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The Spread

Penns River Book 8

Now available!

School is back in session in Penns River, which means it’s football season in Western Pennsylvania. The Penns River team is loaded after a few substandard campaigns and the town is so revved up a new gambling ring opens to allow PR supporters to put their money where their hearts are.

The “entrepreneur” responsible has no idea how to set point spreads and nowhere to look for help; it’s not like Vegas handles small town high school football games. The vast majority of money put down is on the locals-who bets against their own kid, or the one next door?-and the team covers all the spreads; the cash paid to winners far exceeds what the operation takes in. Only organized crime offers loans to cover the shortfall, which opens the door to a whole new world of problems, including murder.

Praise for Penns River books

“If Joseph Wambaugh and Ed McBain adopted a child and raised him in the 87th Precinct, that kid would grow up to be Dana King. The Spread is a joy for people who love to watch police work and hear cops talk.”
—Tim O’Mara, author of the Raymond Donne series and creator of “Murder in Halifax”

“Talented author Dana King reminds us again that in those small towns and cities, sneeringly called ‘flyover country,’ the problems and challenges of the outside world often come to play a deadly visit… A gritty crime novel that deserves wide attention.”
—Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

“It’s been a long time since I read a book that pulled me along as urgently… King writes about his cops and their town with the kind of real affection that has you not just wanting, but needing, to know what happens to them next–and there’s plenty happening in this fast moving, deftly written thriller. Highly recommended.”
—J.D. Rhoades, bestselling author of the Jack Keller series and the Cade and Clayborne historical thrillers

“Dana King’s Leaving the Scene delivers the goods—a procedural packed with smart dialogue, sharp plotting, and a vivid humanity that brings to mind the best of McBain, Wambaugh, and Connelly.”
—James D. F. Hannah, Shamus Award-winning author of the Henry Malone series

“I finished reading this book on a gurney in an Emergency Room with crying kids, a car accident victim and a loud drunk keeping me company, and barely noticed them. If that’s not a recommendation, I don’t know what is!”
—New Mystery Reader

“What impressed me more than anything is that I consciously looked for weak places—places I could set it down easily and go and do something else.”
—Les Edgerton on Writing

“Ten-Seven is a prime example of the kind of small-town procedural that tells you as much about the town and its denizens as it does the crime at hand. The kind of solid plotting and characterizations I love in another favorite Pennsylvania crime writer, the great KC Constantine.”
—Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest and The Walkaway

“Dana King’s latest novel Ten-Seven returns his readers to Penns River in a propulsive mystery thriller that showcases his ear for dialogue, penchant for wry humor, and mastery of the police procedural, all while his finger is firmly on the pulse of America’s Rust Belt. Ten-Seven is the perfect novel for fans of Elmore Leonard and Tana French and will leave his readers hungrily awaiting the next installment.”
—Eryk Pruitt, Anthony-award nominated author of What We Reckon

“Consistently one of the best in the business. As good as any I’ve ever read. Dana King, to quote Don Kirkendall, of Men Reading Books, is “top shelf entertainment.” Ten-Seven keeps that ball rolling.”
—Charlie Stella, the Godfather of mob fiction