowledge of war, of crime, of people and their nightmarish capabilities, fuses with a talent for sensory language and visceral description to lift the story off the page. Like a shotgun blast. This is a crime novel and something else — a genre called “rural noir” — a black day in the country and no picnic.
Ottawa Review of Books on Ragged Lake
“Cape Diamond is a rich and detailed crime novel with motives as dark and forbidding as its Canadian setting. A Unique mixture of modern crime procedural, gangland drama, rural folklore, and revenge tale combine for a thrilling and suspenseful ride.”
Mystery Scene Magazine on Cape Diamond
“Like the first book, the writing in this one is sparse and lean, echoing the harshness and isolation of the land . . . the protagonist evolves, and Corbett lays a strong foundation for what promises to be a truly captivating series.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review of Cape Diamond
“Ron Corbett’s second Frank Yakabuski book proves conclusively that this series has a long life ahead. We look forward to the next Yakabuski book.”
Globe and Mail on Cape Diamond
“Drawing heavily on his experiences and travels as a journalist, Corbett enlivens the story with vivid descriptions of the wild, forbidding landscape and the volatile, warring inhabitants who dwell there, as well as cleverly weaving together the numerous narrative threads.
“Dark, gory, and cinematic, with a constant ominous tone, Cape Diamond is a compelling crime tale with plenty of shocks, surprises, and visceral thrills.”
Newcastle Journal on Cape Diamond
"This third book in Ottawa journalist Ron Corbett’s excellent Frank Yakabuski series is the best so far. It combines Canadian history with great characters and a modern take on an old plot. Remember the Gold Rush? Well, welcome to the 21st-century diamond rush with all the greed, guile and guilt intact.
At the end of Corbett’s second novel, Cape Diamond, millions in diamonds went missing. The rumour mill, abetted by the internet, says that the stones are buried somewhere near the small town of Springfield, just above the Northern Divide in Canada. The first fortune hunters arrive in midwinter. Police officer Yakabuski knows that trouble will not be far behind. Sure enough, a former student from Syracuse University goes missing and leaves a map of the trail on Facebook, naming Mission Road, Springfield, as the site. The Great Springfield Diamond rush is on and everyone from housewives to hardened criminals shows up to hunt for the spoils.
As Yakabuski searches for the missing student he’s confronted with chaos and crime. . . . .This is a return to the old days in the Klondike when men killed for a glass of beer. Corbett does his subject and his characters, lots of them, proud."
Globe and Mail, review of Mission Road
A former radio host and newspaper columnist, Ron’s first book of fiction was Ragged Lake, the debut novel in the Frank Yakabuski mystery series, and an Edgar Award nominee for Best Original Paperback.
The father of four, Ron is married to award-winning photo-journalist Julie Oliver and still lives in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada, where he writes the Yakabuski stories from the study of a century-old house, “not far from a good river.”
To find out more about Ron, or read some of his past columns and newspaper articles, click below.
About Ron Corbett
The Frank Yakabuski Mystery Series was inspired by a real Frank – Frank Kuiack, one of the last full-time fishing guides in Canada’s fabled Algonquin Park.
Ragged Lake, the debut novel in the series is dedicated to Frank Kuiack. Ron has written two non-fiction books about Kuiack – The Last Guide and The Last Guide’s Guide. The Last Guide includes the story of a fishing trip Ron and Frank took on the real Ragged Lake.
To find out more about Frank Kuiack and the back story to the Frank Yakabuski Mystery Series, click below.
