Description:

No head butts, groin strikes, eye gouges, or fishhooks. He'd go along with it, but heavyweight mixed martial artist Aaron "Woodshed" Wallace thinks they're taking all the fun out of fighting. Stuck on no-name cards for tiny organizations, Woody is trying to put his shady past behind him with help from his trainer and mentor, Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Gil Hobbes. When Banzai Eddie Takanori--president of MMA's largest organization, Warrior Inc.--offers Woody a short-notice fight against a highly favored poster boy, Woody sees his shot at salvation. By the time he realizes he's just a pawn in a high-stakes game between psychopaths, he's in way too deep. Good thing he knows how to take a punch. And give a few back... ** ### Review "Brown . . . launches a new thriller series with this impressive first set in the violent world of professional mixed martial arts. . . . The gore inherent in no-holds-barred fighting may be excessive for some, but seasoned noir fans will find plenty to savor. The engaging Wallace is more than capable of carrying a series." —*Publishers Weekly *(August 2011) "Brown has extensive training in various martial arts disciplines and takes readers deep inside the world of MMA. . . . He also gives readers a smartly constructed, well-told crime novel." —David Pitt, *Booklist* (August 2011) "This superb thriller stands a bloody head above other titles in this genre. Fans of MMA and readers who enjoy sports fiction will want a ringside seat for this one." —*Library Journal* (August 2011) "Between the sanctioned fights, the training for the boys, and the mob, readers will enjoy Wallace taking opponents to the woodshed." —*Midwest Book Review *(August 1, 2011) ### About the Author **Jeremy Brown** is the author of the Crime Files: Four-Minute Forensic Mysteries books and the MMA crime thriller Suckerpunch.* *He has trained in Jeet Kune Do, MMA, and close-quarters combat, and quickly realized it hurts less to write about such things. He lives in Michigan.