Half Crime

PRAISE FOR HALF CRIME

“The char­ac­ters in this col­lec­tion have been brought low by cir­cum­stances or their own actions, but Rusty Barnes is clear-eyed and com­pas­sion­ate in telling their sto­ries, which can be gris­ly or heart­break­ing or—most often—both at the same time.”

SCOTT VON DOVIAK, AUTHOR OF LOWDOWN ROAD

“A writer of incred­i­ble human­i­ty, Rusty Barnes doesn’t just know the blood that beats through the heart, he knows how it spills as well. Beau­ti­ful, poignant, and mus­cu­lar, Half Crime is a col­lec­tion that doesn’t look away, and promis­es some­thing spe­cial to both read­ers who refuse to flinch, and those who feel with every­thing they have.”

PAUL J. GARTH, AUTHOR OF THE LOW WHITE PLAIN

“From Chim­ney Hill Road to Drag Hill, the set­tings in Rusty Barnes’s Half Crime are as alive as the char­ac­ters, who strug­gle through their lives among box cut­ters and knife fights, bro­ken bones and bust­ed dreams. Beau­ti­ful and bru­tal, Half Crime will appeal to fans of Daniel Woodrell and Tim Gautreaux.”

STEVE WEDDLE, AUTHOR OF COUNTRY HARDBALL

“Ten­der and tough, these short sto­ries in Half Crime from Rusty Barnes will remind you of the hard­scrab­ble, hard-drink­ing, and hard-liv­ing char­ac­ters from Andre Dubus; they’re des­per­ate but dig­ni­fied, and they can’t do wrong right. With a poet’s eye for imagery and a turn of phrase, Rusty Barnes is a writer who deserves more atten­tion and read­ers. Half Crime is all that.”

GABRIEL VALJAN, AGATHA‑, ANTHONY‑, AND SHAMUS-NOMINATED AUTHOR OF THE SHANE CLEARY MYSTERY SERIES

“In each sto­ry of Half Crime, Rusty Barnes cre­ates an entire world like a jewel—small and hard and beau­ti­ful. He brings the des­per­a­tion of his rur­al char­ac­ters to life with poet­ic empa­thy and sim­mer­ing vio­lence. Bro­ken by pover­ty or pain, or just bad luck, they bring the read­er with them on unfor­giv­ing jour­neys to find just a nugget of solace or com­pas­sion. Barnes is a deft and uncom­pro­mis­ing writer who can reveal the beau­ty in even the most heart­break­ing circumstances.

J.M. TAYLOR, AUTHOR OF NIGHT OF THE FURIES AND DARK HEAT

"Half Crime reads like a col­lec­tion of sto­ries writ­ten by Ray­mond Carv­er if he was pos­sessed by the spir­it of Ray­mond Chan­dler. Bru­tal , beau­ti­ful, eso­teric and exis­ten­tial, Rusty Barnes shows the full width and breadth of his prodi­gious tal­ents as a writer and a qui­et­ly pow­er­ful crit­ic of the human con­di­tion. Half Crime is a won­der­ful achievement."

S.A. COSBY, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF RAZORBLADE TEARS, KING OF ASHES,  AND ALL THE SINNERS BLEED