Shadows on Sidewalks

A Novel

James Grady

A cinematic and propulsive thriller from the author of Six Days Of The Condor and American Sky.

Bob Dylan once declared that "Sex and politics and murder is the way to go if you want to get people's attention," and readers won't be able to look away from Shadows on Sidewalks, the new erotic thriller from James Grady.

James Traven returns home to his small Montana town in autumn 2024 to care for his mother after a devasting fall. He quickly finds himself trapped in a life-threateneing web of lies and lust. With the clock ticking, Traven must save the savvy and beautiful Lana LaBuff from almost-certain murder. Complicating things is her monstrous husband and the fact that their only ally is Cody, the mysterious former Marine who runs the local gun shop and regularly ghosts on ordinary life.

Fresh and fast-paced, Shadow on Sidewalks takes us on a roller coaster ride through old age, racism, anger, sorrow, lust, and love. From the click of a cocked pistol to the distress signal—an "S.O.S."—emitted as James and Lana fight amidst a swirl of personal and political struggles, James Grady demonstratses his mastery of the noir form and shines a light on the modern condition.

James Grady’s first novel Six Days Of The Condor became the classic Robert Redford movie Three Days Of The Condor and the current Max Irons TV series Condor.  Grady has received Italy’s Raymond Chandler Medal, France’s Grand Prix Du Roman Noir and Japan’s Baka-Misu literature award, two Regardies Magazine short story awards, and been a Mystery Writers of America Edgar finalist.  He's published more than a dozen novels and three times that many short stories, been a muckraker journalist and a scriptwriter for film and television. In 2008, London’s Daily Telegraph named Grady as one of “50 crime writers to read before you die.”  In 2015, The Washington Post compared his prose to George Orwell and Bob Dylan.

 

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Endorsements & Reviews

"Indecent Proposal meets Bob Dylan—Shadows on Sidewalks deftly weaves bold social commentary into a pacey erotic thriller. In snappy, lyrical prose, Grady explores the dynamics of power, privilege, and legacy in small-town America. Steamy, smart, and socially aware, this is both a nostalgic love letter to the country and an urgent wake-up call." K.T. Nguyen, Anthony Award-winning Author of You Know What You Did

Praise for James Grady

"Grady's style is loose, colorful, challenging and fun. I sometimes thought of Orwell’s novel 1984, sometimes of the Dylan song 'Desolation Row.'"
Patrick Anderson,The Washington Post

"Grady is a master of intrigue." John Grisham

"James Grady is the master of the dialogue-driven novel, with a rollicking plot about that heart-wrenching decade, drenched in its music, sex, politics and the hope for a better world." Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer

"This portrait of an artist as a young man is also, indelibly, the portrait of a nation—an epic canvas that always feels intimate, thanks to Grady’s gift for characterization, spot-on detail and generosity of spirit. You’ll feel like you were there even if you weren’t, and you’ll have the world’s best jukebox playing in your head. A terrific ride." Louis Bayard, author of The Wildes

"The storytelling is compelling and fast-paced, the characters loveable but flawed, and the depiction of small-town Montana is spot on. Do yourself a favor and buy both books." Distinctly Montana, Russell Rowland