Moses McGuire

Moses McGuire
Created by Josh Stallings

Okay, Josh Stalling's brooding, occasionally suicidal titty bar bouncer MOSES McGUIRE isn't actually a private eye; no, not really -- but the ex-con, ex-Marine sure gets the job done in his tough-but-tender, sleazy but sharp debut.

Comparisons to Chandler, for once, are apt. There's a secret world of crushed idealism just beneath the surface and a jagged, rough-edged poetry here that Ray would have understood. Sure, Marlowe wouldn't have been caught dead riding herd at a jiggle joint like East L.A.'s Club Xtasy (and probably would have blanched at the boozy, bloody and brutal conclusion), but he would have perfectly understood Moses' quest to avenge the death of Kelly, one of his "girls," in the bold, bleak and delightfully nasty Beautiful, Naked and Dead (2011).

And the hot-on-its-heels follow-up, Out There Bad (2011, which Stallings released just a few months later, proves he's a writer definitely worth keeping an eye on. In the sequel, Moses goes global, travelling to Mexico but still pissing off all the wrong people. This time he's up against Armenian mobsters, Russian strippers, white slavers and Mexican hitmen, as he races to save his girlfriend's sister from a fate worse than death. Or maybe just death...

According to his author bio, Josh Stallings is "your average ex-criminal, ex-taxi driver, ex-club bouncer, film making, script writing, movie advertising editing, punk. Google him and you may find out he has won many awards for his work as a trailer editor, screenwriterr and co-creator of Ground Zero Texas,a best selling Sony video game. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Erika, his bullmastiff Nelson, Lucy the lab pit mix and Riddle the cat."

UNDER OATH

"Josh Stallings is the kind of writer who shouldn't have to publish for himself, but here he is slugging it out the hard way. Just like one of the hardasses in his own books. The man knows what to do with paper and ink. Read the damn thing."
-- Charlie Huston
"Someone once said of Raymond Chandler that he wrote 'as if pain hurt and life mattered.' That's true of Josh Stallings, too. Hop on, kick the starter, and let him lead you on a long, painful, but entertaining ride through Moses McGuire's world. One hint: wear your helmet and your leathers. It might get messy."
-- Tad Williams

NOVELS

Beautiful, Naked and Dead (2011)., Buy this book., Nook it!
Out There Bad (2011)., Buy this book., Nook it!

SHORT STORIES

"Freedom Day (May 2011, joshstallings.net)