Now Available from Down & Out Books: BEACHHEAD by Jeffery Hess

TAMPA, Fla. - March 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Down & Out Books is pleased to announce that Jeffery Hess's debut crime novel BEACHHEAD is now available in trade paperback and ebook formats.

"I am thrilled to introduce Jeffery Hess to the crime fiction community," said Eric Campbell, publisher of Down & Out Books. "BEACHHEAD is the first in a trilogy and I can't wait to see where he takes us next."

About BEACHHEAD …

It's 1980 on Florida's Gulf coast. Sun, drugs, gambling debts, and dirty deals push Navy-prison parolee Scotland Ross deeper into the life of crime he never wanted.

His sister's life, a potential newfound love, and his own freedom are all on the line as he tangles with a redneck gangster intent on becoming the state's next governor.

Will Scotland make the right choice or the one that keeps him alive?

BEACHHEAD is dark noir set in the state of sunshine. A story of crime and loyalty, love and hate, and choices made when everything you care about is on the line.

Praise for BEACHHEAD …

"Satisfying, smart, startlingly funny, and always entertaining, Jeff Hess's wonderful debut novel is squarely in the tradition of the best of Robert Stone and Elmore Leonard. You will love the hero in this, but the villains are also tantalizingly human and engagingly complex. And the prose is, first to last, riveting and artful." — Fred Leebron, author of Welcome to Christiania and Out West

"Jeffery Hess' BEACHHEAD comes to ground as Navy prison parolee, Scotland Ross, puts his life on hold, along with his path to an honest life, to lend help to his sister and her struggling family, only to find the hand of help may be more disastrous than no help at all. Hess moors together a compelling story of land grabbing, political aspiration, government graft, and adulterous jealousy that will leave you reeling in its wake." — Ron Earl Phillips, editor of Shotgun Honey and One Eye Press

"Jeffery Hess's BEACHHEAD hearkens back to the work of brilliant twentieth century crime writers like John D. McDonald, and his Scotland Ross is a Travis McGee for this millennium: gratifyingly unvarnished, physically tough, and just naive enough to involve himself in the troubles of other people. An admirable debut." — Pinckney Benedict, author of Dogs of God, Miracle Boy, and The Wrecking Yard

"Jeffery Hess's BEACHHEAD sets a relentless pace with a brutal story of Scotland Ross, dealt a bad hand and determined to go all in. Whether the crimes are of passion, politics, or violence, every minute of this Florida thriller gleams with conflict and character." — Steve Weddle, author of Country Hardball

Meet the Author …

Born in New York and raised on Florida's Gulf coast, Jeffery Hess served six years aboard the Navy's oldest and newest ships and has held writing positions at a daily newspaper, a Fortune 500 company, and a university-based research center. He is the editor of the award-winning anthologies Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform and Home of the Brave: Somewhere in the Sand (Press 53). He holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte and his writing has appeared widely in print and online. He lives in Florida, where he leads the DD-214 Writers' Workshop for military veterans. Visit his website at JefferyHess.com.

About Down & Out Books …

Founded in 2011, Down & Out Books (DownAndOutBooks.com (http://www.downandoutbooks.com/)) is an independent publisher of crime fiction based in Tampa, Florida. For more information about the book, or to request an interview with the author, contact lance@downandoutbooks.com.