Sign-In
Cart
Canary in the Coal Mine
Paperback
Publisher: Regalo Press
Published: Feb 20 2026
Pages: 280
Weight: 0.70
Height: 0.63 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.25
Language: English
If a couple of Albanian gangsters show up outside your door to kidnap you, what do you do?
Charles Salzberg's Canary in the Coal Mine is everything a reader wants in a great crime novel, and then some. The rat-a-tat cadence of the noir masters, seamlessly blended with the contemporary sensibilities of an author thoroughly in control of his craft. I liked this book so much I read it twice. No kidding. It's that good. -Baron R. Birtcher, multi-award winning and Los Angeles Times bestselling author
Meet P.I. Pete Fortunato who spent a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town. Living paycheck to paycheck, he works out of a friend's downtown real estate office. So, when a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn't hesitate to say yes.
Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband dead in the apartment of his client's young, stud lover. Fortunato thinks the case is closed until his client's check bounces and he is kidnapped by a couple of Albanian gangsters, hoping he'll lead them to a large sum of money the dead husband stole. Fortunato soon realizes he may have been set up to take the fall for the murder and theft of money.
What to do? Fortunato embarks on a wild ride that takes him to Texas-searching for the client's lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder that's been blamed on him.
If you like Elmore Leonard, Michael Mann, and Phillip Marlowe, then you'll love Charles Salzberg's Canary in the Coal Mine.
Salzberg has hit it out of the park. Love the writing style, and the story really draws you in. As with Salzberg's prior works, he has a knack for making his heroes real, which makes their jeopardy real, too. So, say hello to Pete Fortunato, a modern PI who thinks on his feet and has moves that read like the noir version of Midnight Run. -Tom Straw, author of the Richard Castle series (from the ABC show) and Buzz Killer
When a murder and a major theft have been pinned on you, how would you get out of that jam?
Read Canary in the Coal Mine today to find out!
Also from
Salzberg, Charles
Catch Them Being Good: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Coach Girls
Salzberg, Charles
Dicicco, Tony
Hacker, Colleen
Paperback
On a Clear Day They Could See Seventh Place: Baseball's Worst Teams
Salzberg, Charles
Robinson, George
Paperback
Also in
Mystery & Thriller
Coffin Road: An Utterly Gripping Crime Thriller from the Author of the China Thrillers
May, Peter
Paperback
Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Movie Tie-In Edition): Book 1 of the Millennium Trilogy
Larsson, Stieg
Paperback
The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Concludes
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
Big Little Truths: Reese's Book Club: A Novel: The Sequel to Big Little Lies
Moriarty, Liane
Hardcover
The Pirate Queen: A Novel from the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Frozen River
Lawhon, Ariel
Hardcover
The Altar of Pergamon: The Mystery of the Dark Angel and the Future of the World
Cahn, Jonathan
Hardcover