A frustrated crime scene cleaner...an off duty cop in a jam...a patrol officer who believes in a strange fate...a holier-than-thou Internal Affairs whose world gets turned upside down...plus those that are crazy, surrounded in sadness or just trying to get by - these are the many and varied characters of River City, brought to life in 17 short stories by the author of the River City crime novels.

The Prequel to the Ania Series!

Set on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida, Harbinger centers around two lifelong friends and fishing charter boat partners, Boyd Tomlin and Hicks Ledoux. Boyd is the serious one who always makes sure things get done, and Hicks is the carefree one who always makes sure everyone has a good time.

But times aren't so good. They are struggling to get charters, and bills are coming due. In desperate need of money, they consider smuggling drugs to make ends meet. By chance or fate, they meet two beautiful sisters who will change everything—a young Ania and her kid sister Karolyn. Hicks is immediately attached to the brash, confident Ania while Boyd gravitates toward Karolyn.

As romance blossoms, Boyd and Hicks quickly find themselves embroiled in the world of illegal drug trade, romance, danger and violence lurking around every corner.

When Ania Kozak hits Vegas, she's only looking for a place to relax and lay low with her stolen cash and diamonds. But Sin City has other plans for "Annie."

Cord Needham is a poker circuit champion with an eye for the ladies and a dark secret in his past. Casey Brunnell is a former baseball player fighting the cards and running up debts to a local mobster. When Annie decides to play a dangerous game with both of them, the stakes go through the roof. Everyone scrambles to beat the odds and get out of town with the money...and their lives.

Praise for QUEEN OF DIAMONDS:

"Queen of Diamonds is the second collaboration between Frank Zafiro and Jim Wilsky and it's a partnership that runs like a well-oiled machine...I've read a lot of books set in Las Vegas, but there are very few I have enjoyed more." —Chris Leek, independent reviewer

"They are able to capture that odd mixture of psychology, math skills and pure luck that can help people excel at...]]> Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:35:34 +0300 https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/489415-tales_of_river_city.html https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/489415-tales_of_river_city.html
]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:40:14 +0200 https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/700570-the_tattered_blue_line.html https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/700570-the_tattered_blue_line.html

Policing today is challenging and different from any other time in our history. Men and women who have worn the badge have a unique perspective on those challenges. This collection features a diverse roster of former law enforcement officers turned crime fiction authors... diverse in every sense of the word — age, gender, race, nationality, geography, type of agency, size of department, role within law enforcement, and political beliefs. The one thing they all have in common is a desire to share a single slice of the contemporary policing experience with you, and to join the ongoing, larger conversation in the best way they know how — by telling a compelling crime story.

Former cop turned investigator Stefan Kopriva has long endured the fallout from the fatal mistake that drove him from the police force fourteen years ago. Eking out his redemption one bit at a time, Kopriva has finally reached a point in his life that finds him stable and reasonably happy.
Then the mother who abandoned him when he was a toddler returns to River City and completely shakes up his world.
Though professing to be sober and seeking to reconnect with her son, Kopriva is initially suspicious of her intentions. But his own desire to fill the void that she created all those years ago urges him to accept, and perhaps even forgive, her. Not only that, but the woman seems to be sincere in every way, causing Kopriva to trust her and to believe.
What follows is a shocking betrayal and a murder that sends Kopriva on perhaps the darkest journey of his life. He seeks out the truth, even though it isn't what he wants it to be. For better or worse,...]]> Mon, 09 Oct 2023 18:35:35 +0300 https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/467453-friend_of_the_departed.html https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/467453-friend_of_the_departed.html

Sam and Rachel are on the grift, on the make, and on the run.

Long time grifters and lovers, the couple is in St. Louis to run a con on Barry Jacobsen, who owns a concrete business. But the clock is ticking on the deal, and on them. Mobsters from Philadelphia are one step behind, seeking revenge for the pair's most recent scam.

