Book. Octavo; First edition; G/G+; Hardcover with DJ; DJ spine, black with

Book. Octavo; First edition; G/G+; Hardcover with DJ; DJ spine, black with white print; DJ in mylar, slight edgewear, slight creasing to rear; Boards in black cloth with gold print, clean and strong; Text block has cracked front hinge, else clean and tight; Signed in ink by the author on the half-title page; 246 pages. 1319275. FP New Rockville Stock.

0312010389. Originally priced at $16.95/signed by author/emboss on half-title

0312010389. Originally priced at $16.95/signed by author/emboss on half-title page/black HB with gold lettering on spine with illustrated; 8 vo; 246 pages; Jacket in mylar.

[8], 246, [2] p. This was the author's first published novel. It is set among

[8], 246, [2] p. This was the author's first published novel. It is set among the brutal criminal class in Chicago, where the trunks of abandoned cars in the long-term lot at O'Hare hold enough bodies for a branch of the city morgue. Izzi wrote 18 novels during his short career, From WIkipedia: "Eugene Izzi (March 23, 1953 December 7, 1996) was an American crime writer. Izzi, a lifelong resident of Chicago, set most of his work in that city. He wrote in the classic hard-boiled style made famous by Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett. Despite moderate popularity, he is best known for the unusual circumstances surrounding his death. Although few details are known of Izzi's early life, most accounts describe a trouble-prone youth. His father struggled with alcoholism and spent time in prison. Izzi himself dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army. During his military service, Izzi completed his high school equivalency degree. Upon his return to Chicago, Izzi began an ordinary blue-collar life, working at the steel mills on Chicago's south side. Although married with children, Izzi began to drink heavily and acquired his own criminal record. In 1991, Izzi appeared at Barbara's Book Store in Oak Park, Illinois promoting his book "Prowlers". At this book signing, he talked about how he came to writing. After he and his wife had separated due to his depression and hard drinking, he began a swift decline, but he always carried with him his portable typewriter. He reached bottom when he was sleeping in the back room of a barber shop in exchange for cleaning up and helping around the shop. One night he reread what he had been writing over the past months and realized his stories were all self pitying parodies of his own recent life: a misunderstood man wrongfully rebuffed by the woman he loved. He knew that if he wanted to be a writer, he had to break away from self pity. He began writing stories about the people of steel mill neighborhoods on the Southeast side of Chicago where he grew up and toiled. He had found his path as a writer. He began to pull his life together and reconciled with his wife. Izzi began his career as a form of personal therapy, writing during periodic layoffs from the steel mills. His hard work allowed him to repair his relationship with his wife, and quit drinking. After several years of steady rejection, St. Martin's Press published The Take in 1987. Bad Guys followed in 1988 and The Eighth Victim in the same year. As his book sales increased and the positive reviews continued, Izzi landed a lucrative deal with Bantam Books to publish Tribal Secrets. Bantam provided a substantial advance, expecting the title to rank Izzi alongside contemporaries like Elmore Leonard, Tony Hillerman, Sara Paretsky, and Ed McBain. Reviews of Tribal Secrets were poor, as were sales. Bantam quickly remaindered the title, angering Izzi, who believed the publisher failed to properly market and support his work. The dispute between author and publisher became contentious, eventually resulting in an unusual agreement. Izzi would be allowed to keep his advance, but was forbidden to publish under his own name for the next three years. Izzi adopted the pseudonym Nick Gaitano and published three novels under that name. His most successful title was The Criminalist, published posthumously in 1998. On December 7, 1996, Izzi was found hanged, his body dangling outside the 14th-story window of his writing office in downtown Chicago. When his body was discovered, Izzi was wearing a bulletproof vest. In his pockets, investigators found brass knuckles, a can of "disabling spray" (likely mace or pepper spray), and a computer disc containing an unfinished manuscript. Although officially ruled to be suicide and his family accepted the coroner's verdict, the strange manner of Izzi's death and unusual items found with his body have led to numerous conspiracy theories. Among these were claims that Izzi had...

Book. Signed by Author(s) A square solid tight unread copy. This copy has

Book. Signed by Author(s) A square solid tight unread copy. This copy has just a hint of soil to the edges of the text block else fine. The priced jacket has some light edge wear else fine. THIS COPY IS IN MY POSSESSION AND NORMALLY SHIPS NEXT DAY.

246 pages. First edition, first printing. Dust jacket design by George

246 pages. First edition, first printing. Dust jacket design by George Corsillo. His first book about the crime underworld in Chicago. Inscribed by Izzi on the half title page. As new book in a like dust jacket. A beautiful copy!