THE KILLING YARDS

Coming September 2026 from Crooked Lane Books

New York City, 1993. Two-thousand murders a year, municipal services in free fall, a mayoral election coming fast. The city needs a place to forget itself. The city parties in Abattoir.

Jimmy Lettner runs the scene’s hottest nightspot. But success seeds envy, and rivals are moving ecstasy in his club. As a convicted felon who lost a daughter in a narco-fueled car wreck, Jimmy charges his partner with addressing the situation. But Serge Thanakis is running an ecstasy ring of his own, and after he kills a competing operator, Abattoir falls under siege.

Violence quickly spirals. The NYPD closes in. A panicked Jimmy snorts mountains of cocaine and recruits deranged organized crime backup. Through it all, the dance floor stays packed. But how long can Jimmy’s reign as New York’s club king last?

Praise for THE KILLING YARDS

“A blistering tour de force debut from the sure hands of an author who knows the turf. I will read everything Allison writes."

Adam Plantinga, Edgar Award nominee and USA Today bestselling author of THE ASCENT and HARD TOWN

“Behold a fresh new voice in noir fiction. In the vein of Don Winslow and Abel Ferrara, former NYPD detective Jason Allison brings to life the seedy underbelly of 1990s New York City, its pulsating neon clubs and pitch-black alleys and brutal hedonism.”

I.S. Berry, Edgar award winning author of THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW

“Jason Allison’s The Killing Yards is a grim, gritty, gripping mix of the mob, clubs, and drugs. His vision of Nineties-era New York is all bright dance floor lights and dark streets, with dialogue that pops off the page. A story of desperation, denial, and betrayal, it's a hell of a read from beginning to end.”

J. Todd Scott, author of THE FLOCK and THE FAR EMPTY

Jason Allison is a writer and former detective who spent twenty years with the NYPD. His debut novel, THE KILLING YARDS, will be published in September 2026 by Crooked Lane Books. His work has won the Al Blanchard Award for Crime Fiction, and been featured in Rock and a Hard Place, Fighting Words: Bruisers, Brawlers & Bad Intentions, and New England’s Best Crime Stories. He writes irregularly about books, movies, and TV on Substack.

Bronx born and raised, he now lives in Massachusetts with his wife and their judgmental Golden Retriever.

He is represented by Alec Shane of Writers House.

“If you’re looking for an apology, it ain’t coming.

After all, we were New York City. ”

THE KILLING YARDS