Author(s): Brian Selfon

Novel | Crime and Thriller | New York

"Electric, surprising, and tightly plotted . . . A compelling writer to watch." --Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire

"A gripping, big-hearted thriller . . . whip-smart and surprisingly funny." --Harlan Coben

The Nightworkers is an electrifying debut crime novel from Brian Selfon about a Brooklyn family of money launderers thrown into chaos when a runner ends up dead and a bag of dirty money goes missing.

Shecky Keenan's family is under fire--or at least it feels that way. Bank accounts have closed unexpectedly, a strange car has been parked near the house at odd hours, and Emil Scott, an enigmatic artist and the family's new runner, is missing--along with the $250,000 of dirty money he was carrying.

Shecky lives in old Brooklyn with his niece Kerasha and nephew Henry, and while his deepest desire is to keep his little makeshift family safe, that doesn't stop him from taking advantage of their talents. Shecky moves money for an array of unsavory clients, and Henry, volatile and violent but tenderhearted, is his bagman. Kerasha, the famed former child-thief of Bushwick, is still learning the family trade, but her quick mind and quicker fingers are already being put to use. They love one another, but trust is thin when secrets are the family trade. And someone will be coming for that missing money--soon.

Inspired by a career that has included corruption cases and wiretaps as an investigative analyst for New York law enforcement, Brian Selfon unspools a tale of crime and consequence through shifting perspectives across the streets, alleys, bodegas, and art studios of Brooklyn. The Nightworkers is an evocative blend of genres: a literary crime thriller with a mystery at the center of its big beating heart: What really happened to Emil Scott, and what can the future possibly hold for a family when crime is what keeps them together?

A dark slice of Brooklyn noir with a family drama at its core . . . It takes a lot to make a NYC noir feel fresh, and this one does . . . Selfon's understanding of how psychogeography shapes criminals is what drives the development of those characters--and the characters are what turn The Nightworkers into a great novel . . . The arrival of a promising voice.
--Gabino Iglesias, NPR

Hypnotic . . . unearths not just the gritty mechanics of organized crime but the collateral damage it inflicts on perpetrators and victims alike, damage that outlasts the acts for as long as a lifetime . . . Selfon elegantly and eloquently unspools the entire chain of cause and effect . . . Selfon's ability to give each character his or her own perspective, desires and demons makes The Nightworkers a resonant work of fiction, one that rises above its crimes to tell bigger truths about family, love and hope.
--Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times

"Consider this a working-class version of one little pocket of The Godfather . . . Like the strongest authors in this genre, Selfon bares the effects of death on each of us. His dialogue is compelling, his plot actions and his images of Brooklyn's underworld unforgettable . . . A few chapters in, there's no chance of putting down this book until the highly satisfying yet unexpected finale."
--Beth Kanell, New York Journal of Books

Author Biography: Brian Selfon has worked in criminal justice for nearly twenty years, more than fifteen of them with law enforcement agencies in New York. As the Chief Investigative Analyst for the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, he handled cases ranging from money laundering to first-degree murder. Brian now lives with his family in Seattle, where he works as a public defense investigator. The Nightworkers is his debut novel.