Hit Out (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781533327369)

Someone is targeting Dougie, the owner of the local pool hall. His employee, Max Deacon, shrugs it off. That is, until Dougie is beaten so badly he ends up in the hospital. Max knows something fishy is going on with his cagey employer.

As Max assumes managerial duties at the pool hall, the strange incidents continue. A drive-by shooting riddles the place with bullets. When Max calls 911, the cops suspect him of setting the whole thing up. An angry Max decides he needs to take action and find the real culprit.

Max uses his US Army Ranger training and underworld contacts to sniff out any information that could be useful. Dougie's sister gives him his first big lead. She suspects that Dougie's girlfriend, Aaliyah Johnson, and her brother, Carter, are up to no good. But when Max tracks down Aaliyah, he finds an anxious woman afraid for her own life. Is Aaliyah's mysterious brother behind the beating, or will the culprit be someone else entirely?

A pool player turns private eye in this neo-noir about the Chicago underworld. Author Darren Musial combines his love of the Windy City and expertise in pool for a truly unique mystery.