A Shot in the Dark
Read A Shot in the Dark Online
Authors: K. A. Stewart
Table of Contents
Praise for
A Devil in the Details
“A clever conceit, with a surprisingly moral center. Lots of fun, deftly witty, and one of the most appealing central characters of recent years.”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Simon R. Green
“If you want your life saved, you call the cops. If you want your
soul
saved, you call Jesse James Dawson, a modern-day samurai who has it all over an Old West gunslinger and then some. But with demonic doubledealing, enemies old and new lining up to take a shot, and every battle to the death, you’d better buckle up for one helluva ride. Humor, action, and a one-way trip straight to Hell, this book delivers it all.”
—National bestselling author Rob Thurman
“K. A. Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson is a modern-day warrior who can tie up his ponytail with one hand and use a katana in the other to fend off the forces of evil. Equal parts heroic, dark, and funny,
A Devil in the Details
is a welcome addition to the urban fantasy genre, pickup truck included.”
—Anton Strout, author of
Dead Matter
“[
A Devil in the Details
] hits the trifecta of strong story, characters, and prose. . . . Stewart’s wisecracking hero is smart and thoroughly 3-D. The tight, terse style honors but doesn’t copy Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books, and urban fantasy fans looking for something new will happily devour Stewart’s debut.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“
A Devil in the Details
has a similar tone and style to the Dresden Files, with a wry first-person narrator explaining things with a dry, sardonic sense of humor. Using that similar voice, the author creates a very different world from that of Harry Dresden. For all that the book deals with death, devils, and damnation, it doesn’t dwell in Gothic gloom, but flits lightly and entertainingly from emotional lows and highs. A very enjoyable book, with the potential to become a very engaging series.”
—Fresh Fiction
“K. A. Stewart is a welcome addition to the urban fantasy writers with a strong opening entry. . . .
A Devil in the Details
is a dynamic debut.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“K. A. Stewart is a sensational writer who will soon work her way up to the level of recognition of Jim Butcher and Simon R. Green, and
A Devil in the Details
is her first work of pure excellence. . . . This is a must-read for any fan of urban fantasy. . . . I truly expect to see her name in a few years right up there on the
New York Times
bestseller’s list. A terrific read.”
—Whatchamacallit Reviews
“[
A Devil in the Details
] gives you a hero that will make you smile, and it is an enjoyable read.”
—Smexy Books Romance Reviews
“A refreshing story with really appealing characters who have such witty humor that you don’t see it coming until it smacks you in the face. I’ll definitely be reading the next one in this exciting new series.”
—The Book Lush
Jesse James Dawson Novels
by K. A. Stewart
A Devil in the Details
A Shot in the Dark
ROC
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, July 2011
Copyright © Kari Stewart, 2011
All rights reserved
ISBN : 978-1-101-51630-0
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
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For the Jewell Pack
Who never doubted, even when I did.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, thanks to Anne Sowards, Kat Sherbo and Chris Lotts, without whom none of this would have been possible. A huge thanks to my beta-slaves: Janet Yantes, Geoff Glover, Jesse Phillips, Jenn Wolfe, Will Sisco and Auggy. Thanks to Elysabeth Williams, Lisa Brackmann, Alice Loweecey, Rob Thurman, and Stacia Kane, who are not only amazing authors, but also amazing friends. To Dr. Gita Bransteitter, for invaluable medical advice and for feeding my nail polish addiction. For Purgatory, all hail The Junk! For the Badger Blades crew and their epic weaponry. And a special thanks to Sensei Dave Elam, who didn’t blink an eye when I asked, “Can you show me how to knock a guy out?” As always, for Scott and Aislynn.
1
Two years ago . . .
“F
ire in the hole!” I grabbed the kid by the front of his shirt and dragged him into the water, falling on top of him to protect him further. Problem being, there was room for one man at the bottom of the pool, but not two. Half submerged as I was, the explosion was enough to deafen me, the sound wave skipping across the top of the water to smack me upside my very thick skull.
As I felt things pelting down on me, splattering my shoulders and the one arm I couldn’t get under the water, I was forced to admit that this had
not
been one of my better ideas. I pressed my forehead against the kid’s, trapping him under the water, and held my breath until spots danced before my eyes. Pondering just how I’d gotten to this point, I was pretty sure that somehow, it was the poodle’s fault.
Now, I hate poodles. They’re not even real dogs. They’re more like rats in sheep’s clothing. The constant “yip yip yip” should be blared over loudspeakers to end police standoffs. And no cute fluffy animal should be pink. It’s just wrong on so many levels.
So I hope you can understand the amazing amount of restraint I exercised, not half an hour earlier, as someone’s pink, yappy, woolly rat barked and snapped around my ankles. One quick stomp with my heavy boot and it’d be all over for the glorified rodent. I had a feeling my client, the dog’s owner, would object to me murdering her darling Mitzi or Bitsy or whatever the hell its name was. She seemed the objecting type.
“Now you’re certain you can do this? You come highly recommended, but . . .” It was the umpteen thousandth time she’d asked the very same question.