Fun & Games

He's lost his luggage and his rental car, his cell won't work, and he's jumped from the roof of a house into animal crap. Welcome to Hollywood, Mr. Hardie! This is above all a Hollywood novel, opening with a car chase in the Hollywood hills and ending with the promise of two sequels (, Oct.; , Mar. 2012). In between comes a load of high-octane taut action fueled by paranoid fantasies. Ex-law enforcement official Charlie Hardie flees his upsetting Philadelphia past by acting as a professional house-sitter; all he has to do is show up, drink beer, and watch DVDs. Only not on this watch. He finds holed up in the house he is supposed to be guarding a starlet whose arrest record is longer than her list of credits. In addition, the house is under siege from a shadowy band of star whackers known as "The Accident People." Straight out of the fever dreams of Randy and Evi Quaid, this motley crew apparently targets Hollywood types, and the starlet is in their sights, with Hardie as collateral damage. Readers who like their action fast, brutal, and smart, as well as fans of the franchise, will be eagerly awaiting the next installment. Hardly a household name except to noir aficionados, Swierczynski (sweer-ZIN-ski), the author of the Edgar-nominated , just might change that if the sequels equal this title's frenetic pace.—Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO

Understandably devastated by the revenge killing of his partner's entire family, ex-cop Charlie Hardie hides himself away, essentially serving as a house sitter. The house comes with an actress of sorts, who seems unhinged by the idea that certain hit men can make death look accidental. Then Charlie discovers that those hit men really exist, and the actress is next on their list. The author of stuff like the X-Men spinoff Cable for Marvel Comics certainly has good thriller credentials.