The Grip — David McKeowen

James Carroll only meant to do one deal to get into film school. But it went wrong. Now he owes a lot of money to drug dealer Roger Oates. Just a year away from retiring to his dream home in Honolulu, Roger knows this is no time to let things slip. So if James can't pay, his parents must. But Francis Carroll has put everything he has into a project that will finally bring him the success he craves. He simply cannot afford to help his son. And it's no good asking his ambitious new wife, Rachel. She wants a baby--while James's dangerously sexy first wife just wants him back. But something's got to give....Written with a sharp eye for the details of human behavior, this is a stunning debut by a British MP and former diplomat who writes as David McKeowen. A taut thriller, shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the Year.