Anton Strout - Dead Waters

Table of Contents

Praise for the Simon Canderous novels

DEAD MATTER

Strouts good-hearted, bat-carrying hero is once again faced with extraordinary peril from both bureaucratic paperwork and things that go bump in the night. His skillful blending of the creepy and the wacky gives his series an original appeal. Dont miss out!

Romantic Times (top pick)

Unusual urban fantasy... highly entertaining.

Romance Reviews Today

Strouts... great sense of humor, combined with vivid characters, a complex mystery, and plenty of danger, makes for a fantastic read. Urban fantasy fans should not miss this exciting series.

SciFiChick.com

DEADER STILL

Such a fast-paced, engaging, entertaining book that the pages seemed to fly by far too quickly. Take the New York of Men in Black and Ghostbusters , inject the same pop-culture awareness and irreverence of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The Middleman , toss in a little Thomas Crown Affair , shake and stir, and youve got something fairly close to this book.

The Green Man Review

It has a Men in Black flavor mixed with NYPD Blue s more gritty realism... if you think of the detectives as working the night shift in the Twilight Zone . Its a book (and a protagonist) that is going places, and those who enjoy something fresh in urban fantasy will enjoy what they find. Strongly recommended.

SFRevu

A refreshing, exciting urban fantasy with elements of romance and horror that will appeal to fans of Jim Butcher.

The Best Reviews

A fun read... The pace moves right along, running poor Simon a little ragged in the process, but providing plenty of action. If you liked Dead to Me , its a safe bet youll like this one even more.

Jim C. Hines, author of Red Hoods Revenge

A fun, interesting, and witty read. It is something a little different, with a male protagonist, tongue-in-cheek attitude, and interesting mystery.

Urban Fantasy Land

It has a little bit of everything for the paranormal junkie... unique from a lot of the urban fantasy genre. This is a fantastic series.

Bitten by Books (5 tombstones)

Nice touches... There is a lot to like here.

VOYA

Clever, well-paced, and attention-grabbing.

Errant Dreams

DEAD TO ME

Simon Canderous is a reformed thief and a psychometrist. By turns despondent over his luck with the ladies (not always living) and his struggle with the hierarchy of his mysterious department (not always truthful), Simons life veers from crisis to crisis. Following Simons adventures is like being the pinball in an especially antic game, but its well worth the wear and tear.

Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead in the Family

Part Ghostbusters , part Men in Black , Strouts debut is both dark and funny, with quirky characters, an eminently likable protagonist, and the comfortable, familiar voice of a close friend. His mix of (mostly) secret bureaucratic bickering and offbeat action shows New York like weve never seen it before. Make room on the shelf, cause youre going to want to keep this one!

Rachel Vincent, New York Times bestselling author of Alpha

Urban fantasy with a wink and a nod. Anton Strout has written a good-hearted send-up of the urban fantasy genre. Dead to Me is a genuinely fun book with a fresh and firmly tongue-in-cheek take on the idea of paranormal police. The laughs are frequent as are the wry smiles. Im looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Kelly McCullough, author of SpellCrash

Written with equal parts humor and horror. Strout creates an engaging character... clever, fast paced, and a refreshing change in the genre of urban fantasy.

SFRevu

In much the same vein as Mark Del Francos Unquiet Dreams or John Levitts Dog Days , Strouts urban fantasy debut features plenty of self-deprecating humor, problematic special powers, and a quick pace, with the added twist of overwhelming government bureaucracy. Strouts inventive story line raises the genres bar with his collection of oddly mismatched, entertaining characters and not-so-secret organizations.

Monsters and Critics

Imagine if Harry Dresden or Angel had to work in a poorly run office, dealing with office politics and red tape. Its a great debut.

CHUD.com

A wickedly weird debut from a writer who makes being dead sexier than its ever been before. And who doesnt love a debonair, divination-having, ghost-seducing, cultist-abusing detective in New York? Imagine Law & Order but with hot ghostly chicks, rampaging bookcases, and a laugh track.

Carolyn Turgeon, author of Mermaid

A strong debut... Seeing the world through Simons eyes is a funny, quirky, and occasionally scary experience. Strouts world will be well worth revisiting.

Romantic Times

Ace Books by Anton Strout

DEAD TO ME
DEADER STILL
DEAD MATTER
DEAD WATERS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

DEAD WATERS

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Ace mass-market edition / March 2011

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-1-101-47722-9

ACE

Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. ACE and the A design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

http://us.penguingroup.com

For my grandparents
Ray & Edna Van Valkenburg,
who have supported me all along

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Welcome to book four in the Simon Canderous series, dear readers. Thanks for dropping by once again. Glad you made it through the zombie-filled streets.

It takes a village to bring a book to fruition... a haunted, creepy, fog-filled village. Its time to thank some of those villagers personally for ushering Dead Waters into existence, including: everyone at Penguin Group, most notably the creepy crawlies who inhabit paperback sales; my editor, Jessica Wade, beater-upper of bad writing whenever it rears its ugly head in my manuscript; production editor Michelle Kasper and copy editor Valle Hansen; Annette Fiore DeFex, Judith Murello, and Don Sipley, for an action-packed jacket, complete with gargoyle and Simons trusty retractable bat; Erica Colon and her crack team of ad/promo people; Jodi Rosoff and my publicist, Rosanne Romanello, who parade me out from time to time to interact with the public; my agent, Kristine Dahl, and Laura Neely, at ICM, who keep track of the kind of details that make my head all splodey; the Dorks of the Round Tableauthors Jeanine Cummins and Carolyn Turgeon; the League of Reluctant Adults, for continued support and stocking of the bar; glamazon Lisa Trevethan, for her eye in all things beta; Jennifer Snyder, webmistress of UndeadApproved.com, the unofficial fan site that knows more about me than me; my family; and last but certainly not least, my wife, Orly, who puts up with long hours of me ignoring her while I bring these books to you. She has the patience of a saint and my undying love. Now, lets see what shenanigans the gang down at the Department of Extraordinary Affairs is up to this time, shall we?