Undercard is Available in Audiobook, eBook & Paperback

When Tyron Shaw returns to his hometown of Las Vegas after eleven years in the Marines, he’s surprised to discover that two of his best friends from childhood are all anyone is talking about: Antoine Deco, three years out of prison, hasn’t lost a boxing match since his release, and tonight is fighting in the undercard to the fight of the decade; and Keenan Quinn, a police officer who killed an unarmed teenager and escaped punishment from the courts, is the subject of a protest tomorrow morning.

Tyron has trouble reconciling either story with his memory of these men, and the situation escalates when he runs into the love of his life, Naomi Wilks, a retired WNBA player, basketball coach, and estranged wife of Keenan. As Tyron reconnects with his old community, he will learn over the next twenty-four hours that much has changed since he left Las Vegas . . . and there is much more that he never understood.

“A rich, exhilarating story…Albertyn creates a pressure-cooker scenario for his characters, but manages amidst the adrenaline to bring out moments of insight and humanity.”

Dwyer MurphyEditor-in-Chief, CrimeReads

“[Albertyn] successfully generates a gritty, dark atmosphere in the novel that draws on the best elements of noir to keep readers edgy and absorbed. His interiors are dark and gloomy, and his exteriors make us feel agoraphobic and threatened in a vague, undefined way…Also good are Albertyn’s characters…A good crime novel and a solid debut for David Albertyn.”

Michael J. McCannNew York Journal of Books

“If I were to rank my favourite sports from one to 100, boxing would come in at about 512. Two people beating each other to a pulp is so far from my idea of entertainment that I managed to skip seeing Rocky for decades. So when I say that a mystery about boxing and boxers kept me reading intently, you know it has to be better than good. Undercard, a debut novel by Toronto author David Albertyn, is that book… Albertyn is a writer to watch.”

Margaret CannonGlobe and Mail

“Undercard is a dizzying rollercoaster of suspense and action that examines the complexities of brotherhood and the consequences of tragic masculinity. Albertyn’s pitch-perfect understanding of the bonds of friendship gives this novel a powerful emotional center. If The Hangover were a serious suspense novel, it would be Undercard.”

S. A. CosbyAuthor of Blacktop Wasteland

“Fast-paced, fearless, and psychologically astute, Undercard is at once a terrific thriller and a sharp commentary on our turbulent times.”

David BezmozgisAuthor of The Free World and The Betrayers

“Undercard unfurls through the course of one day and night…We watch the players converge, hurling their separate histories at each other. Childhood loyalties are tested by adult dilemmas. Adult failures and dreams play out amid a growing public protest movement and police subterfuge. Old grudges surface. New grudges form…Undercard is less about boxing and more about how the America we think we know is really upside down… Undercard certainly speaks to present-day American dilemmas.”

Dennis RizzoThe Internet Review of Books

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