Brand New Dark

Bishop Rider Lives! And for a dead man, he’s been busy. His story and the parts of it yet to be told being what populates Brand New Dark. Unseen moments pulled from between the pages of A Better Kind of Hate, The Big Machine Eats, and All of Them to Burn. Twenty-five new tales that bridge what came before and expand upon what can only come after. Come, see what happened in-between. Come, see how he made them burn. Praise for BRAND NEW DARK: “You want it darker? Then strap in for a ride with Brand New Dark, but keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle (while everyone else loses theirs). Beau Johnson masterfully crafts sharp, incisive short fiction, and Bishop Rider is the perfect vehicle for his mix of gallows humor and righteous anger. Brand New Dark is an intoxicating blend of violence and bone-deep humanity that lingers with you long after the final page.” —James D.F. Hannah, Shamus Award-winning author of the Henry Malone novels “Brand New Dark is an utterly terrifying, high-octane mix of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and a Nicolas Winding Refn production, powered by a voice that’s unique to crime fiction. It’s a mega-dose of the darkest in human nature…and murderously inventive.” —Nick Kolakowski, author of Rattlesnake Rodeo and Boise Longpig Hunting Club “Do you like stories about bad guys being torn apart in new and ever-innovative ways? Then boy has Beau Johnson got the books for you. But Beau does more than just tell tales of unbridled violence, he delivers them with a wit and humour that keeps you smiling, when really your stomach should be doing flips.” —Paul Heatley, author of Cutthroat and Just Like Jesus “For years now, the long chain of American vigilante anti-heroes has had a welcome addition in Beau Johnson’s Bishop Rider…but Rider will go places and do things that would have caused Mack Bolan, the Punisher, or Jack Reacher to hesitate. But rather than play into the horror of violence, or offer up ‘violence-porn,’ Johnson is keenly aware of the disquieting effect of his stories, and his concise, calculated prose shows a skilled writer who understands exactly how far to push the reader. Brand New Dark is a powerful mix of vengeance, violence, and razor-sharp writing by one of crime fiction’s most daring short story writers.” —E.A. Aymar, author of The Unrepentant and They’re Gone (written under E.A. Barres) “Johnson doesn’t play nice. When it comes to ultraviolence, he’s doing for crime what Barker did for horror. Brand New Dark will slap you in the mouth.” —Laird Barron, author of Worse Angels “We’ve been gifted with the return of revenge seeking anti-hero Bishop Rider, told in Johnson’s inimitable style of bite-sized brutality. Dark, bloody, and righteously gruesome, Brand New Dark satisfies the itch for beautifully written crime fiction, where the violence is seen from the corners of our eyes and over our shoulders as Johnson’s relentless pacing propels us forward to a fate we can’t look away from, no matter the cost.” —Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads “Beau Johnson is like an alchemist. He melds dark violent narratives with searing heartbreaking fragility. A Brand New Dark is the same old Beau. Fearless, poetic and brutal.” —S.A. Cosby author of Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears “Are these stories violent? Yes. Are they dark? Yes. Is Brand New Dark a well-written, page-turning collection of vigilante justice crime fiction at its finest? Hell yes. Nobody gives the bad guys a taste of their own medicine like the master of the genre, Beau Johnson.” —Jennifer Hillier, Thriller Award-winning author of Jar of Hearts “Bishop Rider works—and works extremely well—only because he’s in the capable hands of Beau Johnson. In the midst of Rider’s pursuit for revenge, Johnson never forgets how important Rider’s humanity is, both to the character and to the readers as well. The unflinching violence, limb dislocations and evilness of men never veers into parody, and neither does Rider. And fans of Bishop’s previous tales will be delighted to fill more of his details through Johnson’s fractured but never confusing style of storytelling.” —Hector Acosta, author of Hardway