Lowdown Road

One of 'The Most Wanted Crime Novels of 2023' — Crimefictionlover.com

Join a heart-racing road trip across 1970s America as two cousins make the heist of their lives and must avoid the cops and criminals hot on their tails.

It’s the summer of ’74…Richard Nixon has resigned from office, CB radios are the hot new thing, and in the great state of Texas two cousins hatch a plan to drive $1 million worth of stolen weed to Idaho, where some lunatic is gearing up to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle. But with a vengeful sheriff on their tail and the revered and feared marijuana kingpin of Central Texas out to get his stash back, Chuck and Dean are in for the ride of their lives — if they can make it out alive…

Scott Von Doviak, longtime pop-culture journalist for The A.V. Club, Film Threat, The Hollywood Reporter, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, made a splash with his debut novel, Charlesgate Confidential, which Stephen King called 'terrific' and 'a fun machine…the white-knuckle kind.' With Lowdown Road, he cements his reputation for pedal-to-the-metal storytelling that also makes you think about just who we are and where our darker roads might lead us.

'A wild ride' — Kirkus Reviews

'Razor-sharp dialogue and high-octane action…ever-escalating grindhouse madness.' — Publishers Weekly

Praise for Scott Von Doviak:

'Charlesgate Confidential is terrific.' — Stephen King

'Charlesgate Confidential is a riveting tale, a hard-boiled art heist worthy of Dashiell Hammett in his prime.' — Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One

'Charlesgate Confidential is the sort of canny, witty crime novel that doesn’t come along often enough. Scott Von Doviak is terrific at Boston voices and a fearless plotter. The crew at Hard Case Crime has found another gem! May they never reform.' — Owen King, author of Double Feature and co-author of Sleeping Beauties

'Scott Von Doviak’s Charlesgate Confidential is a corker! With its intriguing plot that spreads across three distinct time periods, quirky characters quick with the witty repartee, and an amazing sense of place and time, it had me reading way past my designated bedtime. Boston, and its love for the home team — GO RED SOX — really comes alive in the various years depicted. Couldn’t imagine Charlesgate Confidential not making many Crime/Mystery Best Of Lists next year.' — Thomas E. Sniegoski, New York Times bestselling author