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Do They Know I'm Running?

NOW AVAILABLE!

BOOK TRAILER

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Do They Know I'm Running?

"...a rich, hard-hitting epic..."
— Publishers Weekly

"In this powerful, evocative, character-driven novel, Corbett has written what should be a breakout success."
— Booklist

oque Montalvo is wise beyond his eighteen years. Orphaned at birth, a gifted musician, he's stuck in a California backwater, helping his Salvadoran aunt care for his damaged brother, an ex-marine badly wounded in Iraq.

When immigration agents arrest Roque's uncle, the family has nowhere else to turn. Badgered by his street-hardened cousin, Roque agrees to bring the old man back, relying on the criminal gangs that control the dangerous smuggling routes from El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, to the U.S. border.

But his cousin has told Roque only so much. In reality, he will have to transport not just his uncle but two others: an Arab whose intentions are disturbingly vague and a young beauty promised to a Mexican crime lord.

Roque discovers that his journey involves crossing more than one kind of border, and he will be asked time and again to choose between survival and betrayal—of his country, his family, his heart.

Read an excerpt

Read David's blog posting, "The Character of Strangers," about the writing of his latest novel, at Amazon's Author Central

 

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Ballantine Books; Original edition (March 2010), ISBN-10: 0812977556, ISBN-13: 978-0812977554

 

PRAISE FOR DO THEY KNOW I'M RUNNING?

Elaine Petrocelli, owner, BOOK PASSAGE
in Publishers Weekly



"Both gritty and sensitive, this amazing novel is a page turner and a literate gem. All David Corbett's hard hitting, yet sensitive thrillers deal with important issues. Yet, he never preaches. No wonder, other authors love to read David Corbett's work. DO THEY KNOW I'M RUNNING?, is his best yet!"

"Corbett delivers a rich, hard-hitting epic that illuminates the violent and surreal landscapes of Central America and Mexico. . . .an unforgettable journey . . . Fans of Luis Alberto Urrea and Don Winslow alike will be richly rewarded."
   —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"In this powerful, evocative, character-driven novel, Corbett has written what should be a breakout success. . . Readers who devour and then forget formulaic crime novels won't soon forget this one."
   —Booklist (starred review)

"David Corbett's grainy realities bring these characters to life in all their beauty and ugliness . . . dragging the reader on a journey he or she won't soon forget."
   —Morgan Chilson, Fresh Fiction

"With lyrical yet muscular prose, an ahead-of-the-headlines plot, and utterly believable characters, David Corbett's Do They Know I'm Running? is nothing short of superb. This is not just a thriller, but an elegant novel, full of heart, soul, music, food, cruelty, betrayal, poverty and love. The line runs through Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, straight on to David Corbett. I'm not kidding. He's that good."
   —John Lescroart

"A scintillating, politically fuelled mystery that grabs you by the heart and never, never lets up. Think Graham Greene writing today with the narrative drive of Michael Connelly. Borders—in every sense of the word—are transformed and manipulated by writing that seems as effortless as it is compelling. Rarely does a novel knock you totally out of the park; this one does. A major work of literary art that breaks all genre borders."
   —Ken Bruen

"David Corbett's new novel is a bold look into the darkness that is human-trafficking, a sharp revelation of the intended and unintended consequences of such evil. With powerful and observant prose he takes us on the smuggling routes, into the lives of those involved, the moments of terror and of hope. After reading Do They Know I'm Running? you can't plead ignorance anymore."
   —Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone

"[D]ark and densely layered . . . expertly written . . . Do They Know I'm Running? is a heartbreaking and often shocking look into the kind of stories most of us only glimpse through the news media. And it might be one of the best novels of this still-new year."
   —Alan Cranis, Bookgasm (read the full review)

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In an unfortunate oversight, the list I prepared of all those individuals who gave so generously of their time and expertise in the writing of Do They Know I'm Running? was inadvertently omitted from the first edition of the book. I very much hope to rectify that with subsequent editions. Until then, if you're interested in learning who provided invaluable guidance in the writing of the book (and I hope you do), please click here for the word document or here for the PDF.



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