Thrillers & Suspense
![Brian Selfon - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B08DDL1Q3P.jpg)
Nightworkers
"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 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?
Editorial Reviews
*A Best Debut of 2020 at CrimeReads*
*A Best Book of Fall at Esquire*
*A Most Anticipated Book of 2020 at Lit Hub*
*A Most Anticipated Book of Fall at Crime Reads, Murder and Mayhem, Military.com, and Publishers Lunch*
"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
"Electric, surprising, and tightly plotted, The Nightworkers establishes Selfon as a compelling writer to watch."
―Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire
"Absolutely brilliant . . . Each character is complex and beautifully drawn, and the ending was genuinely surprising. There's art, theft, tight family bonds, and intricate plotting―it's really got everything."
―Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
"A gripping, big-hearted thriller about a family of criminals coming apart at the seams. Whip-smart and surprisingly funny, The Nightworkers is a terrific debut about loyalty and the ties that bind."
―Harlan Coben, author of The Boy from the Woods
"[Selfon] sets this stunning debut in [Brooklyn]―the gritty bits, not the trendy ones . . . Selfon slowly unspools his plot with striking prose and characters whose frailties and strengths take precedence over slam-bang action."
―Adam Woog, The Seattle Times
"Selfon's experiences as an investigative analyst for the Brooklyn District Attorney'...
*A Best Book of Fall at Esquire*
*A Most Anticipated Book of 2020 at Lit Hub*
*A Most Anticipated Book of Fall at Crime Reads, Murder and Mayhem, Military.com, and Publishers Lunch*
"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
"Electric, surprising, and tightly plotted, The Nightworkers establishes Selfon as a compelling writer to watch."
―Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire
"Absolutely brilliant . . . Each character is complex and beautifully drawn, and the ending was genuinely surprising. There's art, theft, tight family bonds, and intricate plotting―it's really got everything."
―Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
"A gripping, big-hearted thriller about a family of criminals coming apart at the seams. Whip-smart and surprisingly funny, The Nightworkers is a terrific debut about loyalty and the ties that bind."
―Harlan Coben, author of The Boy from the Woods
"[Selfon] sets this stunning debut in [Brooklyn]―the gritty bits, not the trendy ones . . . Selfon slowly unspools his plot with striking prose and characters whose frailties and strengths take precedence over slam-bang action."
―Adam Woog, The Seattle Times
"Selfon's experiences as an investigative analyst for the Brooklyn District Attorney'...
Readers Top Reviews
Michael RobersonEzra
Normally after reading a book this incandescent I would spend the next weeks devouring the author's other books. Alas, I will have to wait. The Nightworkers is a story that provides insight and perhaps even hope for a future that is different and better. I am tempted to begin re-reading it immediately.
EB
The Nightworkers is one of those books that sucks you right into its twisty plot. But secretly, its even twistier characters are calling all the shots. You'll really want to get to who done it (and who did that other thing, and then there's more!), but do yourself a favor and savor your time with uncle Shecky, Henry, and Kerasha. Even Lipz might grow on you. Soak in the gritty edges of gentrifying Brooklyn. Remind your paranoid self that the tools governments use to pry into your private data must have already fallen into even wronger hands. I'm not big on self-denial. But when, less than halfway through the book, I started getting nostalgic about my time with this family of money launderers, I knew I needed rules. No reading until after dinner, and then only so many pages per night. Never top up, not even to finish a chapter (skinny Kerasha would be proud). Still, it was over much too soon. I really hope Selfon has another book in the works!
Jeannette Hartman
Shecky Keenan has everything he ever wanted and never had: a family that sits down to dinner together, a profitable business, a house and security. So maybe only one family member, Shecky’s nephew Henry Vek, is a blood relative. And the newest addition is Kerasha Brown, a notorious former child-thief, fresh out of prison and in danger of being sent back anytime her court-appointed psychiatrist decides she’s taking the wrong path. And the business is a money-laundering scheme. It all works until odd cracks start to appear in Shecky’s world: money transfer denied by the Bank of America. Notifications of internal inquiries by Chase. An account closed by Capital One. Then one of Henry’s runners, carrying a black garbage bag filled with $250,000 from a trusted client is murdered and the bag missing. Shecky has to make good. Author Brian Selfon has created a delightful cast of characters: Kerasha is an avid reader whose mind is filled with lines of Walt Whitman’s poetry as she goes about her business; Henry yearns to be an artist; Zera Montengegro, the cop looking at the murder, was once the victim of a sex-trafficker. She pursues money launderers to reach the sex traffickers. The characters are flawed with wonderful flashes of light. Selfon doesn’t whitewash the criminals but he does allow you to see their humanity. This book is about a murder, but at its heart, it is a story about family.
Sleepless in Seattle
Prepare to be up all night. Nightworkers is a rich reading experience. The plot is complex, fast-moving, funny, and always surprising. The characters are original—deep and humane. All of them are as interested in art (and drama, and poetry) as in the family money laundering business. And in each case, the character’s love for art is organic, well-rooted in his / her difficult past experiences. But these are not warm, fuzzy characters you will only love. Each of them is also flawed and frustrating. Some of them really do need to die. Mr. Selfon’s novel sets the bar very high for 2020. Hard to imagine a better read in these crazy times.
Thomas Kelley
Family is everything, especially in this story. Even though it is not your typical Mom, Pop, Children family. This involves Uncle Shecky Keenan, niece Kerasha and second cousin Henry. They all have suffered some kind of loss and Kerasha is just coming out of prison. They all need each other for various reasons and Uncle Shecky does his best by having a decent place to live, family meals everyday and bringing them into the family business. The family business is one that works in the shadows handling businesses and individuals that want to stay hidden and operate in cash only. For a small fee the family business handles the cash, hides it in various ways and creates paper trails so the people can handle daily and life financial issues. In effect the family business launders money. Everything is going well until one member of the family breaks a cardinal rule by introducing someone new to the family business and this individual winds up dead and this is when the problems start. The pace was pretty good for this book.
