Jack Murphy Series by Matthew Costello

The electrifying prequel to VACATION by Matthew Costello, debuting this fall from St. Martin's Press. 76th Precinct, Union Street, Brooklyn - 8 a.m.    NYPD cop and family man Jack Murphy starts his first day of work at the 76th Precinct in Red Hook. Back at the academy, they had heard stories about these first few days, about being paired up with an old timer and getting "mentored." It was more like hazing. The salary wasn't bad. You could still retire after twenty years. Benefits were good... moreThe electrifying prequel to VACATION by Matthew Costello, debuting this fall from St. Martin's Press. 76th Precinct, Union Street, Brooklyn - 8 a.m.    NYPD cop and family man Jack Murphy starts his first day of work at the 76th Precinct in Red Hook. Back at the academy, they had heard stories about these first few days, about being paired up with an old timer and getting "mentored." It was more like hazing. The salary wasn't bad. You could still retire after twenty years. Benefits were good. And you always had the brotherhood of blue. It didn’t sound bad to Jack.But those days were over. With the onset of a food shortage, society is crumbling. Grocery store shelves are emptier by the week, and the city has gone from bad to worse. People are getting desperate. And hungry.Jack and his new partner, Schiller, take to the streets on a blistering hot summer day, cruising around for hours until they can grab lunch. But when they get a routine noise complaint call, they get more than they bargained for, and must do all they can to avoid becoming lunch themselves… less

In the near future after a global crisis causes crops to fail and species to disappear . . .  something even more deadly happens. Groups of humans around the world suddenly become predators, feeding off their own kind. These “Can Heads” grow to such a threat that fences, gated compounds, and SWAT-style police protection become absolutely necessary in order to live.After one Can Head attack leaves NYPD cop Jack Murphy wounded, Jack takes his wife and kids on a much-needed vacation... moreIn the near future after a global crisis causes crops to fail and species to disappear . . .  something even more deadly happens. Groups of humans around the world suddenly become predators, feeding off their own kind. These “Can Heads” grow to such a threat that fences, gated compounds, and SWAT-style police protection become absolutely necessary in order to live.After one Can Head attack leaves NYPD cop Jack Murphy wounded, Jack takes his wife and kids on a much-needed vacation. Far up north, to a camp where families can still swim and take boats out on a lake, and pretend that the world isn’t going to hell. But the Can Heads are never far away, and nothing is quite what it seems in Paterville. . . . less

Besieged and attacked, a mother and her children must escape a post-apocalyptic nightmare world of cannibals and betrayalJack Murphy thought he'd found the perfect escape for his family from a world gone horribly mad. He thought wrong. Matthew Costello's Home begins mere minutes after the terrible sacrifice made by Jack to save his family at Paterville Camp... moreBesieged and attacked, a mother and her children must escape a post-apocalyptic nightmare world of cannibals and betrayalJack Murphy thought he'd found the perfect escape for his family from a world gone horribly mad. He thought wrong. Matthew Costello's Home begins mere minutes after the terrible sacrifice made by Jack to save his family at Paterville Camp. Barely escaping, Jack's wife, Christie, and two children, Kate and Simon, must accept that their lives and their future have changed forever.In this intimate and human survivalist horror story, the three of them will face even greater dangers, as well as yet-unknown horrors, to simply stay alive as together they search for a road "home" in this intense and original postapocalyptic thriller. less