Novels
- Bag Men (1997)
- Big If (2002)
Non fiction
- Signifying Rappers (1990)
Novels Book Covers
Non fiction Book Covers
Mark Costello Books Overview
Bag Men
It is New Year’s Day, 1965, and the body of Father George Sedgewick is discovered on a snow covered runway of Logan Airport. Gone missing are four thousand communion hosts consecrated by Pope Paul VI, meant to be given out to the faithful at the first English language mass in America later that year. Ray Dunn, a rising young assistant district attorney and the son of a corrupt cop, is assigned to the case. In another part of the city, legendary narcotics detective Manny Manning begins a desperate search for the shadowy source of deadly new hero*in hitting the streets. This time Manny is determined to reach the top, but his adversary is cunning, brutal and branching out into a strange drug called ‘acid.’ These quests for a killer and a dealer will intersect, unleashing the ghosts of the past and unlocking the secrets of Boston’s most powerful institutions. Authentic, knowing, and bracingly cynical, Bag Men is a powerful thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Big If
The Secret Service agents guarding the vice president steel their nerves to a multitude of dangers every day. When he runs for the top spot on the Democratic ticket, however, their personal lives may just be the biggest obstacle to keeping him safe. Wry, muscular Vi Asplund is the daughter of an atheist insurance adjuster who took the young Vi and her brother, Jens, to the grisly accident scenes he covered. This tolerance for the macabre follows Vi into her career as an agent, and into Jens’s development as the software designer for a gorey video game. Chief of detail Gretchen Williams fights to keep the team in order, while Agent Tashmo, a veteran presidential guard, reflects on the glory days of the Reagan administration. As the primary approaches, these intense men and women balance their own lives with that of the vice president. An astounding novel of survival and absurdity, Big If casts a sharp eye on America today.
Signifying Rappers
The author of Infinite Jest and his co writer discuss rap and popular culture, power, money, racial politics, and language in the first book to seriously consider rap and its position as a vital force in American culture. ‘Brilliantly written…
with great wit, insight, and in your face energy.’ Review of Contemporary Fiction.
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