THE LONG DIVISION From the Edgar-nominated author of Pyres comes a novel of broken lives, long divided, now reunited in a frenzy of shocking events… An Atlanta housecleaner flees her nowhere life to reunite with the son she gave up for adoption. The teenage boy joins his long lost mother on an unlawful road trip that proves how much they both have to lose by finding each other. Elsewhere, a deputy must track down the shooter in a drug-related double murder before other investigators discover the deputy’s illicit ties to the case. The killer is an unbalanced college kid hunted by vengeful drug dealers and the police, haunted by loves both dead and for bidden. When the renegade mother and son arrive, past sins and present gambits will ensnare them in the violent endgame between the deputy and the desperate killer. Rights Information Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, Hardcover (October 27, 2009) Territory: World Rights Available: Film/TV Reviews: "With THE LONG DIVISION, Derek Nikitas bumps up the style requirements for writing crime fiction another notch... [The story] takes some dazzling plot maneuvers, but Nikitas interlocks his fragmented story pieces in a way that makes everything seem inevitable — even the murders." - Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "Here is a book to scorch the heart and freeze the blood. Here is a story that leaves the reader gasping in shock and sadness, dry-mouthed and damp-eyed, dragging in air as the final chapters detonate. Here, in abundance, is live-wire language pumping beauty, desire and violence like electric currents; here are characters so exquisitely textured, the pages nearly shudder with their breath...extraordinary...'The Long Division' appropriates signature themes and devices of American independent cinema...Tiny truths glint in the flicker of Nikitas's prose, bright and crisp as flame...Above all, this is an opus of compassion. 'The Long Division' loves its characters, fears for them, and when, in a flawlessly choreographed ballet of violence, someone meets an abrupt end, the shock sears. In his acknowledgments, the author modestly dismisses himself as a writer 'of minor talents.' This is his only mistake. Here is a major talent." - Daniel Mallory, The Washington Post “Sentences, paragraphs, even chapters don't so much end as act like synapses jumping to the next sequence. Nikitas effectively picks up and drops each thread. Beautifully realized characterizations power complex story lines that meet and connect this disparate group with the inevitability of Greek tragedy.” – Publishers Weekly starred review “What would happen if an ordinary person gave in to temptation and committed a serious crime? Nikitas's second novel, after the Edgar-nominated Pyres, addresses this question. What appear to be separate lives and problems reveal themselves to be related as the narrative intertwines, picks up speed, and hurtles to its startling and violent conclusion. Nikitas is a master craftsman of both plot and prose, merging gritty, evocative description with sharply drawn characters in a staccato style that includes scenes that end in the middle of a thought. Verdict Readers of Joyce Carol Oates will appreciate this novel, and as will those who enjoyed Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie books, and Tana French's crime novels.” – Library Journal starred review "[Nikitas] stirs echoes of Tarantino, Carroll, Shakespeare... a novel concerned with bigger questions of identity, forgiveness, sin and fate." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blurbs: “Coming off one of the most accomplished debuts in recent years, Derek Nikitas’s second novel, The Long Division, exceeds even the grandest of expectations. As he deftly weaves together three perilous storylines, we feel ourselves simultaneously moved, horrified and brokenhearted as the novel spirals towards its breathtaking conclusion. Nikitas finds beauty and pathos in the smallest of gestures, the largest of actions, the darkest of paths. Not to be missed.” – Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of Queenpin and Bury Me Deep “Derek Nikitas reveals a maimed beauty in the darkest recesses of the human heart, and THE LONG DIVISION will stay with you long after you turn the last page. I loved this book.” – Sean Chercover “Dark and unflinching, The Long Division is a razor-sharp tale of desperation and unrequitable love, a roman noir with a broken heart. Derek Nikitas explores the lonely and lost parts of the human soul with brutal empathy, and he tells a damn good story while he does it.” – Kelly Braffet, author of Last Seen Leaving and Jack and Josie “In its dark heart, this murderous tale is about family, but whether family is our salvation or our doom is the real mystery. Pushed to their breaking points, Nikitas characters are brutally compelling, his narrative voice riveting. Once again,his storytelling seems powered by a steam-engine, an unstoppable force.” – Julianna Baggott, author of The Prince of Fenway Park and My Husbands Sweethearts (as Bridget Asher) Purchase at Amazon.com

THE LONG DIVISION

From the Edgar-nominated author of Pyres comes a novel of broken lives, long divided, now reunited in a frenzy of shocking events… An Atlanta housecleaner flees her nowhere life to reunite with the son she gave up for adoption. The teenage boy joins his long lost mother on an unlawful road trip that proves how much they both have to lose by finding each other. Elsewhere, a deputy must track down the shooter in a drug-related double murder before other investigators discover the deputy’s illicit ties to the case. The killer is an unbalanced college kid hunted by vengeful drug dealers and the police, haunted by loves both dead and for bidden. When the renegade mother and son arrive, past sins and present gambits will ensnare them in the violent endgame between the deputy and the desperate killer.

