Blood in the Water Available October 2020
Walker Holmes’ world has fallen apart yet again—his girlfriend has left him, an expose on human trafficking has led to his source being brutally murdered, and his nemesis, Sheriff Ron Frost, appears to be unstoppable in his pursuit of a third term.
The alt-weekly newspaper publisher’s life becomes even more chaotic when a flood shuts down Pensacola, leaving Holmes’s entire staff stranded in his apartment. Before the town can cope with the destruction, the county jail explodes.
Somehow Holmes must get his act together—stop his binge drinking, win back the support of his staff and friends, stave off a hostile takeover of his newspaper and figure out what and who caused the deadly blast. But his investigation is unearthing dangerous connections to the Dixie Mafia, the Ku Klux Klan and decades of backroom deals that have fattened the bank accounts of a few powerful families.
Before he is done, plenty of blood will be in the water. Holmes hopes none of it is his.
The manuscript for the sequel to City of Grudges – Blood in the Water – received an honorable mention in the 2019 Reader’s Favorite International Book Award, Thriller-Political category.
“These were perhaps some of the best dialogues I have ever read; they were well constructed, crisp and very entertaining. There isn’t any aspect of the novel that I did not enjoy. Simply amazing!”
—Rabia Tanveer, Five Stars
TEDxPensacola Talk: ‘Seek Truth Not Likes’
Words and truth still matter. Southern newspaper publishers are a rare breed that give readers not only what they may want to read but also information they need to know. Delivering that information in their small towns often comes with financial and personal risks.
Praise for City of Grudges
“City of Grudges captures my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, much the same way Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil immortalized Savannah.” —JOE SCARBOROUGH, Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, former congressman (R-FL)
“Outzen’s twenty-year experience as a newspaper journalist has shaped him into an innovative and skilled storyteller. His first novel captures the voice of the Deep South in a way that would make Flannery O’Connor proud.” —MIKE PAPANTONIO, Bestselling author of Law and Disorder and Law and Vengeance
“With City of Grudges, Rick Outzen directs the Florida glare onto his adopted city of Pensacola as brilliantly as Carl Hiaasen has done for so many years for South Florida. Corruption, dead bodies, and smooth, wise-cracking dialogue pile up as quickly as cars in a I-10 fender-bender. ” —W. HODDING CARTER, Author of Stolen Water: Saving the Everglades from Its Friends, Foes, and Florida.
Buy on Amazon.