Jeffery Deaver: XO

The Crew

Bobby Prescott Traynor Davis

Tye Slocum Sandy (“Scoop”) Miller

Hector Garcia Carole Ng

Sue Stevens

The Band

Kevin Peebles, lead guitar Alonzo Santiago, drums and

Emma Sue Granger, guitar, basspercussion

guitar and vocals Sharon Bascowitz, keyboard,

Buddy Delmore, National guitar,saxophone, oboe, cello and vocals

Dobro and pedal steel Kayleigh Towne, guitar, vocals

Produced by Barry Zeigler, BHMC Records.

With thanks to Alicia Sessions and Bishop Towne-Love you, Daddy!

This album is dedicated to my niece, Mary-Gordon Sanchez, the cutest six-year-old on the planet!

I’d like to express my appreciation to Ken Landers and Clay Stafford, American Blackguard Film and Television and the supremely talented musicians who made this project possible, especially our wonderful singer, Treva Blomquist. For details on all the personnel, go to my website or www.americanblackguard.com. Treva’s website is www.trevamusic.com. A wonderful organization in North Carolina, Music Maker, also provided great assistance. Check out their website, www.musicmaker.org.

Thanks to my regular crew, Deborah, Cathy, Victoria, Vivienne, Betsy, Carolyn, Jamie, Francesca, Julie, Jane, Will, Tina… and, of course, Madelyn.

Finally, special thanks and all my best wishes to my friends at Simon & Schuster: Jessica Abell, Louise Burke, Amy Cormier, Jon Karp, Sarah Knight, Molly Lindley, Irene Lipsky, Phil Metcalf, Carolyn Reidy, Kelly Welsh and everyone else.

The lyrics to all the songs in this novel are © 2011 Jeffery W. Deaver.

A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one best-selling author. His novels have appeared on best-seller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, Sydney Morning Herald and Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages.

The author of twenty-eight novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he’s received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window was also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader’s Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded the book their annual Grand Prix award.

Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.

His book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. And, yes, the rumors are true, he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns.

He was born outside Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.

Readers can visit his website at www.jefferydeaver.com.