“This book is a blast! Wry, mysterious and, most of all, telling in the ways of desire and deception, Shortcut Man is one hell of a debut. p.g. sturges has proved himself a worthy successor to Chandler.”

--Michael Connelly

Sturges’ SHORCUT MAN sold for translation into French (Calmann-Levy) and Italian (Edizioni BD), and the follow up TRIBULATIONS OF THE SHORT CUT MAN sold also to Calmann-Levy.

This is another rousing tale of sex, sleaze, and salvation in the City of Angels, featuring Dick Henry, the Shortcut Man.

In Angel's Gate our hero Dick Henry is drawn into a case involving an aging but still amorous Los Angeles movie mogul named Howard Hogue who keeps a stable of twenty-plus young starlets available for his highly ritualized attentions. Henry is retained by the sister of a young woman who has gone missing and soon Henry is becoming friendly with Connie Cielo, the “housemother” to the starlets. Despite Connie’s morally questionable responsibilities, she is willing to help (and enjoy the company of) The Shortcut Man. After Hogue’s star director batters one of these women in a drug-fueled romp, Henry is drawn into a deeper mystery from years past involving a mysterious death on a boat and a missing screenplay written by what appears to be a homeless man. As he peels back layer upon layer of sordid Hollywood history, Dick Henry must content with crazed drug dealers, Hague’s personal doctor, crooked cops, private security henchmen, and Hague himself, who is so powerful and bunkered in his movie-biz millions that he is not intimidated by the resourceful Henry. Is there a final showdown? Yes. Is there a climactic scene? Yes! Is there a sneaky last plot twist? Of course! Will the Shortcut man succeed to live another day? How could he not?

Key Selling Points:

* Widespread praise for first and second book: From the great pre-pub blurb from Michael Connelly to the rave reviews from the Washington Post (“an assured and diverting performance”) and the Associated Press, who called it a “glorious read,” all the attention for Shortcut Man has been outstanding.

* Extensive LA Times profile: David Ulin, book critic and former editor of the LA Times book section has profiled Preston in a lengthy piece that touches on Preston’s interesting back story in Hollywood.

* Award nominee: The Shortcut Man has been nominated for a 2012 Shamus Awards from the Private Eye Writers of America for best first P1 novel.

* There ain’t no noir like LA noir: Publishers Weekly was already craving the second book by the time they finished reviewing the first one. And Sturges doesn’t disappoint in his third outing. Several of the side characters of the second book reappear, and Dick Henry is once again doing battle against sleazy con-men, using back-channel and semi-legal means.

p.g.sturges was born in Hollywood, California. Punctuated by fitful intervals of school, he has subsequently occupied himself as a submarine sailor, a Christmas tree farmer, a dimension and optical metrologist, a writer, and a musician.

Praise for “Shortcut Man”:

“Shortcut Man is a glorious read: powerful, clever, suspenseful and filled with enough dark humor and shady characters to satisfy the most rabid noir fan, and convert those who aren’t already.”

--Associated Press

“This is an assured and diverting performance, with an ending that should impress even the most seasoned fan of hardboiled detective stories. You thought every twist ending in the noir bag had been taken out and used up, p.g. sturges seems to be saying as the book rushes toward its final page. Well, get a load of this.”

-- Washington Post

“I was hooked on his quirky characters and original plot turns. By the spectacularly unexpected conclusion, I was floored. Now I can hardly wait for the second installment. . . Mr. Sturges’ writing is flip and hip, influenced by a line of predecessors from Raymond Chandler to Elmore Leonard, but the unconventional writer adds a sassy cynicism of his own.”

--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A rollicking new LA crime novel. . . . A well-paced and suspenseful damn good read, full of deft observations, honest sentiment, and screwball touches that would make his father proud.”

--Los Angeles Review of Books

“An evocative Raymond Chandler spin through crime-haunted Los Angeles . . . The writing is a pleasure to read. More Southern California shortcutting, please, Mr. Sturges.”

--Publishers Weekly

“This book is a blast! Wry, mysterious and, most of all, telling in the ways of desire and deception, Shortcut Man is one hell of a debut. p.g. sturges has proved himself a worthy successor to Chandler.”

--Michael Connelly

“p.g. sturges is, simply put, one of the cleverest and funniest new writers to grace the mystery genre in quite some time.”

--Bookpage.com

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