A BETTER GOODBYE

An atmospheric debut crime novel set in an underbelly of LA. In much the same way as DRIVE, by James Sallis, it tracks a reluctant hero who returns to violence to protect a woman he cares for, and who might just love him back.

Nick Pafko knew he couldn’t be a professional boxer forever. But even he didn’t realize it would end so quickly, and so wrong. With a string of fearsome knockouts to his credit all that stood between him a shot at the real money was a routine fight against a journeyman stepping-stone named Alonzo Burgess. After the fight everyone told Nick it wasn’t his fault, the ref should have stopped it. But Nick knew it was his doing, his fists, and so he hung up his gloves in his prime. But no matter what Nick did, he still found Burgess staring at him everywhere he went in LA. So he just stopped going places. But out of work and out of money Nick has little choice but to call a number given him by a friend. Looking for a security guard of some kind. Jenny Yee didn’t mind massage work all that much. Asian girls were always in demand, the money was great, and the clients who could afford it were well put together, some even cute. She always refused to do extras even if the other girls didn't believe her, and there were worse ways to put yourself through UCLA . At least that’s how it seemed until the robbery. The girls working that day got hurt, bad, and so Jenny fled massage, resolving never to work again, relieved no one ever knew her real name. But when she found herself with significant and unexpected expenses she knew massage was the fastest way to make up the difference. So she returned one of the many calls she’d been ignoring. But before she'd agree to come back she asked, “Is there security?” And so Jenny and Nick find themselves working for Scott, a washed up TV star, in a nondescript month to month rental apartment suite in the Valley. As out of touch as he is arrogant, Scott believes his entitlements extend beyond just the money "his girls" earn him from massage. But his attitude is nothing compared to the palpable menace from Onus Dupree, the thug Scott calls a friend and who starts showing up with Scott when he collects his bank. It's not long before Jenny is the top earner at the new joint. And Nick notices there's something different about this girl than the others. The problem is, so does Dupree. Schulian was a nationally syndicated sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and Philadelphia Daily News and a regular contributor to GQ and Sports Illustrated before moving to Hollywood, where he was, among other things, the co-creator of Xena: Warrior Princess. He lives in Los Angeles.