The Killings of Stanley Ketchel: A Novel

The author of the brutal and brilliant Handsome Harry returns with the story of one of the greatest matches in boxing history. . . . “The Killings of Stanley Ketchel is a stunner. This is brilliant iconography, righteous Americana, and brutally powerful prose. A triumph!”—James Ellroy

Hailed as “one of the greatest chroniclers of the mythical American outlaw life” (Entertainment Weekly), James Carlos Blake brings to life the blazing story of Stanley Ketchel, the ragtime-era middleweight boxing champion and daring rakehell whose brief and meteoric life blazed with violence and tragedy in and out of the ring. Fierce and tender, sexy and funny, vast in setting and rich in historical detail, The Killings of Stanley Ketchel is this monumental talent at his robust and lyrical best.

Hailed as "one of the greatest chroniclers of the mythical American outlaw life" (Entertainment Weekly), James Carlos Blake turns to the blazing story of Stanley Ketchel, the legendary ragtime-era middleweight boxing champion and daring rakehell, whose brief and meteoric life burned with violence and tragedy in and out of the ring. The Killings of Stanley Ketchel is a sweeping and powerful literary adventure by one of our most daring novelists.

“A masterful story . . . impossible to resist . . . an absolute knockout.” - Denver Rocky Mountain News

“Probably the best boxing book ever written.” - Salt Lake City Tribune

“The Killings of Stanley Ketchel . . . is quite simply astonishing. A masterful retelling of the absorbing, reckless and all-too-brief life of boxing middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel, it is much more than a book about boxing. Killings is historical fiction at its best: not only the story of a remarkable life but also a paean to the vitality--and brutality--of turn-of-the-century America. [The Killings of Stanley Ketchel] resonates long after the last page is turned.” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Quite simply astonishing . . . a tale that resonates long after the last page is turned.” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“‘Authenticity’ is a word that often occurs to me as I read James Carlos Blake. . . . The stories he tells—as with all great writing—point always back into the caverns of ourselves, where we are blessed and condemned to live.” - Los Angeles Times

“Action-packed . . . [Blake] writes with a loopy narrative drive, equal parts Dos Passos and Doctorow . . . Blake has spun a fascinating tale.” - Publishers Weekly