A brand-new collection of stories from one of America's hottest crime writers

From the writer of the HBO series Treme and The Wire comes a brand new collection of short stories

What really goes on beneath the surface of a city?

There's the slum kid whose basketball skills earn him loyal friends and bitter rivals. The police informant grappling with his own sick conscience. A helpless young drug dealer watches as violence seeps into the lives of those who he cares about. And a writer on a TV cop show who finds drama and reality are colliding much too close to home.

Corruption, revenge, honour, sacrifice and the fight to survive.

Dark, fast-paced and crackling with energy, these stories expose the violence and darkness on the streets of any city. Gritty and hard-hitting, THE MARTINI SHOT is Pelecanos at his very best.

"Even if you didn't know that Pelecanos is a hotshot screenwriter - his CV includes The Wire, The Pacific and Treme - you would soon guess so as you tore through these tough and slangy tales of drugs and death .... Pelecanos knows how to make every word count." - EVENING STANDARD

"For anyone who has somehow missed out on Pelecanos, he is up there with Elmore Leonard and even Chandler" - DAILY MAIL

"Pelecanos displays a ferocious understanding of street reality and an empathy for America's downtrodden" - GUARDIAN