Description
Move over, Jack Reacher, here comes Frank Winter
The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America carries the Double Jeopardy clause. This states that no man, having been acquitted of a crime, shall be tried a second time for the same crime.
Frank Winter, a retired county sheriff and former hard-boiled Boston detective with a soft center, is living in curmudgeonly retirement with his beloved dog, Dolly. But when his daughter’s killer is released on parole, Frank’s back, a man on a mission, and it’s yesterday once more.
But first, Frank’s got a bunch of favors to call in. Throw in a rookie minder cop who’s great with computers but scared of guns, and help from the desirable Destiny, whose past is even murkier than Frank’s… well, you just know things will go according to plan.
Strong characters, well-paced action, dark humor and cracking dialogue make Double Jeopardy an old-school crime novel with a surprisingly modern twist.
About the Author
Stef Harris is a frontline police officer having served for over 30 years in Wellington, Christchurch and Nelson. He has been a frontline uniform officer for the whole of his career and in 2017 was awarded the Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery.
Stef Harris filmed his debut novel, The Waikikamukau Conspiracy, as a first-time film director in 2006. Retitled The Waimate Conspiracy, the film went on to win four Best Film awards around the world including Dreamspeakers Canada, DigiSPAA Screen Producers of Australia, Wairoa Maori Film Festival and the New Zealand Screen Directors Guild, Best Digital Feature Film 2007.
Harris was awarded the 2009 Air New Zealand Scholarship in Film and was mentored by New Zealand film director Martin Campbell on the Boston set of the Mel Gibson film, Edge of Darkness. The scholarship experience in Boston was eventually instrumental in the creation of both Double Jeopardy and a new film project, Blue Moon.
Following on from the Boston film scholarship, an early draft of Double Jeopardy was written as part of the Hagley Writers Institute programme. Harris was mentored by Morrin Rout and Frankie Macmillan for the year-long course writing a chapter a week to meet the course completion deadline. He graduated in second place with a completed first draft.
Harris’ arthouse feature film, Blue Moon, was shot over one week on an iPhone 7 and went on to win numerous best film awards in festivals around the world including in Texas, New York, Oslo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Barcelona and Sydney. Blue Moon was officially selected for the prestigious Cannes Antipodes Film Festival and screened in Cannes in May 2022.
Stef Harris is married and lives in Motueka. He has four adult children and eight grandchildren. He has a lifelong interest in martial arts and is a member of Seido karate.
Double Jeopardy is Stef Harris’s third published novel.
Specifications
ISBN: 978-1-99-110309-3
Pages: 256
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm
Format: Trade Paperback
Author: Stef Harris
Published: 24 May 2023
Reviews
Click HERE for the Nelson Public Libraries review
“Overall, Harris delivers an action-packed tale laced with humour, several fascinating characters, and some interesting storyline swerves along the way to an explosive conclusion. It’s the kind of novel that’s easy to envisage onscreen, the sort of thing Clint Eastwood or Gene Hackman may have starred in fifteen years ago as the cantankerous yet engaging lead, Frank Winter. Well worth a read.”
Craig Sisteson, August 2023 issue of Deadly Pleasures magazine, USA
“This is a ripper! Very brave to set a crime novel in Boston, Robert B. Parker territory, but he carries it off with strong characters, dramatic situations, well-paced action, cracking dialogue and nicely judged humour … This is hugely impressive … all the virtues we look for in crime fiction.”
Stephen Stratford, Editor of DOUBLE JEOPARDY
“An exciting strong and memorable novel. The theme of the mundane nature of evil is exemplified in the petty concerns over hierarchy in the brilliantly evoked United Militia. There is so much to like! Setting, character, plot, theme and language all combine to make Double Jeopardy a sure success.”
Author, Frankie McMillan
“Cunning, canny, seductive, sometimes brutal, on occasion also laugh-out-loud funny, Double Jeopardy is always human. Stefen Harris engages the reader from the get-go. Here is a masterful story, masterfully told, populated by provocative, engaging characters worth getting to know.”
Richard Walter, former professor and longtime chair of UCLA film school’s legendary program in screenwriting
“Double Jeopardy is an excellent tale. A modern western no less. I read it in two sittings. I can well see this as the first of a series. Frank is a very well drawn multi-layered character – gruff and likeable, loyal loving and forgiving, and as tough as all hell.”
Author, Andrew Grant
