In 1893, Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his brother Gustav, “Old Red” find themselves in a situation that they never expected. They have a bit of money and time to do something other than scramble. It’s enough to confound even that most unconfoundable of men, their mutual inspiration, Sherlock Holmes. So Old Red decides that it’s time for the for the two of them to head off to the Texas hill country, to San Marcos, and deal with the greatest tragedy of Old Red’s life. Five years ago, when Old Red was a cowpoke in San Marcos, he had a sweetheart—a fallen woman at the local house of ill repute. They had made plans but before they made their big move, his fiancée was murdered and the case swept under the rug by the local authorities. Now, Old Red is determined to find out what really happened and to finally find a measure of justice for his beloved. But Big Red and Old Red find themselves facing a wall of silence and in some of the worst situations of their lives: ensnared in a riot at the local cathouse, on the wrong end of a lynching party and perhaps worst of all—having to do the one thing you never want to do in the state of Texas: steal horses.
As you might have guessed by now, I'm a writer. Most authors are, in fact (with the possible exception of Snooki). As a writer, it is my obligation to spend large portions of my day sitting in front of a computer in ketchup-stained sweatpants while swilling enough coffee each hour to drown a chihuahua. This I cheerfully do. Occasionally, I even write something. Via this time-tested method of sitting, drinking coffee and writing, I have managed to produce several novels. Some people think they're pretty good. I will now fill the rest of my allotted space with quotes from positive reviews. Sorry. To make it more fun for everyone, I've slipped one fake review in with the real ones. See if you can spot it!
"Grade: A-...hilarious...delightfully offbeat...." --Entertainment Weekly on Holmes on the Range
"Other books and TV series have featured genre-melding cowboys armed with ratiocination as well as revolvers, but Hockensmith's take is quite special. There's his combination of intriguing mystery, breathless action, colorful characters and enough laugh-out-loud moments for the book to fit in the humorous crime category." --The Los Angeles Times on The Black Dove
"Hockensmith takes a concept that could have been terrible -- the backstory of the Bennet girls learning to fight the undead, setting the stage for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- and turns it into a gory and gross, wonderful and clever tale...a true delight, really." --Romantic Times on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
"Hulk hate silly things puny humans call 'books.' Hulk smash The Da Vinci Code! Hulk smash puny Harry Potter! But Hockensmith books pretty good. Hulk no smash. Hulk want more sequels." --The Incredible Hulk on The Crack in the Lens
To learn more about me, go to http://www.stevehockensmith.com. To learn more about the Incredible Hulk and his taste in literature, go to http://www.marvel.com.
