Jess Walter Books

Moments of transformation define this collection, where a diverse ensemble of characters navigates life-altering experiences across settings from Italy to Idaho. Each story explores themes of self-discovery and inspiration, highlighting how unexpected encounters can lead to significant change—whether positive, negative, or absurd. The narrative delves into the complexities of identity and the human experience, showcasing the author's signature storytelling style.

The narrative unfolds as Caroline Mabry, a fatigued Spokane police detective, interacts with a charming yet unstable derelict who wishes to confess in writing. Over the next forty-eight hours, he reveals a complex story that intertwines themes of obsession, revenge, and the connections between two men's lives, offering a haunting reflection on both youth and adulthood. This unique confession blurs the lines between crime and personal history, drawing Caroline deeper into a web of intrigue and emotional depth.

"How often do you begin reading a book that makes you—immediately, urgently, desperately—want to read more books?” ( Booklist ). Nick Hornby has managed to write just such a book in this hilarious, insightful, and infectious volume. Ten Years in the Tub chronicles Hornby's journey through a decade’s worth of books, as related in his wildly popular Believer column “Stuff I’ve Been Reading.” Ten Years in the Tub is a one-way ticket into the mind of one of the most beloved contemporary writers on his favorite pastime, but it's also a meditation on what Celine Dion can teach us about ourselves, a warning about how John Updike can ruin our sex lives, and a recommendation for the way Body Shop Vanilla Shower Gel can add excitement to our days. This "decade-long addiction for many... makes standing in line at the bank a blessed interval for snorting another page.” (the New York Times Book Review )

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions comes a stunning collection about those moments when everything changes--for the better, for the worse, for the outrageous--as a diverse cast of characters bounces from Italy to Idaho, questioning their roles in life and finding inspiration in the unlikeliest places"-- Provided by publisher

"These twelve stories -- originally published in Harper’s, The Best American Short Stories, McSweeney’s, Playboy, and other publications -- veer from comic tales of love to social satire to suspenseful crime fiction, from hip Portland to once-hip Seattle to never-hip Spokane, from a condemned casino in Las Vegas to a bottomless lake in the dark woods of Idaho. This is a world of lost fathers and redemptive conmen, of meth tweakers on desperate odysseys and men committing suicide by fishing." -- From Amazon.com

A collection of the year's best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by #1 New York Times bestselling author and guest editor Jess Walter and series editor Steph Cha. New York Times bestselling author and "superb storyteller" (Boston Globe), Jess Walter flexes his genre chops and selects twenty short stories that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.

Spokane, 1909. The Dolan brothers are living by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While sixteen-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his dashing older brother Gig dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. When Rye finds himself drawn to suffragette Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, her passion sweeps him into the world of protest and dirty business. But a storm is coming, threatening to overwhelm them all . . .The Cold Millions is an intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early 20th century America.

Matt Prior is about to lose his job, his house, his wife, and maybe his sanity too. Financial journalist Matt quit his job to set up a website which couldn't fail. Only now he's woken up to the biggest crisis since the Great Crash, and it has. He's got six days to save his house.

For over a year, Christopher Darden fought passionately to give voice to the victims in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, while secretly battling a deeper struggle against pervasive racism. Following Simpson's acquittal, Darden felt the profound disillusionment shared by millions of Americans and carried wounds unique to his experience as a Black man. This memoir emerges from the chaos of the "trial of the century," offering a haunting reflection on duty, justice, and the relentless tide of American bigotry. Darden's account provides an unflinching view of a justice system compromised by a racist cop, unscrupulous defense lawyers, a distracted judge, and a dysfunctional jury. It reveals what the cameras missed: behind-the-scenes meetings where Darden assessed detective Mark Fuhrman's credibility regarding his racist views; the escalating tensions between the defense and prosecution; and a judge who allowed the trial to spiral out of control while indulging in celebrity culture. Darden candidly critiques his own performance, including the controversial decision to have Simpson try on the infamous gloves, and shares insights into the dynamics of California's largest prosecution team. He also highlights the strong bond formed with Marcia Clark, who faced immense pressures from her tumultuous personal life and the courtroom environment.

Beginning his witness-protection job at a doughnut restaurant in the week before the 1980 presidential election, small-time thief Vince Camden finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a local politician's troubles.

Gloriously inventive, filled with surprises, 'Beautiful Ruins' is a novel about love and fame, dreams and reality.

What's left of a place when you take the ground away?Answer: The Zero.Brian Remy has no idea how he got here. It's been only five days since his city was attacked, and Remy is experiencing gaps in his life--as if he were a stone skipping across water. He has a self-inflicted gunshot wound he doesn't remember inflicting. His son wears a black armband and refuses to acknowledge that Remy is still alive. He seems to be going blind. He has a beautiful new girlfriend whose name he doesn't know. And his old partner in the police department, who may well be the only person crazier than Remy, has just gotten his picture on a box of First Responder cereal.And these are the good things in Brian Remy's life. While smoke still hangs over the city, Remy is recruited by a mysterious government agency that is assigned to gather all of the paper that was scattered in the attacks. As he slowly begins to realize that he's working for a shadowy operation, Remy stumbles across a dangerous plot, and soon realizes he's got to track down the most elusive target of them all--himself. And the only way to do that is to return to that place where everything started falling apart.

In Over Tumbled Graves, Jess Walter, National Book Award finalist and author of Citizen Vince and The Zero, confronts our fascination with pathology and murder. A thriller of extraordinary depth and dimension, Over Tumbled Graves follows Caroline Mabry, a Spokane police detective searching for a serial murderer.

