The Vaults

"(An) impressive thriller debut.... The plot steamrolls to a dramatic conclusion.  (D)espair and graft are almost palpable...an imaginative achievement on par with Loren Estleman's Gas City." --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

[T]he humor, the pathos, the simple humanity, the sudden, brutal, shocking violence--all combin[e] in a satisfying noirish stew. The Vaults succeeds on every level, in its language, plotting, and ability to enthrall readers.
--Mystery Scene

Though clad in convincing period detail, Ball's atmospheric debut thriller is a story for the ages. ...[W]ill heighten readers' senses, engage their minds, and satisfy their craving for exciting stories. --Library Journal (starred review)

In a dystopian 1930s America, a chilling series of events leads three men down a path to uncover their city's darkest secret.

At the height of the most corrupt administration in the City’s history, a mysterious duplicate file is discovered deep within the Vaults---a cavernous hall containing all of the municipal criminal justice records of the last seventy years. From here, the story follows: Arthur Puskis, the Vault’s sole, hermit-like archivist with an almost mystical faith in a system to which he has devoted his life; Frank Frings, a high-profile investigative journalist with a self-medicating reefer habit; and Ethan Poole, a socialist private eye with a penchant for blackmail.

All three men will undertake their own investigations into the dark past and uncertain future of the City---calling into question whether their most basic beliefs can be maintained in a climate of overwhelming corruption and conspiracy