CraigFaustusBuck.com Category:  Action/Thriller Anthony Award nominated short story and the novella that continues the suspense, all in one volume. Stars ex-detective Johno Beltran, now living out of his car and working as a valet parking attendant.  In his Anthony Award nominated short story "Dead End", author Craig Faustus Buck introduces Johno Beltran, a former homicide detective who fell from grace when a stupid mistake allowed a rich, sadistic sex killer to go free. This story begins four years after the trial with Johno now living out of his car and working as a parking attendant at a celebrity haunt called Kama Sushi. One night, the man who got away with murder, wealthy plastic surgeon Dr. Luke Vico, drives into the Kama Sushi lot and Johno is forced to park his $100,000 car. The humiliating reunion leads Johno down a dark, twisty road toward a deadly collision between paranoia and reality. The noir suspense thriller novella, Psycho Logic, picks up where "Dead End" leaves off. Alyssa Lido lives down the beach from Dr. Vico. She meets Johno as a result of his ill-fated clash with the infamous killer. The sexual voodoo between Johno and Alyssa is powerful, her marriage to her former psychiatrist notwithstanding. Alyssa suspects her husband, who once treated her for paranoia, of manipulating some of his more vulnerable patients for sex. When a porn star patient is found dead, Johno is convinced that the shrink killed her to cover up his sex-crimes and that Alyssa is next on his hit list. As events spiral out of control, Johno and Alyssa are sucked into a vortex of blackmail, pornography, torture, betrayal, vengeance, love, guilt, passion, murder, muscle cars and valet parking

A Brilliant Debut
When the author posted at All Mystery e-news yahoo group that this short story was Free for the weekend, I figured it would be perfect for an hour of bedtime reading.... and it was, and so much some. This very skillfully written short has all the elements that one would expect from say, Michael Connelly or Lee Child. Set in LA, it's at turns humorous, gritty, violent and poignant... with an ending that is nothing short of a gut punch. I really hope the author is writing a full-length novel, because I predict that once he gets the first one published, his fans will be howling for more.
--RP Dahlke

Top New Crime Fiction Author
Another new author and although this is only a story story I think I'm going to enjoy reading Mr Buck in the future.

I arrived here by way of a hop, skip and a jump, or six degrees of separation for books.

I'm a big fan of author, Tom Kakonis and his books - Treasure Coast, Michigan Roll, Criss Cross to mention a few.

Kakonis has been brought back into the sunlight after years hidden away by the chaps - Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman at new kid on the block publisher - Brash Books.

Brash Books recently announced that next year they will be publishing Craig Faustus Buck's first full length novel - Go Down Hard.

Liking the sound of this one, I thought I would see whether Buck had written anything else.

Well he has - there's a novella intriguingly titled Psycho Logic which I have now ordered.

Psycho Logic is preceded by Dead End.

Dead End is the Anthony Award nominated short story (winner announced in November), that introduces us to John Beltran - the main man in Psycho Logic.

Simples really.

Back to Dead End then - 16 pages bang, I'm hooked. Within this short time frame of narrative, Buck sucked me in, ratcheting the tension up, before unleashing a finale which, whilst bringing closure of sorts to one of our participants has just ensured that John Beltran's already crap life has just taken a helluva turn for the worse.

Have you ever watched the scary movie where the kids are exploring the village weirdo's empty house, when the occupant comes home and one of them remains trapped inside and the psycho smells something is amiss - the one's where you watch from behind the sofa, peering through your fingers - Buck did that to me.
--col2910

Excellent descriptions...
Buck is a writer's writer. He understand the importance of writing good descriptive passages that move the story along. Readers won't be disappointed with this quick read with a surprising end that will leave the reader looking for more of this author's work.
--Nancy Cole Silverman