THE DEVIL'S HATBAND North Atlantic Books/Frog, Ltd. Trade paperback: October 2004 ISBN 1-58394-119-3 Cheroot smoking African-American bail bondsman CJ Floyd is a man who plays the odds whether chasing down bond skippers, keeping a thumb on Denver's gang-banging vermin, or working on the occasional bounty hunting case that comes his way. Dressed in a Stetson, cowboy boots and a black leather gamblers vest, CJ, a Vietnam veteran help keeps his "home front" community of Five Points together and its denizens on the straight and narrow. When a couple of corporate "oreos" toting fashion-statement briefcases and sporting manicured nails appear in CJ's office one day asking him to locate the missing daughter of a federal judge, CJ reluctantly accepts the job, hoping the money he earns will help him meet his always shaky expenses for the month. It turns out that the missing black trophy debutant of a daughter has joined a group of eco-terrorists whose mission is no less than the destruction of the entire western cattle industry. Seems the missing woman, Brenda Mathison, has skipped out on a high paying, high tech job at Carson's technologies where her father was on the Board of Directors. Missing along with her are important proprietary bio tech documents that Carson Technologies wants back. When CJ leaves Denver for the snow-capped Rockies in search of the beautiful and charismatic Brenda, he doesn't expect to find her dead, but he does; strangled to death in the kitchen of her home in a remote Colorado mountain valley. With a new $5000 offer from the men who hired him in the first place to find Brenda's killer plus more if he locates the mysterious missing documents, CJ plunges headfirst into an investigation that could be his last. As CJ slides through the neon night in his pride-and-joy two-tone '57 Bel Air with John Lee Hooker tapes blasting, he develops a list of murder suspects who that includes several of her eco-terrorists compatriots, a powerful well connected cattle rancher, and even Brenda's dear-old-dad. Much of the fast-paced action in THE DEVIL'S HATBAND switches between the barren and unforgiving Colorado Rockies and "Five Points," the core of Denver's African-American community since the early 20th Century. With the back drop of the Rockies and Five Points serving as his stage, CJ negotiates his way between two desperate settings, the crystal clear Colorado High Country and his Denver home base where the smell of high cholesterol, high fat, mouth-wateringly delicious southern fried food always hangs in the air. As CJ fights with local Five Points gang members who are out to have his hide, he learns that the missing bio tech documents that Brenda Mathison has stolen hold the key to her death. In a land of big vistas and frigid blue sky, a battle between land owners and environmentalists has turned deadly, and the stakes are higher than anyone knows because an extraordinary scientific discovery has fallen into the wrong hands. In CJ Floyd, Robert Greer has created a truly remarkable hero and in THE DEVIL'S HATBAND he has written a novel that hypnotizes and fascinates from the first page to the last. Read an excerpt. Buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Indiebound, or an independent mystery bookstore. PRAISE "Original . . . his narrative is taut and the characters, the tough CJ Floyd and others, are intriguing. Leaves a reader hungry for more."     —Publishers Weekly "CJ Floyd is the archetypical lone-wolf, American private eye, smart, tough, principled and complex in the best Philip Marlowe tradition."     —Booklist "THE DEVIL'S HATBAND is woven together into a seamless whole by a skilled mystery writer who doesn't miss a trick. There is a barren and unforgiving aspect to the Rockies, an aspect that Greer deftly works in. Harsh things happen in CJ Floyds world but in the same unforgiving way he is more than up to the task of dealing with them."     —Mystery News "Perhaps the greatest gift a writer can give to readers is a truly original character. Robert Greer's debut mystery THE DEVIL'S HATBAND and it's protagonist, CJ Floyd, breaks the mold."     —The Denver Post "Greer keeps the complex and thoroughly enjoyable plot moving right along as we travel from Denver's inner city Five Points to the Rocky Mountain high country to the University of Colorado Medical Center and a 2400-square foot research laboratory in this wonderfully rendered story."     —The Bloomsbury Review "Greer's highly complex story (THE DEVIL'S HATBAND) flows with the rapid ease of a downhill run on fresh powder."     —The San Antonio Express News "With his '57 Chevy and John Lee Hooker tapes, CJ Floyd has plenty of cool."     —Mostly Murder "Greer joins Walter Mosley in opening the mystery genre to the black experience."     —The Rocky Mountain News (summer reading recommendation) "THE DEVIL'S HATBAND is an auspicious debut for Colorado writer Robert Greer and his bail bondsman investigator CJ Floyd's with its engaging characters and enough originality to keep the most jaded reader glued to the page."     —Publisher's Choice - Vancouver, B.C. "This amazingly fresh novel plays out against the backdrop of a Hollywood western movie where the hero is an African-American bail bondsman and bounty hunter, his beloved mount, a two-tone '57 Chevy Belair, the victim, a gently raised radical young woman and the villains overwrought environmentalists, inner city punks, and a humorous subplot, precious preservationists. Exotic hide cowboy boots, Vietnam era ghosts, antique license plate collecting and a Louisiana style Denver soul food restaurant give texture; Greer clearly aims to ride off into an infinite series."     —Bostonia "Comparisons with Walter Mosley will surely follow Greer on his road to literary success. But look to the cultural texture and tremendously affably characters for Greer's distinctive style. Examine also the professional background knowledge laced throughout the writing and it's easy to understand the difference."     —Columbus Dispatch "This first mystery has strong and interesting characters. There is excellent use of the rugged landscape of Colorado, a bountiful amount of information on cattle, viruses, bail bond practices and bounty hunting; and an even mixture of action, suspense and character interaction. But it is, naturally, CJ himself who draws you along through the book involving you in his life and keeping you turning those pages."     —I Love a Mystery