Deus X /// Stephen Mack Jones

Detroit ex-cop August Snow puts his life on the line to protect a friend from modern-day Templars sworn to protect the name of the Catholic church at all costs.

Father Michael Grabowski, a Franciscan priest who has tended the spiritual needs of Detroit’s Mexicantown for forty years, has suddenly retired. August Snow, who has known the priest his whole life, finds the circumstances troubling—especially in light of the recent suspicious suicide of another local priest. What dark history is Father Grabowski hiding?

The situation takes a turn for the deadly with the appearance at the Detroit diocese of a mysterious priest and combat vet calling himself Francis Dominioni Petra. The man comes from the Vatican, and as his armored guard circles closer and closer to Father Grabowski and his friends, August wants to know why. A terrible crime has been committed in the name of faith—but who is seeking justice, and who is trying to bury the truth and any of its witnesses? August grapples with his own ideas about his faith and his chosen family in this action-packed fourth installment in the Hammett Prize–winning series.

BIO

Stephen Mack Jones is a published poet, award-winning playwright and winner of the Kresge Arts in Detroit Literary Fellowship. Stephen has received many accolades for his August Snow crime/thriller series. August Snow won the Nero Award, and he has been shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and a finalist for the Shamus Award as well as the Strand Critics Award. August Snow was named a Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. He received that honor again for Dead of Winter. In 2018, the International Association of Crime Writers presented Stephen with the prestigious Hammett Prize for literary excellence in the field of crime writing. He currently lives in the suburbs of Detroit.

REVIEWS

“The arrival of a new August Snow is a true gift. Clever, witty, and packed with danger and fun, Deus X is a brilliant thriller. His latest proves why Stephen Mack Jones has fast become one of our best living detective writers.” -- Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Robert B. Parker Spenser novels and The Heathens

“Stephen Mack Jones’s Deus X is a finely crafted mystery; a slow burn that crackles with suspense and intrigue, as ex-Detroit cop turned PI, August Snow, unravels depraved secrets desperate to stay hidden and learns the lengths some will go to punish those who profess to be holy. With Deus X, Stephen Mack Jones further solidifies himself as an author at the top of his game and the August Snow series is worthy of all the praise.” -- Aaron Philip Clark, author of Under Color of Law and Blue Like Me

“A welcome breath of fresh air. [Jones’s] willingness to slide in zingers about the politics and attitudes of the present infuses his books with relevance… August himself is a bit of a superman – he’s kind, but he’s also stylish; violent but also vulnerable. He’s a classic private eye character for the present day.” -- The Oakland Press

“Ripping… Jones never lets his foot off the gas, and he brings Snow’s Detroit to vivid life, populating the city with memorable characters and wringing atmosphere from its crime-steeped history. This one’s a blast for newcomers and series fans alike.” -- Publishers Weekly

[H]  Soho Crime  /  November 07, 2023

1.3" H x 8.4" L x 5.6" W (1.2 lbs) 360 pages