BILLY RAGS and BOLDT Released Today

“The mistake most cons make is to try and fight the pictures in their minds, to black them out with sleep. But that never works. It’s better to approach the problem from the opposite direction, to make the pictures even brighter, bring them into sharper focus, move around in them, stage manage them, make them work for you as an al¬ternative reality, tire out your mind by trying to make the unreal real and giving the shadows form.”

— Ted Lewis, BILLY RAGS

While Boldt is admittedly not the cream of Ted Lewis' career, Billy Rags ranks among his best work. Based in part in part on the diaries of real-life armed robber-turned journalist John McVicar, Billy Rags is a eye-opening portrait of life in a British maximum security prions as well as a moving portrait of one man's struggle for and with freedom. Bronson eat your heart out. 

The literary quality of the book was such that its original publication in the US was by Harper's Magazine Press. 

And today marks the first time either of these books have been available in eBook.

100 Years of Margaret Millar

She was one of the most important mystery writers of her era and her novels, although now set decades in the past, contained a sharpness and psychological acuity that would be the envy of contemporary writers. Millar's prose was as meticulous as her plotting and as cutting as the murder weapons implemented in her stories. She was a Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster, a Los Angeles Times "Woman of the Year", and a fascinating study in feminism in action.

Today is the 100th birthday of Margaret Millar. Margaret's groundbreaking fiction and her memoir are all being published later this year by Syndicate. It's only right that a centennial year should mark the return of this stunning writer's work.

Come back by the site on Tuesday, February 10th for a full schedule of release. In the meantime you can check out our announcement of the project.

Happy Birthday, Ted

“But all that was past history. As dead as Frank. Nothing could be done about it now. But there were some things that I’d be able to put straight. Just for the sake of past history.”

— GET CARTER, Ted Lewis

Ted Lewis would have been 75 today and while the author himself is not here to celebrate his birthday, we are. So raise a glass, ladies and gents. I'm pretty sure Ted would.

To celebrate we're offering for today only: GET CARTER, the novel that put Lewis on the map, is a mere $7.99 in the Syndicate Bookstore.