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Art-Noir Thriller!
"A Sixth Sense-like take on Thomas Harris in his prime... Days after racing to the finish, and letting the book rattle around in the unconscious, the story still unsettles me. Clearly this was Pobi’s aim in choosing the method of death for his poor victims, to get both metaphorically and literally under the reader’s skin so they never forget death’s primal, visceral horror."
—Sarah Weinman for The National Post
The Novel: There is no future for a past that won't die.
FBI Independent contractor Jake Cole deciphers the language of murderers by reconstructing three-dimensional crime scene models in his head — a grim gift that has left his nerves frayed and his psyche fragile.
When his father, an important American painter, is almost killed in an Alzheimer's-related accident, Jake is forced to come home and confront a past he spent a quarter of a century trying to forget. Once there, a brutal double homicide teaches Jake that even though he has forgotten about the past, it has not yet forgotten about him.
As Jake tries to make sense of his father's unhinged existence, he discovers thousands of seemingly meaningless canvases stacked in the studio — a bizarre trail of dust-covered breadcrumbs that Jake believes lead to a killer called the Bloodman. All of his work seems to come apart just as another malevolent beast descends on the town — a Category 5 hurricane that is as unstoppable as the murderer. Pinned between the two forces of nature, Jake realizes that old ghosts are on the move.
BLOODMAN will leave you reeling long after you have finished reading it.
The Bio: One afternoon, on a job selling high-end vintage wristwatches, Robert Pobi walked into a client’s Manhattan apartment and fell in love with the American Arts and Crafts movement. A collection of furniture, pottery, and metal quickly followed. In 1996, Pobi opened Arcadia Antiques and Decorative Arts, an exclusive antiques and decorating shop in Montreal.
Over the next fourteen years, Pobi’s shop became internationally recognized, appearing in Architectural Digest (both American and Italian imprints), Country Home, Canadian House and Home, Conde Nast’s Travel, and many other publications. His clients included movie stars, musicians, and an eccentric mix of top designers.
To fuel his client’s thirst for the unusual, unique, and exquisite, Pobi haunted London, Paris, New Orleans, and Boston, hand-picking merchandise from auction houses and dealers. Comfortably ensconced in his bustling business, Pobi opened his desk drawer one morning to see six completed manuscripts staring back at him. It was at that instant that he decided to turn his full-time attention to the true great love of his life - writing.
BLOODMAN (Thomas & Mercer; May 2012), Robert Pobi’s debut novel, was written at a desk once owned by “God’s banker,” Roberto Calvi. Pobi splits his time between Montreal, Montauk and the Florida keys, writing and fishing for everything that swims.
More Praise for BLOODMAN:
"Jake Cole has to be one of the most compelling and tormented protagonists in recent crime fiction...The pacing is relentless, and Pobi’s updates on the growth of the hurricane are almost welcome interludes amid the pervasive creepiness and horror of the growing body count and Jake’s appalling past. Bloodman is a remarkable debut."
—Booklist: Starred Review
"Much like Dennis Lehane did with Shutter Island, Robert Pobi takes a plot that could have been from any pulp thriller and makes it something richer by virtue of his outstanding prose and his focus on characters….This would be a hell of a thriller for a seasoned writer to put out; for Pobi to create something this good on his first at-bat only thrills me to see where
the rest of his career will take him and us."
—Josh Mauthe, The Library Police
“Chilling debut thriller...Though the clues are there, this sparkling first novel has
an ending few readers will see coming.”
—Montreal Gazette
"A gut-punch of a book. With bold bloody strokes, Pobi paints a tale of horrific murders and familial obligation, showing the grace and grit of ten first-time novelists.
Try closing your eyes after digging into this one."
—Gregg Hurwitz author of You're Next and Trust No One
BLOODMAN by Robert Pobi
Thomas & Mercer, On-sale: May 15, 2012
Visit www.robertpobi.com
