The Midnight Promise

'There are only a few authors who I can still vividly remember the first time I ever discovered them. The moment, the feeling, stuck in my reading memory...You knew you’ve just read a writer who you will follow anywhere. I’m adding Zane Lovitt to that list.’ -- Jon Page * Bite the Book * 'Lovitt's on-the-brink-of-self-destruction antihero, acute talent for low-life scenarios and convincing desperado dialogue has him treading Temple turf. A writer on the rise.' * Qantas Magazine * 'What makes Dorn such a compelling narrator is that for all his decrepitude he has a reflective spirit and an insightful eye....An often brutal, yet brutally reflective, examination of the human condition.' * Weekend Australian * 'The Midnight Promise delivers. Zane Lovitt is a writer to watch.' -- Shane Maloney ‘The Midnight Promise crashes straight into Temple, Corris and Chandler territory…You can recommend The Midnight Promise by the back cover—Text has it nailed.’ * Australian Bookseller & Publisher * 'The Midnight Promise is the kind of zesty Australian crime writing that doesn't come along often....Lovitt's evocation of Melbourne locales has the same recognisability, affection and flair for soaking up the stink of a place as Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books.' * Saturday Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Canberra Times * 'Stylistically reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill, Lovitt treats the individual stories as a means of building a picture of John Dorn....The writing is sharp, the scenarios are well conceived, suitably violent, stupid or pointless and very funny. Lovitt has a real skill in drawing characters that spring to life in a few words. As a modern interpretation of the private eye style of crime, The Midnight Promise is an exciting and original debut.' * Hoopla Literary Society * 'Smacking of grit and realism...The Midnight Promise is flat-out one of the most enjoyable crime books out there. Australian noir with a nod to Raymond Carver—there's lots of drinking, dark streets, and wisecracks that you'll grin like mad over. Every story is its own little world, all completely satisfying but so involving you'll put the book down wishing for more.' * Readings Monthly * 'Lovitt has crafted a notable, confident first novel. Intelligent, never ponderous, The Midnight Promise wears the battered fedora of the crime genre with stylish ease and moves at a brisk pace. Told with intensity and conviction, it offers a refreshing perspective on a well worked genre.' * Australian Book Review *