Gun Church

New Jersey community college teacher Kip Weiler, who was “a writer to watch” in the 1980s before drug addiction and an utter lack of self-discipline ended his career and his marriage, gets a second chance in this superior crime thriller from Shamus Award–winner Coleman (Hurt Machine and six other Moe Prager novels). When Frank Vuchovich, one of Weiler’s creative writing students, pulls a gun and holds him and the rest of the class hostage, Weiler manages to temporarily disarm Vuchovich so the others can escape. Weiler’s heroism attracts the attention of a publisher interested in reprinting his work; a sexy blonde finds a way into his bed; and another student, an unabashed fan, invites him to join a secret group that gathers to shoot guns at each other wearing protective vests. As Weiler’s new relationships progress, the line between his reality and his fiction blur. Coleman keeps readers guessing to the end. Agent: David Hale Smith, Inkwell Management. (Oct.)