Rights Information

Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, Hardcover (October 27, 2009)

Territory: World

Rights Available: Film/TV

Reviews:
"With THE LONG DIVISION, Derek Nikitas bumps up the style requirements for writing crime fiction another notch... [The story] takes some dazzling plot maneuvers, but Nikitas interlocks his fragmented story pieces in a way that makes everything seem inevitable — even the murders." - Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"Here is a book to scorch the heart and freeze the blood. Here is a story that leaves the reader gasping in shock and sadness, dry-mouthed and damp-eyed, dragging in air as the final chapters detonate. Here, in abundance, is live-wire language pumping beauty, desire and violence like electric currents; here are characters so exquisitely textured, the pages nearly shudder with their breath...extraordinary...'The Long Division' appropriates signature themes and devices of American independent cinema...Tiny truths glint in the flicker of Nikitas's prose, bright and crisp as flame...Above all, this is an opus of compassion. 'The Long Division' loves its characters, fears for them, and when, in a flawlessly choreographed ballet of violence, someone meets an abrupt end, the shock sears. In his acknowledgments, the author modestly dismisses himself as a writer 'of minor talents.' This is his only mistake. Here is a major talent." - Daniel Mallory, The Washington Post

“Sentences, paragraphs, even chapters don't so much end as act like synapses jumping to the next sequence. Nikitas effectively picks up and drops each thread. Beautifully realized characterizations power complex story lines that meet and connect this disparate group with the inevitability of Greek tragedy.” – Publishers Weekly *starred review*

“What would happen if an ordinary person gave in to temptation and committed a serious crime? Nikitas's second novel, after the Edgar-nominated Pyres, addresses this question. What appear to be separate lives and problems reveal themselves to be related as the narrative intertwines, picks up speed, and hurtles to its startling and violent conclusion. Nikitas is a master craftsman of both plot and prose, merging gritty, evocative description with sharply drawn characters in a staccato style that includes scenes that end in the middle of a thought. Verdict Readers of Joyce Carol Oates will appreciate this novel, and as will those who enjoyed Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie books, and Tana French's crime novels.” – Library Journal *starred review*

"[Nikitas] stirs echoes of Tarantino, Carroll, Shakespeare... a novel concerned with bigger questions of identity, forgiveness, sin and fate." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Blurbs:
“Coming off one of the most accomplished debuts in recent years, Derek Nikitas’s second novel, The Long Division, exceeds even the grandest of expectations. As he deftly weaves together three perilous storylines, we feel ourselves simultaneously moved, horrified and brokenhearted as the novel spirals towards its breathtaking conclusion. Nikitas finds beauty and pathos in the smallest of gestures, the largest of actions, the darkest of paths. Not to be missed.” – Megan Abbott, Edgar-winning author of Queenpin and Bury Me Deep

“Derek Nikitas reveals a maimed beauty in the darkest recesses of the human heart, and THE LONG DIVISION will stay with you long after you turn the last page. I loved this book.” – Sean Chercover

“Dark and unflinching, The Long Division is a razor-sharp tale of desperation and unrequitable love, a roman noir with a broken heart. Derek Nikitas explores the lonely and lost parts of the human soul with brutal empathy, and he tells a damn good story while he does it.” – Kelly Braffet, author of Last Seen Leaving and Jack and Josie

“In its dark heart, this murderous tale is about family, but whether family is our salvation or our doom is the real mystery. Pushed to their breaking points, Nikitas characters are brutally compelling, his narrative voice riveting. Once again,his storytelling seems powered by a steam-engine, an unstoppable force.” – Julianna Baggott, author of The Prince of Fenway Park and My Husbands Sweethearts (as Bridget Asher)

Purchase at Amazon.com