Iraqi Icicle

<p>"Readers will appreciate the author's ability to render colorful characters and understated witty prose." - Publishers Weekly</p><p>Meet Steele Hill. He's an unlicensed de facto PI navigating the murky underworld of gamblers, alt-rock musicians and bad decisions. He's pursuing a case he never wanted, frustrated by official advice he can't use, and tracked by a dangerous femme fatale he certainly can't trust.</p><p>Welcome to Brisbane, 1986-1992. Set against the distant rumblings of the U.S. invasion of Panama and the first Gulf War, this sharp, satirical neo-noir captures a changing Australia. Moving from the gritty streets of Brisbane to the high-rolling glitz of the Gold Coast and the more demure Sunshine Coast, Hill finds himself caught in a web of corporate greed, illegal gambling, murder, and political shadow-plays.</p><p>To survive, he'll have to outsmart a bizarre lineup of local oddballs:</p><ul> <li>A multi-millionaire corporate lawyer pulling strings from a fortified mansion.</li> <li>A teenage mathematics prodigy tripping on magic mushrooms while channeling Jimi Hendrix to hack prohibited military software, for the good cause of backing winning racehorses.</li> <li>A washed-up Russian horse trainer who renamed himself Bill Smith, risking his daughter's life on a final, desperate gamble for fame and fortune.</li></ul><p>For fans of the dark absurdity of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and the local rhythms of classic Australian indie pop-rock, Iraqi Icicle is a fast-paced, bleakly hilarious ride through the intersections of global geopolitics and local crime.</p><p>You bet your life, baby, baby, it's a wild ride.</p><p>Includes a special bonus feature: an eight-page glossary of Australian slang.</p>