<b>“BITTERLY FUNNY . . . [A] SLEEK FIRST NOVEL . . . NOIR CRIME . . . HAS FOUND A STERLING NEW CHAMPION IN PHILLIPS.”<br><i>–The New York Times Book Review<br></i></b><br>“A FUTURE HARD-BOILED CLASSIC–TIGHT, COLD, AND CACKLING WITH IRONY. On Christmas Eve [in Wichita], a mob lawyer is skipping town with the cash. But in this boozy, neo-noir world–James M. Cain meets George V. Higgins–the best-laid plans of bagmen turn brutal.”<br><i>–The Dallas Morning News<br></i><br><b>“OMINOUS, ACTION-PACKED. . . This is a confident, wry debut . . . [that] may remind readers of <i>Fargo</i> or <i>Pulp Fiction</i>.”<br><i> –Detroit Free Press<br></i></b><br>“I SIMPLY CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT SCOTT PHILLIPS WILL DO NEXT. [This] funny, tough first novel felt like it was written by an old pro, an Elmore Leonard we've never heard about who's discovered a place where the criminals are really dumb, the low-lifes are oh-so-fun to watch and, if somebody just happens to get what he deserves, there's no one to blame.”<br>–RICHARD RUSSO<br> Author of <i>Straight Man</i><br><br><b>“A DARKLY COMIC, SOMETIMES BRUTAL PIECE OF NOIR FICTION.”<br><i>–The Denver Post<br></i></b><br><b>Finalist for the Hammett Prize<br></b>