5 Books Published by Poisoned Pen Press on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

“Eriq La Salle has emerged as a terrific writer with unique gifts.” —Don Winslow, #1 international bestselling author

A war is brewing in New York City, and no one can stop it.

With grit, relentless action, and twists you’ll never see coming, Laws of Annihilation is the third installment in the highly-acclaimed Martyr Maker series by Eriq La Salle.

It’s another blistering summer in New York City, and a sweltering heat wave stifles the area. Hostility between the Hasidic and Black communities has been steadily increasing since a tragic incident left a Black teenager dead. When two rabbis are killed in a gruesome attack on their synagogue, it has all the signs of retaliation.

The entire city is on edge.

Through it all, Agent Janet Maclin’s dreams of becoming the FBI’s first female director come crashing down when she receives some devastating news. In spite of it all, she’s determined to help NYPD detectives Quincy Cavanaugh and Phee Freeman find the rabbis’ killer as more hate crimes put the city on the brink of all-out war. As the body count climbs with the temperature and the tensions, time is running out for Maclin in more ways than one.

Apart from his critically-acclaimed thriller titles, La Salle is a masterful mystery/crime storyteller. He may be best known for his acting roles in productions such as ER, Coming to America, and Logan, but his background in crime fiction was finely honed as he directed and executive produced countless episodes of popular shows such as Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime, CSI: NY, and Chicago PD with Dick Wolf.

Praise for Eriq La Salle’s Martyr Maker Series

“Laws of Wrath is all thriller; no filler—a white knuckled treat.” —James Patterson, New York Times bestselling author

“Laws of Depravity is a gritty crime thriller, spiritual quest, and love story all woven into one compelling tale.” —Publishers Weekly

“Fast paced…Characters are richly textured [and] none is without faults.” —Kirkus Reviews, for Laws of Wrath

“All thriller; no filler—a white-knuckled treat” —James Patterson

There are those who fight the devil within them. And those who worship it.

The butchered body of a cross-dresser is found in a dumpster in Chinatown, New York. Nothing out of the ordinary for the NYPD, except the victim just so happens to be the brother of Detective Phee Freeman. At first the slaying looks like the random act of a vicious killer, but when it is discovered that there are similar ritualistic murders throughout the city, Phee and his partner Quincy Cavanaugh, along with FBI Agent Janet Maclin, have no choice but to join forces with Dr. Daria Zibik, a brilliant but deranged Satanic cult leader. Phee and his partners must do everything they can to stop the bloodshed and determine if the evil they are hunting and the psychopath they are trusting could actually be one and the same.

Actor, director, producer and award-winning author Eriq La Salle does it again in the second novel of his gritty, tension-packed Martyr Maker series, which will have readers reflecting on the struggle of good versus evil and why it’s not always so easy to do the right thing.

“The surprises keep coming in La Salle’s twisting debut thriller, in which good and evil aren’t always black and white.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

From actor, director, producer, and author Eriq La Salle, comes the first in a heart-pounding crime thriller series. Every ten years, for the past 30 years, a dozen clergymen are killed, brutally murdered in twisted scenes emulating the deaths of Jesus and his disciples. Now, “The Martyr Maker” has set his mark on New York City.

30 years. 36 priests butchered. His bloodiest masterpiece is yet to come.

The Laws of Depravity follows two NYPD detectives and an FBI agent as they race to catch a serial killer before he completes his last cycle of kills and disappears forever.

Clerical transgressions at the heart of Spotlight meets the visceral horror of Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon, for a gritty, dark story about of how some of the most trusted members of society fail. The Laws of Depravity raises eye-opening questions about faith when the lines between good and evil have blurred beyond recognition.

An uncanny tale of identity, race, and spirituality by groundbreaking author Pauline Hopkins

When medical student Reuel Briggs reluctantly attends a performance by the beautiful singer Dianthe Lusk, he can’t help but fall for her. The very next day, their paths cross again when Dianthe’s train crashes. To bring her back from the brink of death, Reuel draws on an eerie power he can’t quite name. Soon, the two are engaged, and Reuel sets off on an archeological expedition to Africa to offset his debts before the wedding. But, in Ethiopia, unexpected danger and terror force him to confront the truth about his lineage, his power, and the history that lives in his very blood.

First serialized in Colored American Magazine in 1902, this narrative exemplifies Pauline Hopkins’s incisive writing and interrogates issues of race and history that remain urgent today. This edition is presented by the Horror Writers Association and introduced by award-winning author Nisi Shawl.

Includes notes, biographical information about the author, discussion questions for classroom use, and suggested further reading