Caught between the dangers of this con being discovered and a mafia hit man finding them before they can wrap it up, Sam and Rachel walk a thin line of balance, striving to walk away with the money and their lives before their past catches up to them.

Episodes in the A Grifter's Song series:

The Concrete Smile by Frank Zafiro

People Like Us by J.D. Rhoades

The Whale by Lawrence Kelter

The Movie Makers by Gary Phillips

Lost in Middle America by Colin Conway

Losing Streak by Jim Wilsky

Sandy Banks has temporarily escaped the life of a vigilante assassin in Spokane and is trying to find his way back home. It won't be easy—the agent he evaded is determined to bring him to justice. She is tenacious and resourceful, dredging up the elusive truth of Sandy's past as she pursues him. Worse yet, there are mysterious forces operating in the shadows that threaten to change Sandy's life forever — a life that has already taken him through... Some Kind of Hell.

SUGAR GOT LOW contains a tale of grifters, a prequel story to the well-regarded Ania series, several trips back to River City and one to La Sombra, Texas. Enjoy a Walter Mitty homage set in San Francisco and a deadly day in Roman Britain, the heartbreaking story of a junkie and the suspenseful one of a murderer in a black car. And at the end of it all, you'll experience the dark but inspiring title story of perseverance that was only made possible because of a misunderstood lyric.

Four-time Derringer finalist Frank Zafiro weaves a lucky thirteen tales drawn from throughout his career with one thing in common - characters you may love or hate, but will certainly feel.

"Will you find my sister?"

When Missy Jardin utters those words to Stefan Kopriva, the former cop-turned-investigator is sent down a frustrating and baffling path to find a missing woman, Laura Shelton. The case is further complicated by the fact that Laura is accused of embezzling a significant sum from her employer.

As Kopriva struggles to determine whether Laura is on the run, hiding somewhere, or even dead, he unravels conflicting images of the missing woman.

Some people think of Laura as kind and caring, others as desperate and ridden with regret. Her employer sees her as ruthless and opportunistic. Who is the real Laura?

Kopriva won't know until he finds her.

If he finds her alive.

A city councilman is dead of an apparent suicide. Ex-cop Stefan Kopriva finds himself drawn into the case, serving an unlikely client. Once involved, he discovers that things are not as they seem. Kopriva is quickly embroiled in dirty city politics. Along the way, he encounters pimps, prostitutes, gangsters, contractors, and the police as he tries to get to the bottom of what happened, and why. No one wants this outcome, so Kopriva must risk his own freedom and his very life to find the answers, no matter how deep the corruption goes. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is the second Stefan Kopriva mystery.]]> Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:02:00 +0200 https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/700567-the_last_horseman.html https://contemporary.library.land/frank-zafiro/700567-the_last_horseman.html

Sandy Banks is the last of The Four Horsemen, a vigilante group of ex-cops determined to right the injustices of a broken court system. But now the project is disintegrating, putting him in the middle of chaos. Betrayed by his final partner, blackmailed by the project head and pursued by federal agents bent on busting the case wide open, Sandy scrambles to escape this mayhem with his soul intact.

From the author of the River City crime series.

When Bricks and Cam strike out on their own in the aftermath of their bloody showdown with the Giordano family, not everything goes as planned. Boring, straight jobs aren't satisfying, and their first successful solo hit is a messy one. Worse yet, someone has revenge on their mind.

Before they know what is happening, Cam is kidnapped and Bricks is attacked by an old enemy.

Cam uses his wits as he struggles to escape his captors while Bricks frantically searches for her partner in crime. Both hack away at the mystery of who is bent upon vengeance against them. There is a short list in play, and both Cam and Bricks are on it.

But they're not going to stand still and take being attacked. Not by anyone. They're going to fight back. They're making a list of their own, and it's even shorter than the one they're on ...

Praise for THE SHORT LIST ...

"Bricks and Cam are two of the most resourceful and likable paid killers one is ever likely to meet....]]> Sun, 19 Sep 2021 09:55:53 +0300