Chris F. Holm wrote his first story at the age of six. It got him sent to the principal’s office. He’d like to think that right then is when he decided to become a writer. Since then, his work has fared better, appearing in such publications as Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Needle Magazine, and Thuglit. He’s been an Anthony Award nominee, a Derringer Award finalist, and a Spinetingler Award winner, and his novella “The Hitter” was selected for inclusion in THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2011. His Collector novels recast the battle between heaven and hell as Golden Era crime pulp. Learn more at 
Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm
Chris F. Holm’s first novel, Dead Harvest, is supernatural noir at its best. Sam Thornton, who is as surely named for Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade as he is for the Hebrew judge of the Bible, is the best sort of hero to serve as the basis for a series (THE COLLECTOR): despite being damned, he still has a strong sense of right and wrong, and refuses to do wrong whenever he has the option.
The novel is based on one occasion when Sam has that option. His job is to collect damned souls to speed them on their way to their eternal punishment. His boss, Lilith (whom he always calls “Lily,” which she hates), has assigned him to collect the soul of Kate MacNeil, who has just killed her entire family. There is no doubt about this, because she tortured her mother until the police showed up, when she ended it by slitting her mother’s throat in t... Read More
