Face Of Evil (Dead Man #1) [Kindle Edition]

Lee Goldberg (Author), William Rabkin (Author)

Book Description

Matt Cahill is a widower leading a quiet, solitary life--cutting wood at a lumber mill in the Pacific Northwest, watching out for his trouble-prone friend Andy, and making his first, tentative attempt at a new romance with his co-woker Rachel. But a getaway to a ski resort goes tragically wrong and he is killed in an avalanche. That should be the end of his story, but for Matt, it's only the beginning. And now finds himself taking the first step in a horrifying odyssey across a dark world that exists within our own, where he must confront a violent, supernatural entity that spreads evil among us like a plague.

Editorial Reviews

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Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin on The Dead Man series

Lee Goldberg

William Rabkin

We grew up loving those "men's action adventure" paperback novels of the 60s, 70s, and 80s...series like The Destroyer, The Ninja Master, Nick Carter, and The Death Merchant. You could find them in finer supermarkets, gas stations, 7-11s and bookstores everywhere. They were the male equivalent of Harlequin romances,though the only romance was often between a man and his AK-47.

The books were short and tightly-written, with hard-boiled heroes, outrageously sexy women, and gleefully over-the-top plots. Nobody would ever mistake them for great literature, but they were enormous fun to read...and to write (we know, because Lee broke into publishing in the mid-1980s writing one of those series—.357 Vigilante aka The Jury Series under the pen name "Ian Ludlow"--while he was still in college).

Sadly, the "men's action adventure" series novels are virtually extinct now, early victims of the narrowing of the paperback marketplace.

But the Kindle offers the perfect medium for the revival of the genre, which is why we've teamed up with over a dozen other writers on The Dead Man, an original series that we hope recaptures the spirit and pure escapism of the thousands of books written during the heyday of "men’s action adventure."

The series is about Matthew Cahill, an ordinary man leading a simple life...until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that nobody else does, making each day a journey...and an adventure.

New books in The Dead Man series will appear every month or so, just like they used to in paperback in the old days. Our other experienced Dead Man authors come from a wide cross-section of genres – mystery, westerns, horror, science fiction, thrillers, and cozies. And some of them also lead double-lives as Emmy award winning writer/producers of hit network TV series.

The Dead Man gives us the thrilling opportunity to indulge our great affection for the genre and hopefully get you hooked on it, too.  -- Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin

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The story races by at a brisk rate of knots, each twist and turn, and shift in time providing another revelation [...] I was enjoying it so much, I didn't want it to end. --Permission to Kill Blog

The Dead Man: Face of Evil is a tight, well written, supernatural thriller [that] satisfies all on it's own, while being a terrific opener that promises an epic tale to come. I'm excited for the next book. --Man Eating Bookworm Blog

The Dead Man Face of Evil reminds me of Stephen King and Dean Koontz.[...]a fascinating horror story that leaves you wanting more, more, more! --Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine

"I'm hopeful they continue with this character since it's set up so well. I've not seen a writing tandem like this since the glory days of Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy" --Bookgasm

"Buckle up! The Dead Man: Face of Evil starts at full-speed and never lets up. This is big-ticket horror with characters you care about who are driven to the very edge. Highly recommended!" -New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry, author of Dead of Night

"....new series that perfectly recaptures the golden days of paperback fiction; The Dead Man series created by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin." ScarryMotherF....com

"I finished The Dead Man: Face of Evil last night and really enjoyed it. And admired it as a piece of work. The structure is ingenious, the large cast of characters (third person omniscient works here) are variously strong, weak, weird, funny, sad, scary and unique and the storytelling is sleek and relentless. I recommend it big time." Warren Murphy author of The Destroyer Series

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About the Author

Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award nominee and the author of over thirty novels and non-fiction books, including The Walk, Watch Me Die, My Gun Has Bullets, and Unsold Television Pilots (which was adapted into hit TV specials for ABC and CBS) as well as the long-running Diagnosis Murder and Monk series of original mystery novels. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing and production of episodic television series.

William Rabkin is a two-time Edgar Award nominee who writes the Psych series of novels and is the author of Writing the Pilot. He has consulted for studios in Canada, Germany, and Spain on television series production and teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension and as an adjunct professor in UC Riverside’s low-residency masters program.

Together, Goldberg & Rabkin are the authors of Successful Television Writing and have written and/or produced scores of highly successful network television series, including Diagnosis Murder, Spenser: For Hire, Baywatch, SeaQuest, Hunter, Nero Wolfe, Martial Law, Missing, Monk and The Glades.

Product Details

• File Size: 227 KB
• Print Length: 104 pages
• Publisher: 47North (October 24, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005SZZYDA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,611 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #66 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Dark Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dead Man - Come on, Where's Next Week's Episode Already? March 17, 2011

By moshe25

Format:Kindle Edition

Review of "The Dead Man: Face of Evil" by Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin

Ok, here's another review of another Lee Goldberg book. I promise I'm really not related to him. It's just that coincidentally, I started reading his books around the same time that I started writing (and reviewing) and I just happen to love them.

The Dead Man is a series that Goldberg and Rabkin had intended to be a TV series about 20 years ago. Face of Evil, the first book, does indeed read like a TV pilot, and like many TV pilots, leaves you both satisfied and dissatisfied.

Let me explain. First of all, I couldn't put it down. It reads well, and the main character is attractive. Matthew Cahill is what in Australia we'd call a good bloke. He's strong, handsome, lots of integrity, helps those less fortunate, and basically what you see is what you get. And the problem he initially has to solve is one that we can readily identify with. Not that any of us have ever really had that problem. It's just that you can get that if you did have it, you'd probably feel exactly the way Matt does. So you're totally engaged in trying to solve that problem with him.

Secondly, there are cheeky little hints along the way that something a little unusual is happening here. It's tricky, because even at the end, we're still not completely clear that it wasn't all just in Matt's imagination. But you do know that there's more here than meets the eye.

On the other side - it's short!! Just 78 pages. And at the end, I was left like I often am at the end of a favorite TV show: "Aw gee, do I really have to wait another week for the next installment??!" But you know, that's not so bad. I really have something to look forward to.

The way they've conceived this project is that they have set up a bunch of good mystery writers to do the rest of the series, and they'll all get appropriate credit for their particular story. I think it's a great approach, and I'm interested to see how the characters are developed by the different authors.

Do yourselves a favour, and get The Dead Man: Face of Evil. You'll read it quickly, you'll probably love it, and you'll be left waiting for "next week's episode".

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I want more! March 22, 2011

By CS

Format:Kindle Edition

The Dead Man: Face of Evil by Lee Goldberg (one of my favorite authors) and William Rabkin presents the reader with a tantalizing mixture of mystery and macabre. Matthew Cahill is a proud woodsman who is the unfortunate victim of an avalanche. For three months, his body remains buried under thick mountains of ice.

He's obviously dead. Right?

Not exactly.

But things have changed for Matthew...

And...well, you'll just have to read the story to find out!

A tale, no matter how unrealistic or outlandish, works if the characters are ones you can care about. The authors have given enough depth to Cahill and his various relationships that you'll find yourself rooting for the main character and "turning the page" to find out what's around the next corner.

Is The Dead Man too short? Of course. But in a way, all good stories are. I certainly can't wait to read more.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Whaaaaa! March 8, 2011

By alchemyofscrawl

Format:Kindle Edition

I really liked this, but am going to make a short review because it is too short! I liked the characters, the plot, the descriptions (they're very hip) and then poof! It's like an installment... I hear there is a next one and am waiting... impatiently! :) All right guys, don't make me go Misery on you! o.~