McKenna’s Guy
- Author Mike Lawson
- Narrator Donald Corren
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date 8 September 2026
- Run Time 7 hours and 44 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Crime and mystery fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction.
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What to expect
From Edgar, Barry, and Shamus Award finalist Mike Lawson comes McKenna’s Guy, a fast-paced thriller full of secrets, lies, and betrayal.
When an intruder with murderous intent breaks into Roger Smith’s modest home one night, the big brute gets more than he bargained for, ending up a bloody corpse staining Roger’s carpet.
Washington, DC, Detective Grace Lillinthal is summoned to the crime scene and marvels at the outcome. Why would anyone want to kill gray-haired Roger Smith? He’s the picture of respectability—a widower devoted to his family, an amateur painter, and a civil servant who works at the Government Publishing Office. When asked why he’d be a target, a clearly shaken Roger claims to be baffled.
But instinct tells Grace there’s more to Roger’s story, and when she learns that Roger—after killing his home invader and before calling the police—phoned John McKenna, she knows she’s onto something. John McKenna is a disreputable character of the first order. He’s the gregarious, larger-than-life owner of a local bar that’s a notorious den of thieves.
After one hired assassin fails, another’s bound to show up. The clock is ticking for Roger and McKenna to find out who wants Roger dead and why—and suspects abound. Stubborn Grace is as determined to dig up Roger’s secrets as he is to keep them hidden, and soon the investigation becomes a relentless game of cat and mouse. Even if Roger doesn’t consider himself a criminal, as chaos takes hold of his world, survival requires that he think like one.
Critics Review
“Lawson’s stand-alone strips plot, characters, and prose down to exceptional efficiency, producing maximum thrills without a wasted word. The perfect in-flight read, starring a surprisingly resourceful antihero.”
“A great novel from a great author!…Equal parts funny, clever, and cool…[Lawson] will make your heart race and your mind ponder.”
“Lawson writes with grit, humor, and precision.”
“If you haven’t read Mike Lawson, start right now.”
“The author’s felicitous style will keep readers smiling throughout. Lawson remains at the top of his game.”
“Mike Lawson shows every understanding of the skill required of a thriller writer to keep a reader fully engaged and utterly thrilled.”
“The devil is in the details, and Lawson’s details are unfailingly devilish, right down to the last twist.”
“Lawson [is] a reliably excellent writer…As always, [his] plotting is ingenious and his characters memorable.”
“Lawson’s consistent excellence needs to be more universally acknowledged.”
“I was absolutely delighted to discover Mike Lawson.”
“Brisk, clever…The pace never flags, and many of Lawson’s characters and set pieces evoke the best of Donald Westlake. It’s a highly enjoyable thriller.”
“A wickly, twisty thriller…McKenna’s Guy is simply a delight. It’d make a great limited series on Netflix, it’s that fun. Laced with a dark humor, a plot that caroms in unexpected directions like the silver sphere in a pinball game. You think you know where it’s going until it shifts somewhere unexpected, someplace that alters the path of the plot to your surprise and delight.”
| Author | Mike Lawson |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Donald Corren |
| Duration | 7 hours and 44 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9798228358393 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Blackstone Publishing |
| Genre | Crime and mystery fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction |
| Availability | US |
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