He had been there that night all those years ago, had watched his lawyer father take the payola from the owner of the roadhouse. After all, this was his initiation into the secret fraternity of powerful men that held the small town in its grip. But he hadn't expected to see the roadhouse go up in flames, the whores and their johns roasted in the upstairs rooms. And before he could find out why, he fled.

Now he's back, anxious to scratch this 20-year itch. It's time to learn the truth, to find out just what he ran from. Who set the fire? Why? And what's the connection to known drug kingpin "Ghost" Grant and the Civil War theme park he's building on the outskirts of town?

Problem is, nobody wants to talk to Jackson. Everybody would much rather see him dead. Everybody, that is, except the beautiful Bridgett Baines, who had loved Jackson before he ran . . . and might again, if she can keep him alive.

With its superbly drawn characters, perfectly crafted plot, and fresh narrative voice, Angel in the Front Room, Devil Out Back announces the arrival of a major new talent in suspense fiction. Stanford Diehl is a writer to watch.