The Commissions
Get ready for a rollicking and irresistible new mystery from award-winning artist and author Paul Madonna
Amsterdam, 2019—following the conclusion of Come to Light. Former rock star turned artist Emit Hopper’s life has taken yet another strange turn. His old friend, the legendary San Francisco private detective Ronnie Gilbert, is dead, and his killer has just been acquitted. But when a disheveled acquaintance from Ronnie’s past walks into Emit’s shop, a puzzling mystery resurfaces, twenty years cold.
We’re transported back to San Francisco, 1999, to when Emit and Ronnie first met. Emit has returned to taking commissions drawing people’s houses, only to be strong-armed by a shady police lieutenant into acting as her off-the-books spy. On top of that, a strange young woman claiming to be his daughter refuses to leave him alone. From there unfolds an intricate tale of corruption and murder that leads to an explosive scandal, with consequences that, two decades hence, are finally revealed.
From the world of the Emit Hopper Mysteries series, The Commissions kicks off the origin story of what promises to be an unforgettable new eccentric detective, Ronnie Gilbert. In a mystery filled with suspense and surprises around every corner, Paul Madonna delivers a rich and captivating portrait of San Francisco in the last days before the turn of the millennium, brought to life by one hundred of his signature pen-and-ink drawings.
Paul Madonna is an award-winning artist and best-selling author whose unique blend of drawing and storytelling has been heralded as an “all new art form.” His series All Over Coffee ran in the San Francisco Chronicle for twelve years (2003–2015), and his book Everything Is Its Own Reward won the 2011 NCBA Award for best book. Paul’s work ranges from novels to cartoons to large-scale public murals and can be found internationally in print as well as in galleries and museums. Paul was a founding editor for therumpus.net. He has taught drawing at the University of San Francisco and frequently lectures on creative practice. He holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and was the first (ever!) Art Intern at MAD magazine. Paul resides in San Francisco and does in fact take commissions, traveling the world to draw and write.
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