In a city full of police controversies, hippie artist punk houses, and overzealous liberals, Portland, Oregon, is a place where even its fiction blurs with its bizarre realities.Brand-new stories by: Gigi Little, Justin Hocking, Christopher Bolton, Jess Walter, Monica Drake, Jamie S. Rich (illustrated by Joelle Jones), Dan DeWeese, Zoe Trope, Luciana Lopez, Karen Karbo, Bill Cameron, Ariel Gore, Floyd Skloot, Megan Kruse, Kimberly Warner-Cohen, and Jonathan Selwood.Editor Kevin Sampsell is a bookstore employee and writer. He is the author of a short story collection, Creamy Bullets (Chiasmus Press), and the upcoming memoir The Suitcase (HarperPerennial, summer 2009). He is also the editor of The Insomniac Reader (Manic D Press) and the publisher of the micropress Future Tense Books.

Im Frühjahr 1962 checkt eine schöne, melancholische junge Amerikanerin in Pasquales kleiner Pension nahe Portovenere ein. Mit ihr kommt die Welt in das verschlafene Fischer dorf: die Verheißungen Amerikas und der Glanz von Cinecittá. Fast fünfzig Jahre später reist Pasquale nach Amerika, um nach der Frau, an die er einst sein Herz verlor, zu suchen.

Vince Camden lebt in Spokane und führt ein Doppelleben: Morgens backt er Donuts, nachmittags betrügt er mit Kreditkarten. Sein Leben gerät aus den Fugen, als ein Killer auftaucht, der mit seiner Vergangenheit und der Mafia in Verbindung steht. Der Roman ist actionreich und emotional zugleich.

Het is 1962. Op de rotsen van het ingeslapen vissersplaatsje Porto Vergogna staat Pasquale, een jonge Italiaan en eigenaar van het enige hotel. In dagdromen verzonken kijkt hij uit over het glinsterende water. Aan de horizon verschijnt een boot met op het dek een prachtige, in wit geklede dame. Ze is een Amerikaanse actrice en doodziek, zo ontdekt hij als ze haar intrek neemt in zijn hotel. Hollywood, vijftig jaar later. Een oudere, Italiaanse heer betreedt het kantoor van filmproducent Michael Deane op zoek naar de vrouw die hij nooit heeft kunnen vergeten. Schitterende ruïnes vertelt het meeslepende verhaal van een onmogelijke, maar onverwoestbare liefde. Op onnavolgbare wijze verbindt Jess Walter het landelijke Cinque Terre van 1962 met het genadeloze Hollywood-bestaan vandaag de dag. Schitterende ruïnes handelt over tijd, over het moment dat voorbijgaat zonder dat we er erg in hebben en over het verleden dat we soms als een ruïne achterlaten. Jess Walter toont hoe ons leven zich ontrolt: gecompliceerd en wreed én dichterlijk en betoverend tegelijk.

Wanneer politieagent Brian Remy vijf dagen na 9/11 ontwaakt uit een coma, merkt hij dat zijn waarnemingsvermogen erg vreemd werkt. Hij ziet vlekjes – als het dwarrelende puin dat van de ingestorte torens naar beneden viel – die voor eeuwig zijn beeld verstoren, en zijn geheugen hapert en vertoont soms grote gaten. De reconstructie van zijn eigen geschiedenis van 9/11 is in eerste instantie één grote dwaaltocht. Ook kan Remy een aantal zaken niet plaatsen. Zo verloopt het contact met zijn ex-vrouw moeizaam, hebben de gesprekken met zijn collega Guterak een voor hem vreemd onderwerp en is hem volstrekt onduidelijk wat de opdracht inhoudt, die hij kennelijk in het kader van de nationale veiligheid heeft gekregen. Laat staan dat hij nog weet van wie en wanneer hij die belangrijke opdracht. Tot overmaat van ramp negeert zijn zoon Edgar hem volledig; hij doet hij net alsof zijn vader is omgekomen bij de aanslag. Wat volgt is een intrigerende “histoire noir” waarin Jess Walter met een zeker sarcasme en enige humor vertelt over de chaotische dagen na die enorme tragedie. Een gebeurtenis die zoveel ouders van kinderen het leven nam en die het denken over orde en veiligheid in de wereld voorgoed heeft veranderd.

Die Polizistin Caroline wird mit einem Mann konfrontiert, der behauptet, einen Mord begangen zu haben. Er will das Opfer nicht nennen, sondern zunächst alle Vorgänge, die zu der Tat geführt haben, aufschreiben. - Spannender und seht komplexer Kriminalroman.

Hořce komická existenciální satira Finanční životy básníků vychází z jednoduché úvodní situace: Co se stane, když se druhořadý novinář Matthew Prior rozhodne splnit si svůj americký sen, odejít ze zaměstnání a vsadit vše na jedinou donkichotskou kartu – webovou stránku věnovanou finančnímu zpravodajství psanému ve verších? Počin samozřejmě nikoli neočekávaně vybouchne a Matt se zničehonic ocitne v situaci, již dle jeho finančního poradce nelze nazvat ničím jiným než fiskální ebolou: bez práce, po uši v dluzích a s vystěhováním na krku. Kromě toho musí Matt živit stále senilnějšího otce, hradit předražené školné dvěma synům a přimět manželku, aby ho neopustila kvůli úspěšnému bývalému příteli, s nímž po večerech flirtuje na internetu. Karta se začne obracet ve chvíli, kdy zoufalý Matt během půlnoční výpravy do místního supermarketu potká několik kuřáků marihuany a usmyslí si, že se z bezvýchodného postavení dostane pomocí svého dosud nejtroufalejšího a nejšílenějšího plánu: bude prodávat „trávu“ svým kamarádům z byznysu.