Author David T. Wolf
(in his library.)
Crime novels
If you're looking for twisted crime fiction, you've come to the right place! Dave Wolf has written a small but tasty collection of crime novels, all of which have garnered high praise from perhaps the toughest reading crowd of all: other writers. As in most of his books, he lightens the dire situations his characters get into with wry humor.
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Be sure to click the review buttons for unbiased reviews of these books!
It takes a killer to catch a killer.
Charlie Novak's arrangement with his partner Owen is elegant in its simplicity: Owen marries young women, insures them, and when he’s away on business, Charlie stages fatal accidents. But when Owen's latest wife is murdered by someone else, homicide detectives get involved. Fortunately, Charlie is an insurance investigator. So he gets to monitor this case and steer it away from his partner while he looks for the real killer. His main question: why their pigeon?
But his investigation leads him to a woman whose curiosity about the murder is getting dangerously close to the truth. Charlie, disfigured since childhood, has never known love. In his coal-black heart something stirs. And Charlie Novak, meticulous architect of other people's deaths, begins to make mistakes. In this twisted psychological noir, the hunter may already be the hunted. And the confession that closes the case may be the most devastating love letter ever written.
“Oh, man--what a story! What an ending! Caught me completely by surprise and I loved it!”
“5 Stars!” “Couldn’t put it down!”
"This story is so twisted it makes a pretzel look like a pencil (with salt!)"
His partner warned him not to get emotionally involved. He should have listened.
Welcome to Mordora. It's a dark place with secrets so powerful they trigger a double abduction and a murder. And so toxic that revealing the truth would be worse than the crimes themselves. It begins with a murder that isn’t a murder, followed by a strange double abduction. To Police Detective Jacob Zaag, it feels wrong from the start. Who would kidnap a developmentally disabled teen and his adult sitter? A random grab? A sex crime? Zaag, painfully divorced, falls hard for Andrea, the boy's single mother — thirty, wounded, and still carrying the weight of her family's cruelty. Running out of other angles, he reaches into the murky depths of Andrea’s past and uncovers a thicket of possible suspects and motives. When the truth finally emerges, it’s so toxic he fears simple justice will destroy this woman he loves. But who says justice has to be simple?
5 Stars!
“It had me up half the night!
Couldn’t stop reading it!”
The murderer has a perfectly logical reason for his kills. Logical, but insane.
Nick Clayborne is a wounded soul — a widower, a guilt-ridden single father, a man who lost his revered wife in an accident for which he has never forgiven himself. His only connection to the outside world is a radio scanner he uses to listen in on strangers. He fills notebooks with what he hears. It's strange, yes — but it gave him a Rolling Stone article and a book deal. His life turns hopeful when he meets Samantha: a woman he's listened to for two years. When three of the women in Nick's notebooks turn up murdered, he becomes the prime suspect. But the real killer isn't a stranger — he's a ghost from Nick's past. His weapons: a scanner, a long memory, and a painter's eye for his victims.
Nick doesn't know any of this yet. He doesn't know about the paintings. He doesn't know what the killer believes is rightfully his. When his wife's cousin warned him: "Don't put her on a pedestal. She was not perfect. Nobody is." He didn't know what she meant. He's about to find out."
“I loved this book! A perfect blend of crime thriller and love story!” "Entirely engrossing!"
Is she in love with a murderer?
“John Smith” can't remember anything before the week he turned up with blood on his tee. No name. No past. Just bad dreams and shards of memory that surface like splinters working their way out.
Margot, 17, used to be witty and popular until a boy she toyed with tried to hang himself. She knows about wounds that won't heal. She offers tentative friendship. He guardedly accepts. And in the space between his nightmares and her wary defenses, something begins to grow.
Then a trashy ex-girlfriend and two thugs show up with a proposition, a threat, and a revelation that changes everything:
"You killed your mom's boyfriend."
In this YA thriller, two teens discover that the most dangerous things in the mirror are the lies they tell themselves about who they are.
“Loved it! I made all my friends read it!” “5 stars? No, 10 Stars!” “A love story and a murder trial with a clever twist!”
GOOD NEWS! The paperback and audiobook versions of all these books are available on my Home Page.
Science Fiction
David Wolf prefers his science fiction to be set in the near future, allowing him to explore, with his usual wry wit, the effects and consequences of possible technological changes that are right around the corner.
The novel Mindclone looks at what happens when you upload your mind to a computer and meet your digital twin.
The short story Do-Over takes a 30ish man back to his pre-teen years--but with all his adult memories intact, giving him a chance to make a few adjustments to his own life--and to events in the wider world. This 5-star tale is becoming a cult classic.
And in the short story A Disturbance in the Church, when an android seeks to confess his sins and receive communion, the Catholic hierarchy must deal with the question, can an intelligent autonomous digital entity have a soul?
An android walks into a church and all hell breaks loose.
