You can find links to sample chapters in some of the book pages on this site and more are being added over time. Indicating which books have sample chapters in the bibliography is on my list of things to do, possibly this weekend. Until then, it’s pot luck.
Below, the first few paragraphs of The Mercenaries, the first book published under Don’s own name, recently republished by Hard Case Crime as The Cutie (Don’s original choice for title).
One
Ella and I went to bed at two-thirty. We turned off the light, reached for each other, and the doorbell rang.
I swore, and Ella’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “Maybe they’ll go away,” she whispered.
The answer was another nervous jabbing at the bell. Whoever was outside was in a hurry. I sat up, switched on the table lamp beside the bed, and Ella and I squinted at one another. She was a good-looking woman, a damn good-looking woman. Black hair falling soft to her shoulders, lips full and red and bruised-looking, eyes half-closed and waiting. She was sitting up, leaning toward me, and the sheet had fallen away from her breasts. I didn’t want to leave her, not now, not for anything. I didn’t care who it was out there, Ed Ganolese or anybody.
The bell jangled again, and Ella smiled at me, to let me know she knew what I was thinking, and that she had the same thoughts. “Hurry back,” she whispered.
Read the rest here.