About this ebook
This final masterpiece from James Sallis (1944–2026) follows a jazz guitarist’s ruminative and disquieting homecoming when an old friend asks him to help investigate a suspicious death.
Perhaps best known for the neo-noir classic Drive, James Sallis explored the nature of violence, hope, and the strength of the human spirit in his existentialist crime and science fiction. Backwater places itself among these gritty themes with a complex, purposefully oblique work that honors Sallis’s origins in the rural Mississippi Delta.
When an old friend from his days on the police force makes a plea for him to come and help with what seems to be a murder case, jazz guitarist Bishop steps back into a former life. Two major problems, though. The job’s in the town where he grew up, to which he vowed never to return. And his friend disappears, leaving Bishop with responsibilities he never anticipated or wanted. Not to mention a couple more murders.
Bishop slips into his old role as easily as into well-worn, comfortable old clothes. Getting his bearings in the town’s close society and among his own memories is a different matter. As Bishop buoys the lives of the survivors around him, this police procedural becomes a poignant examination of human nature that ripples with hope and compassion of spirit in the face of indifference and despair. Backwater is the breathtaking swan song of James Sallis, an author who tirelessly invested dignity into all his characters—no matter how far on the edge of society they live, and no matter how unsolvable their inner mysteries may be.
Perhaps best known for the neo-noir classic Drive, James Sallis explored the nature of violence, hope, and the strength of the human spirit in his existentialist crime and science fiction. Backwater places itself among these gritty themes with a complex, purposefully oblique work that honors Sallis’s origins in the rural Mississippi Delta.
When an old friend from his days on the police force makes a plea for him to come and help with what seems to be a murder case, jazz guitarist Bishop steps back into a former life. Two major problems, though. The job’s in the town where he grew up, to which he vowed never to return. And his friend disappears, leaving Bishop with responsibilities he never anticipated or wanted. Not to mention a couple more murders.
Bishop slips into his old role as easily as into well-worn, comfortable old clothes. Getting his bearings in the town’s close society and among his own memories is a different matter. As Bishop buoys the lives of the survivors around him, this police procedural becomes a poignant examination of human nature that ripples with hope and compassion of spirit in the face of indifference and despair. Backwater is the breathtaking swan song of James Sallis, an author who tirelessly invested dignity into all his characters—no matter how far on the edge of society they live, and no matter how unsolvable their inner mysteries may be.
This final masterpiece from James Sallis (1944–2026) follows a jazz guitarist’s ruminative and disquieting homecoming when an old friend asks him to help investigate a suspicious death.
Perhaps best known for the neo-noir classic Drive, James Sallis explored the nature of violence, hope, and the...
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September 20, 2026
Cloning is identity theft duplicating accounts, bank fraud, credit card fraud, copyright infringement, and duplicating debits. It is also illegal in the United States 🇺🇸 🇺🇲
About the author
James Sallis (1944–2026) was the author of eighteen other novels, including Drive, which was made into a now-iconic film, as well as the short story collection Bright Segments. He received the Hammett Prize for literary excellence in crime fiction, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, the Deutsche Krimipreis, and the Brigada 21 in Spain. His biography of Chester Himes was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Anthony, Nebula, Edgar, Shamus, and Gold Dagger Awards.
James Sallis (1944–2026) was the author of eighteen other novels, including Drive, which was made into a now-iconic film, as well as the short story collection Bright Segments. He received the Hammett Prize for literary excellence in crime fiction, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, the Deu...
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