The Skinny, My New Novel, Is Out On March 24!

"The Skinny," my first novel, will be published on March 24, 2026. You can get it here. I signed with Measure Publishing because they allowed me more freedom. I've had input every step of the way. 

I am the New York Times’ video game columnist. About 15 years ago, I began writing “The Skinny." Along with my favorite mystery novels, it is somewhat influenced by games like Grand Theft Auto and L.A. Noire. I began writing “The Skinny” shortly after my first book, “My Life Among the Serial Killers,” co-written with Dr. Helen Morrison, had been a bestseller. It went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. Serial killers were still on my mind when I created Stan Kaminski, my Polish sleuth, the mystery novel’s protagonist. He speaks as an immigrant who’s still learning the English language.

“The Skinny” is a noir novel about sheer evil in the Big Apple. Stan Kaminski, a down-on-his-luck Polish immigrant, tries to scratch out an existence in 1990s New York City while avoiding the colorful, nefarious characters he encounters at every turn.
When Stan is asked by one of Manhattan’s wealthiest landlords to find a lost woman, he refuses at first. But money lures him in. As Stan searches for the brilliant but troubled Charmaine, he becomes ensnared in a waking nightmare full of mystery, multiple murders and the valuable braquemard of a serial killer.
The Skinny, the first book in a planned trilogy, concerns the conflicts that come with change as one New York vanishes and another appears to take its place. It explores the constant struggle between the rich and the poor, how the addicted mind battles itself for answers, the way one mystery is solved only to open the door to another, and what hope actually means.