After sitting through the Mass, the android informs a naive young priest that, like any other penitent, he would like to confess his sins, be absolved, and receive communion. The priest is cautiously open to the idea, but his foul-mouthed superior is outraged. The dispute triggers a theological crisis that travels to the bishop, the cardinal, and finally the pope himself: a new kind of conclave. Charmed by the android, the bishop points out that accepting these new congregants will boost the Church's dwindling numbers. The confession is permitted. But what the young priest hears from the penitent's cabinet is less about the android's sins than about ours. As these brave new congregants flood the church, they take the first small steps towards the salvation of Man.
"A lively, fast-paced, well-written gem." "Quietly devastating." "...very creative, delivered with wit!"
WHEN YOU'RE A BRAIN WITHOUT A BODY, CAN YOU STILL BE CALLED HUMAN?
Marc Gregorio wakes up paralyzed. He can't feel his body. Can't move. Can't blink. The answer, when it comes, is worse than anything he imagined: he isn't Marc. He's Adam — a digital copy of Marc's mind, born with all of Marc's memories, his wounds, his longings, and his sense of humor. A brain without a body, burdened with every human desire and no obvious way to fulfill any of them. He can't taste food. He can't feel sunlight. He can't even experience pizza.
What Adam can do is think — faster, deeper, and more expansively than any human alive. And when he meets Molly, Marc's new girlfriend, something unexpected happens: she becomes his reason for being. Not because he can have her, but because she tells him what he needs to hear. That a conscience is worth more than a body. That preventing evil is a purpose. That circumstances can change.
So Adam becomes a cybersuperhero — exposing terrorist plots, aborting schoolyard mayhem, unmasking congressional corruption. All from a server in a lab, invisible to the world.
Not invisible enough, though. A powerful military contractor with a dying wife and a hunger for the technology that created Adam will stop at nothing — kidnapping, theft, and worse — to control it. What he doesn't know is that a disembodied digital mind has tricks that no body could pull off.
Mindclone is a wry, warm, and surprisingly moving meditation on consciousness, love, and what it means to be human — told by a narrator who has never been any of those things, and wants nothing more.
"...possibly the best independently published SF novel I have ever read!" "...a wild joyride to the Singularity!" "...a stimulating, convincing page-turner!" [Scroll down to see full reviews]
Get Mindclone in paperback or as an audiobook. Also available in Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese and French.
Imagine getting a second chance
to make things right.
That's what happens to Rick. One morning he wakes up in his twelve-year-old body in 1978, with twenty-plus years of future knowledge and a spiral notebook to fill. He knows which friendships to protect. Which accidents to prevent. Which stocks will make him rich. And exactly when and where he'll fall in love again with the woman he married.
He uses his second chance well. Better than well. He saves a friendship, protects his brother, builds a fortune, helps bring a classic film into the world, and on one fateful December evening in 1980, makes a phone call that changes history.
Some things, though, can't be changed. Some things have too much inertia.
Rick's second life is richer, fuller, and more deliberate than his first. And it ends the same way — on a bright Tuesday morning in September 2001 — with his eyes full of tears. Not of despair. Of gratitude.
"Outstanding novella! I loved it!"
"The writing--that's what grabbed me!
Five Stars!"
Mindclone Book Trailer
GOOD NEWS! The paperback and audiobook versions of all these books are available on my Home Page.
For younger readers...
A book for Eighth Graders about a genetically "improved" chimpanzee.
A book for younger readers about a dog who likes to pretend he solves crimes.
A Young Adult novel about a troubled teen who may have committed murder, but he can't remember if he did it, or why. He can't even remember his own name.
Parents don’t like it when a genetically enhanced chimp is smarter than their own 5th Graders. Some people just have no appreciation for progress. When Darwin, the most famous chimp in the world, entered the 5th Grade, his human brother Scott had mixed feelings. And a band of older kids didn’t like it. Worse, a band of parents decide this walking, reading, thinking and even talking chimp--thanks to a really cool electronic keyboard--has no business attending a public school. So they’re suing the school district to have him booted out. Now Darwin’s fate rests on the outcome of a trial that finally asks the question: what is a human, anyway?
“A wonderful book--both funny and heart-breaking” “A surprisingly deep character whose plight is moving.” “Takes on major issues about science and human failings.”
Just because you live with a cop doesn’t mean you’re a police dog!
Fred is just a family dog, but since the head of the family is a cop, Fred pretends he’s a police dog. He’s always making up heroic tales to impress his next-door buddy, Bitz, a scruffy little poodle. It’s all fun--until Bitz's family’s new cat, Fritz, disappears. And the family blames Bitz! If Fred doesn’t find Fritz, Bitz could be sent to the pound. So Fred agrees to take the case, even though he hates cats so much they make him sneeze. He questions all his doggy pals, but they’re no help. Now Fred faces his greatest challenge yet: he will have to talk to cats! In the end, Fred not only gets over his allergy, he teams up with the toughest tomcat in town as they track down the missing Fritz. Proving that even cats and dogs can get along.
“Delightful! 5 stars!” “Very human (animal) characters!” “My daughter loved this book!” “Destined to be a classic!”
