Deadbeat

A Novel

By: Adam Hamdy

Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey

A “standout work of smart, tough crime fiction” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) about a desperate single father as he searches for the anonymous employer who hired him as a hitman.

Peyton Collard was a good man once, but his life changed after a horrific car accident. Divorced, drunk, and severely damaged, Peyton is offered a life-changing sum of money to kill an evil man. But as he goes on a vigilante journey that leaves a trail of bodies across California, Peyton wonders about the identity of his anonymous patron. Soon, his questions become an obsession, and he embarks on a tense investigation to discover the truth about the murders he’s committed in this “superb, white-knuckle thriller” (Booklist).

Critic reviews

"Narrator Chris Henry Coffey affects a gravelly rumble as Peyton, a deadbeat dad, is presented with an unimaginable opportunity that will make all his legal and financial problems go away. All he has to do is kill a guy. As Hamdy explores Peyton’s unease at the prospect of becoming an assassin, Coffey’s dour tone and precise pacing give Peyton’s deadly mission emotional weight. Coffey gives his voice hints of guilt as Payton accepts the job, providing his ex-wife and daughter a financial cushion. As a game of cat-and-mouse ensues, Hamdy creates a noir character with a brain and heart—which isn’t so easy to do in the hard-boiled genre."