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The problem is, Top has no idea where the money or Dee Lane is. He's busy enough running his research business, Polymath, sorting out his relationships with Gillie and part-time employer Shaw's, and renovating the old school where the business is housed and where he lives. But when bodies start showing up in the Oconee River and in a shallow grave in the dark green North Georgia woods, Top has no choice but to try to find the money and get it back to Raoul Menes before the ruthless killers destroy everything Top's built and everyone he cares for.

Helping Top is his Maintenance Manager and pal, Benny Culpepper. Before Benny retired to rural Georgia, he worked the Atlanta streets as a hundred and thirty pound bodyguard for Menes's chief rival. His lightning-fast hands and artistry with a straight razor earned him both a reputation as the fastest man between Philadelphia and Mobile and a legendary name-Benny the Blade. Now it's up to Benny the Blade and Top to protect their home and to stop Menes. 

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REVIEWS
What they're saying about Buzz Monkey!

Other writers

Fast, funny and popping with surprises. You'll enjoy the hell out of this book. Top Kiernan is an original. 
-- Robert Parker, creator of Spenser

Terrific well plotted, fast-paced novel populated by some very cool characters. 
-- Robert Crais, creator of Elvis Cole

“Buzz Monkey works on several levels—as a mystery, as a character study, and as a reflection of today’s world where the line between bad and good is more of a smudge….the best new voice in years.”
-- Moni Draper from The Mystery Company in Indianapolis

Reviewers

Hill's first novel sets a thrill-seeking researcher against an angry druglord, the DEA, a family of killers and just about everybody else in the Georgia hills. Guaranteed to give a Top-like buzz to the most jaded fans. 
-- Kirkus Reviews

Fun, fast paced...a witty, rollicking debut.......ought to appeal to fans of Carl Hiassen and other outré Florida crime writers. 
-- Publisher's Weekly

Nothing gets a reveiwer's heart racing like a great first novel, Sam Hill's Buzz Monkey is a beaut-fast, sleek and funny in all the right places. 
-- Thomas Leitch in hollywoodreporter.com. (Leitch is the senior editor for mysteries at Kirkus.)

"Buzz Monkey is a stylish, fun piece of business.... Hill tells his story well. Polymath and its quirky staff of researchers come to life, and Top's double life is deftly handled....When Top straps on his gun and really goes to work, I'm the one with the adrenaline rush. He has the look of a series character, and I hope he is." 
-- Mark Johnson, The Mercury News (San Jose,) 7 Sept 2003

"Sam Hill says in a disclaimer at the end of his wise and lively debut mystery that none of the people or businesses...actually exist. But I hope at least the spirit of...Top..and his ability to dig up astonishing factoids is reality based...Hill's hectic plot works well--a satisfying mix of surprises and confirmations--but what really makes this book a winner (and, we hope, the start of a series) are the great props: Kiernan's splending collection of tops, his basketball-court bedroom and especially his deep knowledge of surprising trivia." 
-- Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sept 2003

“Cross Carl Hiassen with Dave Barry, and you’ve got Sam Hill, of whom we’d like to hear more.” 
-- Elaine Budd, Hartford Courant 31 Aug 2003

“Top has style….His first outing is loaded with juice.” 
-- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times, 21 Sept 2003

“A clever and amusing read. Sam Hill has worked long and hard to make his protagonist different from anyone in mystery fiction and thus Buzz Monkey is quite refreshing. The writing is smooth and it kept my interest throughout.” 
-- George Easter, Deadly Pleasures, October 2003

"The buzz about Buzz Monkey, the first novel by Sam Hill, is all true."
-- January Magazine

"Buzz Monkey is exciting, funny and surprisingly erudite . . . another jewel mined from the apparently inexhaustible pipeline of top class American first-time thriller writers."
-- Irish Independent

"I recommend it highly."
-- Independent on Sunday

Real people

I enjoyed it tremendously. I thought I'd seen every plot a thriller could offer, but Hill surprised me. Well drawn characters and a complex plot. 
-- Judy Duhl, owner of Scotland Yard Books (Winnetka, IL)

The best debut since Monkey's Raincoat.
-- Phil Grant, who specializes in mysteries at C. Dickens Books (Atlanta, Ga.)

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