THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE North Atlantic Books/Frog, Ltd. Trade paperback: September 2006 ISBN 1-5839-4163-0 There were only two things that terrified retired rodeo star and all-around gadfly Hambone Dolbey. One of them was water. So when Hambone's lifeless body was found floating in a wet suit, those who knew him best knew for sure that the cowboy had been murdered. Two of them, a deaf-mute old rodeo clown and a former bull rider, ask CJ Floyd to find the killer. CJ has just chased down a rail-thin bail-jumper named Bobby Two-Shirts, earning himself a $3,000 finder's fee, a vicious bite, and a new enemy: Bobby's beautiful, long-legged sister. Driving bare-breasted through the desert heat, she is in hot pursuit of the man who put her brother away. Now CJ has to watch his back and his front. He discovers Hambone Dolbey's colorful career included a kinky, forbidden, and potentially dangerous affair, and unearths a trail of deals and greed pointing to the mountainous landmass known as the Devil's Backbone. But while CJ hunts a murderer who has already struck twice, Bobby Two-Shirts's sister is laying a trap... This is a novel rich in detail, from a parking lot father-and-son New Age black Houdini act to Denver's colorful Bail Bondsman's Row, where the porches of old Victorian houses sport garish neon signs. And with CJ Floyd, a man of courage, integrity, and just a little too much old-fashioned stubborness for his own good at its center, The Devil's Backbone is a classy, classic American mystery novel, set in the new American frontier. Read an excerpt. Buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Indiebound, or an independent mystery bookstore. PRAISE "Greer relaxes into a lean, loose style that fits his western mysteries like a beat-up pair of lizard-skin boots."     —New York Times Book Review "Greer treats the racial issues with great skill, never turning preachy, letting CJ, the rest of the clearly etched cast and a well-wrought story lead the way."     —Publishers Weekly "Greer has a great sense of place and a knack for fixing his colorful characters in your mind, offering an unusual background of Colorado diamond mining, the rodeo, and black life in Denver."     —Detroit News and Free Press "One of the crime genre's emerging stars. The Floyd series boasts an appealing African-American hero who combines toughness with charm, a wonderfully realized western setting; and perhaps best of all, a fascinating look at a particular way of life in each adventure."     —Booklist "Greer has a feel for the voices of the cowboy West, and he conveys the manners and mannerisms of the rodeo circuit with conciseness and charm. Read it for its western charm and Denver savvy."     —Rocky Mountain News