Stephen Jay Schwartz delivers an intense, nonstop thrill-ride in this shocking new novel about a Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide detective who must find a killer responsible for a series of murders that are directly related to him. LAPD detective and former vice cop Hayden Glass is a sex addict. The addiction has ruined his marriage and continues to complicate every aspect of his life. But regular attendance in Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings has helped keep his behavior from affecting his career. That is, until he suspects that three macabre and seemingly unrelated murders are linked to his meetings and targeted directly at him. The rift between his private secrets and his duty to uphold the law plays out against an ever-shortening timetable in which to save his own life and the lives of the people he loves.
Los Angeles Times Bestselling Author Stephen Jay Schwartz spent a number of years as the Director of Development for film director Wolfgang Petersen (whose credits include Das Boot, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy) where he worked with writers, producers and studio executives to develop screenplays for production. Among the film projects he helped developed are Air Force One, Outbreak, Red Corner, Bicentennial Man and Mighty Joe Young.
Stephen's own film work has exhibited at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival, the Directors Guild of America, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
He also worked as a screenwriter and freelance "script doctor," developing concepts, treatments and feature films for independent film producers. His writing credits include Inside the Space Station, narrated by Liam Neeson and produced as a "Watch with the World" special for The Discovery Channel.
Boulevard, a very dark crime thriller set in present-day Los Angeles, is Stephen's first novel. His second novel is due out in Summer, 2010. In addition to writing novels, Stephen plans to direct feature films through his production company, Picaro Entertainment.
Stephen Jay Schwartz currently lives in Southern California with his wife and two young boys. Learn more about Stephen by visiting his website at stephenjayschwartz.com. Stephen also blogs regularly at the crime/thriller author blogsite www.murderati.com.
REVIEWS:
"Schwartz hasn't missed a trick in this gripping first novel. He begins with a knowing guided tour of LA's boulevards, i.e., "hooker strolls," as seen by the cop/customer, and he skillfully develops Hayden's flawed character, showing him to be decent, haunted, and sometimes loathsome. Most important, he artfully builds tension and suspense into horror and finishes with a stunning Grand Guignol climax. Expect much more from this talented writer."
--Booklist
Like James Ellroy, Hollywood film developer Schwartz can make the reader squirm, as shown in his debut, a disturbing thriller whose hero is addicted to sex. When several sex murders quickly follow the murder of a prominent councilman's niece, LAPD robbery and homicide detective Hayden Glass, who himself goes to 12-step meetings for sex addicts, senses a connection. Enlisting the help of Kennedy Reynard, an ex-FBI profiler whose skill competes with her raw sexuality for the detective's attention, the pair realize that what links the murders is Glass himself. Despite a denouement that's a tad strained, Schwartz does a fine job of blurring the lines between sexuality and violence, the criminal world and the police world. (Sept.)
--Publisher's Weekly
"Schwartz is skillful in rendering charcoal-sketch views of the darker corners of Sunset Boulevard, and he dazzles the reader with intermittent flashes of a poetic sensibility. . . .a book full of merit, by an author loaded with talent" -- Tom Nolan, Los Angeles Times
What Authors are saying about BOULEVARD:
"Boulevard is raw, twisted, and so hard-boiled
it simmers from beginning to end."
--Robert Crais, NY Times Bestselling Author of the Elvis Cole novels
"Boulevard is terrific. Fast-paced and convincingly told.
The streets of L.A. have never been meaner or seamier.
Stephen Jay Schwartz's clear vision and knowing heart
make him a gifted writer to watch."
--T. Jefferson Parker, NY Times Bestselling Author of The Renegades
"BOULEVARD is relentless and unflinching,
a shocking thriller that dares you to keep reading.
Schwartz has created one of the most complex and tortured protagonists I've encountered in a long time. A powerful debut."
--Tess Gerritsen, NY Times Bestselling Author of The Keepsake
"Tightly written and wildly original, you'll be thinking about this story long after you close the covers. Sex-addict Detective Hayden Glass is an unforgettable anti-hero you'll love and hate at the same time.
Stephen Jay Schwartz is going to give Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch a run for his money. BOULEVARD is just plain excellent."
--J.T. Ellison, bestselling author of The Judas Kiss
"A lurid nightmare tour through dark streets and dark minds. Stephen Jay Schwartz writes with the fevered intensity of early James Ellroy."
--Marcus Sakey, Strand Critics Award-winning author of Good People
"BOULEVARD is one of the most riveting debuts I have ever read. Stephen Schwartz has written a story that will enthrall you, haunt you, disturb you, and keep you thinking long after you've finished reading it.
Once you begin this book you won't be able to look away."
--Brett Battles, bestselling author of The Cleaner
"Dark and gritty, Schwartz's dicey debut is seriously twisted."
--Robert Ellis, bestselling author of City of Fire
"Stephen Jay Schwartz is a brave and gifted author, and Boulevard is an
electrifying journey into sinful delights and escalating evil.
Morally sound, addictive as a speed-ball, and rich with insight into
human frailty-this novel kept me awake and disturbed my dreams in all
the right ways. Lock your doors and read it."
--Christopher Ransom, International bestselling author of The Birthing House
"Boulevard is a mesmerizing read; Schwartz has drawn a swift, brutal, and compelling portrait of a nightmare underworld of Los Angeles and a protagonist tormented by his own sexual addiction as well as by a real human evil. Boulevard is one of the most compelling books on addiction I've ever read, wrapped up in a gripping thriller."
- Alexandra Sokoloff, bestselling author of The Unseen
