Bad August

What the critics say about Bad August:

"...one of the two best first novels (of the year)... Joe Noonan is a gem... characters you'll want to meet again -- and soon. Hearn's writing is effortless, and although it may have been a bad August for Joe Noonan, his story is a delight for a reader in any month.
— Robert J. Randisi, for The Orlando Sentinel

"...an engaging private eye caper... The slimy horror behind the missing-person case is leavened by Noonan's comical barroom tussle with a third-rate mobster and by the wonderful New York City ambience. The engrossing Ross Macdonald-like plot and the believable characters make this (Bad August) a one-sitting read."
— Booklist
"...more idiosyncratic characters than even a juggler can shake a stick at.... Compelling."
— Charles Willeford, author of Miami Blues, reviewing for The Miami Herald.

"Private eye Joe Noonan fancies himself a modern-day Sam Spade... Hearn has managed to capture the essence of the hard-boiled mystery novel."
— Publisher's Weekly

"Plainly appealing hard-boiled debut... leanly streetwise, likeably unforced."
— Kirkus Reviews

"New York P.I. Joe Noonan is one of the great characters, and sadly, there are only two adventures."
— Gary Warren Niebuhr in P.I. Entertainment Service, a catalogue of Private Eye fiction

Daniel Hearn's Bad August and Black Light are both Highly Recommended in The Essential Mystery Lists: The Private Eye Novel: 100 Classic and Highly Recommended Titles by Gary Warren Niebuhr