City Problems: An Ed Runyon Mystery
My new hard-boiled series from Oceanview Publishing features a rural Ohio detective.
Ed Runyon bolted from the NYPD after his failure to save a runaway teenage girl, and now enjoys life as a sheriff’s detective in rural Ohio–until a city cop comes to find a missing girl. A second tragic failure awakens Ed’s demons, sparking a moment of avenging violence that will ultimately change his life to the core.
It debuts in July 2021, but you can pre-order it in hardback or e-book formats now. Links are below the cover image.
Available at these sellers (and from your favorite independent book store)
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Reviews of CITY PROBLEMS
“City Problems is a crime thriller of rare emotional depth, pathos, and angst. Steve Goble masterfully introduces us to a new hero in Detective Ed Runyan, who finds he can run from his past but he can’t hide, even by moving to bucolic small town America from the grit and grime of the big city. City Problems unearths the dark underbelly lurking beneath American culture and society in a bold and bracing fashion reminiscent of Michael Connelly and Robert Crais. And, if Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler had ever chosen a rural setting for their crime novels, this is what it would look like.” — Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong novels
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“A terrific new series. Ed Runyon is a relentless cop, and Goble puts a fresh spin on the cop with a haunted past.” — Terry Shames, Lefty and Macavity Award-winning author of the Samuel Craddock mystery novels
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Pieces of Eight: A Spider John Mystery
The fourth entry in my series of historical mysteries featuring the reluctant pirate Spider John Rush will be released in March 2021 by Seventh Street Books.
In this one, Spider solves a shipboard mystery and finally reaches Nantucket, where he expects to find his wife and child after many years of separation. A murder and his piratical past get in the way, and soon Spider finds himself up against a manhunt, vengeful pirates and his own drunkenness.
You can order PIECES OF EIGHT and the previous Spider John novels from your favorite independent bookseller, or from the following outlets:
Reviews of PIECES OF EIGHT
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“Pieces of Eight” is a wild ride. Loved the mystery, loved the swashbuckling adventure, loved Spider John and his loyal band of irregulars. Goble’s writing is so vivid you can almost feel the sea spray on your face as the bobbing 18th-century ship sails for Nantucket with captured mutineers in its hold. More Spider John, please!
— Tracy Clark, Lefty, Anthony and Edgar award nominee, author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series, and winner of the 2020 Sue Grafton Memorial Award
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Bodies and blunderbusses abound as Spider John and his motley crew of friends are back in fine form!
Goble’s mystery plot ticks along like clockwork, but the real attraction is the voice of Spider John, a reluctant pirate who just wants to get home to his wife and son. But with Spider finally within sight of that goal, one obstacle after another presents itself. As mysteries are revealed, Spider is forced to ask: Who are we to judge the hearts of those around us, and who are we to pretend that we know our own motivations?
A rum-soaked ride filled with historical accuracy, whip-smart observation, and mysterious deaths, PIECES OF EIGHT is sure to appeal to mystery fans with a little piracy in their hearts.
— Dan Stout, author of Titanshade
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The Spider John Mysteries
My first novel, “The Bloody Black Flag: A Spider John Mystery,” offers pirates, spies, intrigue, bloodshed and a murder mystery. It introduces Spider John Rush, a ship’s carpenter seeking to leave the world of piracy he had never wanted to join. When his best friend is murdered aboard a pirate vessel, Spider has to track down the killer and deliver vengeance.
The book was released Sept. 12, 2017, from Seventh Street Books, a Prometheus imprint. You can order here.
The second book in the series, “The Devil’s Wind: A Spider John Mystery,” was released Sept. 11, 2018. You can order here.
The third entry, “A Bottle of Rum: A Spider John Mystery,” released in November of 2019. You can order here.
Swords Against Boredom 