Here’s the set-up for Ken Wishnia’s 23 Shades of Black,  $7.99 on Kindle:

A finalist for the Edgar Allen Poe Award. 

This tense, psychological thriller set in the East Village punk scene during the early 1980s shadows a single evening shift of NYPD cop Filomena Buscarsela. When Filomena learns that the toxic leak may have been sabotage, and a key witness—an East Village artist—dies in a suspicious accident, she decides to pursue the case on her own by cruising the Alphabet City punk rock clubs for clues about the artist’s last days.

But as she attempts to punish environmental criminals, Filomena finds the case, and her personal life, begin to crumble. A taut noir tempered with a cynical sense of humor, this mystery novel is a sociological snapshot of a working-class Latina in New York City.

From the reviewers:

“Packed with enough mayhem and atmosphere for two novels.”   Booklist

“It’s one hell of a fine book and Filomena is a cool, tough, troubled cop… This is good stuff, political, tough, biting, gutsy, even sensitive.”    Harboiled

“A detective novel or sardonic, street-smart humor. Strike back against the boredom of polite mysteries; buy this book.”   Sierra Club Book Reviews

“Everything a first mystery should be–hard-boiled, gritty, passionate and raw.”   Biblio

“Action is swift in this politically charged thriller.”   Midwest Book Review

“Literate… humorous… finely-nuanced writing that will satisfy both genre fans and a wider audience of appreciators of the contemporary novel.”   High Times

Visit Amazon’s Ken Wishnia Page

Kenneth Wishnia was born in Hanover, NH  to a roving band of traveling academics. He earned a B.A. from Brown University (1982) and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from SUNY Stony Brook (1996). He teaches writing, literature and other deviant forms of thought at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, Long Island, where he is a professor of English.

Ken’s novels have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, and have made Best Mystery of the Year lists at Booklist, Library Journal, and The Washington Post. His short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Murder in Vegas, Long Island Noir, Queens Noir, Politics Noir, Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail, and elsewhere.

His most recent novel, The Fifth Servant, was an Indie Notable selection, one of the “Best Jewish Books of 2010” according to the Association of Jewish Libraries, a finalist for the Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery Award, and winner of a Premio Letterario ADEI-WIZO, a literary prize awarded by the Associazione Donne Ebree d’Italia, the Italian branch of the Women’s International Zionist Organization.

Visit Amazon’s Barbara D’Amato Page

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of 23 Shades of Black by Ken Wishnia: