Manifesto Destination

Book excerpt: Elmore Johnson has only got two friends, the bottle of Jim Beam in his coat pocket and a revolver named Lorraine. He worked for the Indianapolis Police Department until they booted him for exposing dirty cops. Now he makes a meager living snapping seedy photos. But when Elmore shoots pictures of the daughter of a wealthy CEO making cheap porn, the girl ends up dead. As the bodies pile up, Elmore finds himself trapped in the heart of a bizarre conspiracy until he discovers the horrifying truth about a place called Manifesto Destination. Alec Cizak’s Manifesto Destination will take you back to dystopian 1998 Indianapolis where everyone—the cops, big business, and even the little guy—is dirty and only looking out for themselves. His writing is boiled rock hard and keeps you turning one noir-infested page after another until you find yourself as paranoid as Elmore Johnson. Praise for MANIFESTO DESTINATION: “Alec Cizak finds the naked truth on the printed page. An artist with no fear and thankfully no moral center.” —David Cranmer, editor of Beat To a Pulp “The city of Indianapolis like you haven’t seen it before (at least not yet), seasoned with a splash of noir, a dash of dystopia and almost but not quite hard-boiled. More like Eggs Benedict—though that breakfast was originally invented as a hangover cure, and this might cause one. Alec Cizak’s heady mixture of sci-fi and P.I., bad cops and Big Brothers, is a dark, funny read, full of twists and a barely controlled rage at the state of our corporate nation. And by nudging his detective story into a disturbing but recognizable future, the author paints this concoction with an extra layer of despair, as we realize his Phil Dickian satire of manipulation is not just familiar, but also inevitable. Best read with Charlie Parker in the background (the hero probably wore out his ‘Charlie Parker With Strings’ tape, but it weaves the perfect soundtrack). Jazzy and weird, the whole thing is probably a thinly-veiled threat, but I had too much fun to heed any warnings. See you at the Magic Carpet before they tear it down.” —David James Keaton, author of Fish Bites Cop: Stories To Bash Authorities