Fear and Free Books

We had such success at giving away three free copies of the UK edition of Stieg Larsson’s second novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, that we’ve decided to conduct another contest. This time, a trio of lucky readers will receive copies of Afraid, the paperback thriller by “Jack Kilborn,” a new pen name being used by Joe “J.A.” Konrath, who is best for his Jack Daniels crime series (Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb). Afraid has already been released in Britain by Headline Publishing, but it won’t be available in the States till the end of March.

A quick synopsis of Kilborn/Konrath’s wonderfully dark new tale ought to leave you eager to grab a copy for yourself:

The U.S. government spends billions of dollars training soldiers to kill. Now they’re attempting an alternative approach. Instead of turning soldiers into killers, the military has trained five psychopathic murderers to be part of a classified Special Forces unit.

Code name: Red Ops.

They are the most fearsome weapon ever created, meant to be dropped behind enemy lines. Their goals: Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate. Five Hannibal Lecters with Rambo training. But something horrible has happened ...

Welcome to Safe Haven, Population 907.

A tiny community of families, retirees, and artists, nestled between Big Lake and Little Lake MacDonald in the north woods. One road in, one road out, thirty miles away from everything. A town so small and peaceful they don’t even have a full-time police force.

Hell has come to Safe Haven.

On their way to a mission, the Red Ops helicopter has crashed just outside of town. The team is now roaming free in the wilderness, heading for the nearest lights. Heading there to do what they do best.

Soon the phone lines are cut, the cell phones jammed, and the road blocked. Safe Haven’s only chance for survival rests on the shoulders of an aging county sheriff. And as the body count rises, he’s quickly realizing something terrifying--maybe the Red Ops haven’t come to his small town by accident ...

Safe Haven, Wisconsin. Population 907 .... 906 ... 905 ...

To win one of these free copies of Afraid, all you have to do is answer a simple question:

What is the name of J.A. Konrath’s editor at Headline Publishing?

Need a clue? Just click here to read The Rap Sheet’s November 2008 interview with Konrath. Or click here for more information about Headline’s key authors.

When you have the answer, send an e-mail note--including your mailing address--to: jpwrites@wordcuts.org. And write “Afraid Contest” in the subject line.

The names of three winners will be drawn randomly by Rap Sheet editor J. Kingston Pierce on Monday, March 23.

Unfortunately, only readers in the United States and Canada are eligible to enter this contest.

Good luck!