The Terror of Living

"This is the Golden Age of literary crime fiction, and Urban Waite delivers a beautiful and powerful new voice with The Terror of Living. Washington State in his hands comes as alive as Louisiana does in the novels of James Lee Burke."

-Otto Penzler, editor of Best American Noir of the Century

"The Terror of Living opens with gentle beauty, calm before a bloody storm, before building intensity with swift, jarring, and confident storytelling power. A fine debut from a writer of obvious and substantial talents. Readers-including this one-will certainly be following Urban Waite for years to come."

-Michael Koryta, author of So Cold the River

"In the tradition of No Country for Old Men, Urban Waite has written a nail-biter that takes off from the get-go and never stops, a book chock full of memorable characters and kick-ass writing. Clear your calendar before reading this one, folks, because once you start there's no stopping until the end, which arrived much too quickly for this reader. A smashing debut."

-Tom Franklin, author of Hell at the Breech and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

"A supercharged suspenseful thriller peopled by colorful characters and driven by terrifying events that begin at mach speed and never slow for a moment. Supremely cinematic."

-Joseph Wambaugh, author of the Hollywood Station novels

"Urban Waite is a writer who knows what he's doing and this killer novel drives that home every hard-charging step of the way. In Waite's hands, scenes come at you like bursts of machine gun fire, and it's testament to his skill - setting that pops off the page, dialogue that crackles, characters you can't help but care about - that you won't want them to stop hitting."

-Josh Weil, author of The New Valley

"The Terror of Living is a smart, swiftly-paced and bloody Western for our moment. Urban Waite is a writer who won't let a reader wander away-he keeps you reading, and reading, and rewards all your attention with a powerhouse story and prose to match."

-Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone and The Bayou Trilogy