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“Corbett delivers a rich, hard-hitting epic.”

—Publishers Weekly
Starred Review

“The best in contemporary crime fiction—or in contemporary fiction, period.”

—Washington Post

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“Corbett, like Robert Stone and Graham Greene before him, is crafting important, immensely thrilling books.”

—George Pelecanos

“That rare beast: a work of popular fiction that is both serious and thrilling.”

—John Connolly

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“The line runs through Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, straight on to David Corbett. I’m not kidding. He’s that good.”

—John Lescroart

“For all the lyricism of his narration and the compassion he shows, Corbett never strays too far from the blunt vigor of California noir.”

—New York Times Book Review

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“Corbett is the best of Quentin Tarantino and Elmore Leonard. Nobody writes crime fiction better.”

—Robert Dugoni

“Corbett handles his story line and subplots adroitly, in economical but polished prose, but his real strength is in character development.”

—Booklist

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The Story Behind the Story

The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday

David has regained his rights to this book and it is now once again available thanks to Square Tire Books

The most notorious love letters in American history—supposedly destroyed a century ago—mysteriously reappear, and become the coveted prize in a fierce battle for possession that brings back to life the lawless world evoked in the letters themselves.

Lisa Balamaro is an ambitious arts lawyer with a secret crush on her most intriguing client: former rodeo rider and reformed art forger, Tuck Mercer. In his newfound role as expert in Old West artifacts, Tuck gains possession of the supposedly destroyed correspondence between Doc Holliday and his cousin and childhood sweetheart, Mattie—who would become Sister Mary Melanie of the Sisters of Mercy.

Given the unlikelihood the letters can ever be fully authenticated, Tuck retains Lisa on behalf of the letters’ own, Rayella Vargas, to sell them on the black market. But the buyer Tuck finds, a duplicitous judge from the Tombstone area, has other, far more menacing ideas.

As Lisa works feverishly to make things right, Rayella secretly enlists her ex-marine boyfriend in a daring scheme of her own.

When the judge learns he’s been blindsided, he rallies a cadre of armed men for a deadly standoff reminiscent of the moment in history that made Doc famous: The Gunfight at the OK Corral.

Praise

Lefty Award Nomination for Best Historical Mystery
NAMED A TOP PICK OF 2018 BY BOOKREPORTER

“[T]his is a magnificent yarn—gripping, brutal, and literary. I’d say it’s as satisfying a page-turner as The Devil’s Redhead, my favorite of Corbett’s novels. It’s hard to compare the two as Doc Holliday is a richer literary experience than any of Corbett’s work I’ve read before… What makes this novel special is a literary flourish that transcends the crime genre. Corbett has always shown a rare talent as a wordsmith. At its best, his prose is electrifying and boasts a hip swagger that accentuates the brashness of his characters… Beyond its mesmerizing syntax, Doc Holliday is an homage to the heritage of the Old West—in letters, in painting, and in Corbett’s description of the culture and landscape of the area. The very fact the book’s subject, the letters themselves, came from an O.K. Corral vet shows that this novel at its heart is a celebration of the American frontier. Corbett rivals Wallace Stegner in infusing fiction with the culture of the American West…. Above all else, The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday is a thrilling read. The characters are bold and finely drawn and their actions drive a compelling narrative to its violent crescendo. There were some fine thrillers published in 2018, but none measures up to David Corbett’s latest.”
—Peter Moreira, Acclaimed author of the Haight Crime series

“David Corbett’s latest, The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday, is just terrific. The correspondence between Doc and his cousin sings with truth and passion, and the greater story of the letters’ provenance provides thrills enough for several novels. Highly recommended.”
—New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart

“David Corbett swaggers in to the new American western with the fresh and inventive The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday. The novel melds action thriller, courtroom drama, and Elmore Leonard-style crime novel to explore the territory where legend, lore, and fact collide. Corbett frames all of it by weaving in the correspondences between Doc Holliday and his cousin Mattie, creating an elegant counterpoint between old west and new.”
—BookPeople

“Corbett’s character-driven legal thriller is full of suspense and hard-charging gun-slinging action from the Old West to a modern-day shoot-out. The courtroom scenes are a master class in legal procedural fiction with quick-fired exchanges between all parties as the arts lawyer, Lisa Balamaro, seeks to have the stolen letters protected by the courts. Outside the courtroom, other characters find ways beyond the law to settle their disputes with deadly consequences, and an action-packed finale full of strategic combat complexity makes the shootouts of the Old West seem like a simpler time. But the results of violent revenge are timeless, and Corbett has served it up cold with calculated precision.”
—US Review of Books

“I just finished reading and loved The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday. Such a very creative and clever construct. The letters themselves are pitch perfect and oh so sad. And the tactical detail of the modern ‘shootout’ is spot on. As you can imagine, I’ve been in my fair share of combat, and you nail the conversation, tactics, and sensibilities of your combatants. I loved every minute of the book, and I think it stands with the one I read at Southcom [Blood of Paradise] as your best work. Well done.”
—Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.)

“What a joy. What an amazing read. The writing is simply beautiful. The characters, all flawed, are all believable. The plot is fast-paced, but this is not your typical run and gun thriller. This is one of those novels you must read to the very last page to get the true meaning of the book. I am not often moved by a thriller. This is one I will remember for a long, long time.”
—Bestselling author Rick Pullen

“This is a book I could not put down. The historical details are authentic, the background word pictures of the Arizona foothills and desert are true and the modern story leaves you at times breathless… And the letters are a very clear profile of the life of Doc Holliday through his eyes, and those of the only woman he will ever love. The woman who will always love him. This is not the same Doc Holliday of films and dime novels. You may find that you understand him a lot better than you did before.”
—Bonnye Reed Frye, NetGalley

The Story Behind the Story

Do Some Damage:
Five Little Known Facts About Doc Holliday

Digital Media Ghost:
Author of the Week: David Corbett

Crimespree Magazine:
Behind the Book

Jungle Red Writers:
David Corbett and Doc Holliday

Writer Unboxed:
Take Five with David Corbett