“Tricky is a witty, gritty love letter to Los Angeles. The action thrills; the key players are written with sensitivity and grace; and Stallings manages to entertain while advocating for criminal justice reform and calling out unexamined societal biases.” — Katrina Niidas Holm, Mystery Scene Magazine
Author: joshstallings
Mystery People Review
Tricky is a great cop thriller and so much more. It straddles the works of Michael Conelly and Craig Johnson with a style and voice all its own.
Library Journal Review
A challenging must-read for police procedural fans reflects today’s society.
Booklist Review
This is a finely crafted novel. Noirishly hard-boiled, the book is much more than a police procedural; it’s an exploration of some serious themes, such as personal redemption and the societal prejudices against the disabled
CrimeReads Review
Punk-rock poet Josh Stallings has written an intense new crime novel about the power of people to change.
Live Talk Idyllwild Library 2.16.21 6pm PST
Join us for the first in a series of Local Author Talks, “Idyllwild Reads…Idyllwild.”
Inspiration for writing TRICKY
Everything I write starts from my life, people I’ve known, people I’ve been. Somewhere in the writing the characters and story gain a life of their own. Looking back I can see three distinct muses that drove the creation of TRICKY.
Please Don’t Shoot My Son
I have been asked why publish Tricky now. In light of the Black Lives Matter and the Defund the Police movement, what kinda idjit writes a LAPD detective as a protagonist? Short answer: Um, me. Snarky answer: Problems with the police didn’t start in the summer of 2020. If you haven’t noticed this, count yourself…
Crime Fiction Needs Neurodiversity.
My placement of an intellectually disabled man at the center of Tricky wasn’t a decision to be neurodiverse—I hadn’t heard of the term yet—or a plotting calculation. It was personal. My son Dylan is intellectually disabled.
Virtual Book Signing!
Get a signed bookplate for Josh Stallings’ novel Tricky.