Query Letter: Fadeaway Joe: An Aging Crimester with Dementia Goes for Revenge

Hugh Lessig's acclaimed debut, Fadeaway Joe, is high up on my TBR pile. Library Journal said it "catches fire." Booklist called the main character "[a]n antihero with a twist," and the South Florida Sun Sentinel heralds Lessig as "a new talent." The eponymous Joe is an aging hitman with dementia at the end of his rope, who decides to do something meaningful in his last act and take out a powerful loan shark. I'm a sucker for noir and this one sounds appealingly dark. You can pick up a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Fadeaway-Joe-Novel-Hugh-Lessig/dp/1639104364 (in fact, after reading his stellar author blurbs, I just did).

Hugh was kind enough to share his query for Fadeaway Joe:

I am seeking representation for my crime novel, FADEAWAY JOE, the story of an aging thug battling dementia and seeking revenge against the boss who abandoned him.

Joe Pendergast spent 40 years working for Maxie Smith, a loan shark who runs a gambling ring. Joe’s dementia leads to a bitter falling out with his old boss. As the story opens, Joe is running a food truck, dealing with “foggy” spells, and planning to kill Maxie before dementia takes over.

But then Joe meets 22-year-old Paula Jessup, who is homeless and running from human traffickers. The two form an uneasy bond, and Paula has a suggestion for Joe: Instead of killing Maxie, why don’t you ruin him? Playing the long con will give you something to live for. As their relationship progresses, Joe finds himself caring more for Paula’s future than his boss’s demise.

FADEAWAY JOE is about choices made as lives are winding down, and what matters most in the end. The manuscript is complete at 68,500 words and the genre is mystery/crime.

This would be my first published novel. My short stories have appeared in the following publications from Down & Out Books: Volumes 1 and 2 of “Mickey Finn 21st Century Noir,” a novelette in the series Guns + Tacos, and a story in “Groovy Gumshoes: PI Tales from the Sixties,” which came out in April. I will have a story in the fourth volume of “Mickey Finn” as well. Other stories have appeared in Thuglit, Crime Factory and Shotgun Honey.