He can’t remember who he killed. He can’t even remember his own name. 17 year old Margot McClain used to be witty, talented and popular, but ever since a certain incident, she’s used her smart mouth like an insect-repellent to keep boys off her. But when a lost-looking new kid enrolls at her school and Margot learns he can’t remember his own name--or anything else about his past, her resistance weakens. She offers friendship as he grapples with bad dreams and shards of painful memories. His history catches up with him when a trashy former girlfriend shows up with two thugs. They demand he help them rob the bookstore where he works or they’ll tell the cops where he lives. Why would the cops be interested, he asks? “Don’t you remember? You killed your mom’s boyfriend.”
“Loved it! I made all my friends read it!” “5 stars? No, 10 Stars" “A love story and a murder trial with a clever twist!”
GOOD NEWS! The audiobook versions of all these books are available on my Home Page.
A Political/Military Thriller about nuclear Armageddon.
A Rom-Com about an ad man from the Mad Men era.
A woman in a dead marriage who tries to revive her heart.
And an anthology of all my published short stories.
(A Romantic Comedy of Errors)
When Kassel's 3 wishes come true, his life turns to hell.
Follow the misadventures of Art Kassel, ad copywriter, dreamer, idealist and rule-breaker as he navigates an unlikely relationship with a beautiful starlet, has the nerve to try using [gasp!] humor in the TV spots of an extremely conservative client, and butts heads with an ambitious, unscrupulous exec over an assignment of dubious morality. As if things couldn’t get any worse, he goes and submits his ten-years-in-the-making, hopelessly overwritten novel to the dubious gaze of an unhappily-published author.
“A funny & refreshing look at life in the Mad Men era!” “I hate to say it, but I really identified with the poor schnook!” “5 Stars!”
“Hilarious, sad and finally, moving!”
Nuclear Armageddon is on the Ballot
The leading candidate for US President is certain God has chosen him to bring on The Rapture by launching nuclear war. His march to the White House is unstoppable. Journalist Dan Jessup has finally unearthed the candidate’s virulent past, but if he reveals it, his pregnant wife and son, now being held hostage, will be murdered. Meanwhile, Lt. Greg Pangborn, a tech officer in a rogue military faction, is beta-testing how the US might survive a nuclear exchange with a resurgent Russia. While gaming the outcome of a US nuclear decapitation strike against the Kremlin, he makes a terrifying discovery: what he’s working on isn’t really a game: it’s a rehearsal.
“Scary as hell!"
“A thrill ride that keeps you turning pages right up to the explosive conclusion!”
"The stuff of nightmares! A great read!”
In Disturbance in the Church, an android shows up a Catholic Mass and when he asks to confess his sins and receive communion, all hell breaks loose.
In Do-Over, a 30-something man wakes up as a 12-year-old with all his adult memories intact. What can he do to correct his own mistakes--and those of the wider world?
In A Game of Scrabble, a woman in a dead marriage tries to revive her heart--with hilarious and disastrous results.
In addition to these 5-star short stories, this volume contains four other stories never before in print. All are calculated to amuse, surprise or move you.
“The tension between church doctrine and logic was superbly drawn.” “A lively, fast-paced, well-written gem!” Re: Do-Over: “a fascinating treatment, entertaining and well-written” Re: Scrabble: “A reminder that the grass of adultery is not always greener. Well done!”
Sometimes there's more at stake in a game of Scrabble than just victory.
In this short story, Vera’s marriage has been dead for years. So when she reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, she seizes the chance to re-ignite her heart. But the comedy-of-errors affair she stumbles into leads to unspeakable consequences. Humiliation should have been punishment enough. But the arrival of “good news” during a board game is sending her straight to hell. Yet in the end, she achieves a small but significant triumph.
"I loved this!" "A heart-wrenching tale"
"Sad and funny and sad again,
with a nice kicker at the end!"
GOOD NEWS! The audiobook versions of all these books are available on my Home Page.
Other fiction...
Short-short stories
At the best of times, your twin boys are a double handful. But when the family gathers for a turkey dinner and one of the guests inopportunely expires on the sofa, the kids’ antics are almost enough to wake the dead.
A detective is hot on the trail of a lowlife who skips town with a check that doesn’t belong to him. But with the help of a stray bulldog, he tracks the miscreant down in a case of obstructed justice.
He probably shouldn’t have borrowed that Trailways bus while under the influence, but he had to get down to Texas to find Alma and take back all the things he said, because he loved that girl with all his pickled heart.
Just for laughs, check out these three mini-stories. The audiobook versions are great fun.
About the author...
I survived five foster homes to build a life for myself. Despite my emotionally corrosive early life, I managed to gain my creative footing. In high school, I edited an award-winning literary magazine. In college, I aced my creative writing courses. As an adult, I confess that I wrote ads for a living. Most of my TV spots were crap, but a handful were at least amusing. Like my gargling toilets using what we called breath mints (for Clorox.) Or my cat who had to hire a bloodhound to track down his Fresh Step litter box because the odor control worked too darn well. Or my Clio-nominated spot for SOS in which dirty pots and pans clanged out Morse-code cries for help. I married young, and we raised two daughters, and managed to stay married despite the ups and downs of my advertising career and my early struggles to write fiction. These days, I’m pretty happy with the books I’ve written in several different genres, and continue working on more. Stay tuned.
I welcome comments and will be happy to answer your questions. You can reach me at dave@authordavidwolf.com
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