The Backlist

A Bricks & Cam Job #1

When the mob finds itself on hard times and has to lay people off, the boss decides to give two different hitters separate lists of “overdue accounts” — a backlist — to see who distinguishes themselves enough to remain on the payroll. The sharp-tongued Bricks and the hapless, eager to please Cam find themselves faced with challenges they never imagined when they got into the business. But there’s no other choice than to settle out the names on….The Backlist.

Author’s Note: For The Backlist, Eric Beetner and I took the same approach that I’ve found successful in my other collaborations. That is, we wrote the book with two main characters (in this case, Paula “Bricks” Brickey and Cameron Lowe — I wrote Bricks, and Eric wrote Cam), and we alternated chapters back and forth. Both characters are written in the first person, which gives the reader that tremendous level of intimacy during the storytelling but also allows the reader a greater scope of perspective that usually comes with a third person narration.

The Backlist is the first of three books (the second is The Short List and the third is The Getaway List) starring Bricks and Cam.

Paperback:

  Amazonor order from your favorite independent bookstore, such as 

Ebook:

Audio COMING SOON!:

Praise for The Backlist:

“Zafiro and Beetner partnering up is as sure a bet you’re going to get. The Backlist was a must read for me, and it should be on the top of your list, too. Bricks and Cameron are going to light you up!”
—Jim Wilsky, author of Blood on Blood, Queen of Diamonds and Closing the Circle

“Warning: Prepare to become oxygen-deprived when reading Eric Beetner’s and Frank Zafiro’s tag-team masterpiece, The Backlist…from holding your breath on just about every page. Before you begin, make sure you’re in tip-top physical shape. Prepare to get blisters on your fingers and papercuts from turning pages—this is breakneck warp-speed cinema, that twist within twist kind of plot that snaps necks. Some readers will end up in the ER…”
—Les Edgerton, The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping, The Rapist, The Bitch and others

“Wry, dark-humored, a trip down the rabbit hole of killers with more smarts than healthy and a competition so fierce it’ll make your knees buckle. The Backlist is a fast-paced read that keeps you grinning and aghast from page to page.”
—Gary Phillips, author of Hollis, P.I.

“Zafiro’s and Beetner’s styles compliment each other exquisitely. While Bricks and Cameron each have distinct voices when telling their portion of the story, their alternating chapters come together like the teeth of perfectly synced gears, moving the plot along smoothly and seamlessly to a satisfying, and explosive, conclusion.”
–Elizabeth White, Reviews and Editing by Elizabeth A. White

Get the rest of the series!