THE BIG SHOW - LaStanza Novel #5 This is New Orleans - 1985. A burning man stumbles in front of Det. Dino LaStanza's police car. Doused with gasoline, the victim had been set afire with a flare gun. How did this homeless man manage to get murdered along the manicured lawns of the Garden District? Who was he? And who would commit such a vicious crime? In every profession there's a big show In the army it's the Special Forces In the navy it's the Seals In baseball it's the Major Leagues In football it's the NFL In police work it's the Homicide Division Homicide - The big pressure cooker. The big cases. The big show. Born in New Orleans, O'Neil De Noux is a prolific American writer of novels and short stories. Although much of De Noux's fiction falls under the mystery genre (character-drive crime fiction primarily), he has published stories in many disciplines including mainstream fiction, children and young-adult fiction, science-fiction, suspense, fantasy, horror, western, literary, religious, romance, humor and erotica. In 2007, The Private Eye Writers of America awarded its prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY to "The Heart Has Reasons" by O'Neil De Noux. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. De Noux is also the 2009 DERRINGER AWARD winner for BEST NOVELETTE for "Too Wise." The Derringer Awards are given annually to recognize excellence in the short mystery fiction form. In 2010, De Noux made a move to eBooks and print-on-demand books, teaming with other artists in the art co-op Big Kiss Productions and published SLICK TIME, a sexy caper novel, followed by collections NEW ORLEANS MYSTERIES, NEW ORLEANS NOCTURNAL, NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL, NEW ORLEANS PRIME EVIL and BACKWASH OF THE MILKY WAY. In June 2012, De Noux's novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named 2011 POLICE BOOK OF THE YEAR by Police-Writers.com, a group that boasts of 1153 state and local law enforcement officials from 485 state and local law enforcement agencies who have written 2504 police books. A hyper-realistic crime story, JOHN RAVEN BEAU provides an intimate look into the beleaguered NOPD Homicide Division, a story that begins in the French Quarter and ends in a swamp, all within the city limits of America's eternal city, a city that cannot be destroyed - New Orleans. Earlier in 2012, after six months of intensive research and eighteen months of non-stop writing, O'Neil De Noux published BATTLE KISS, a 320,000 word epic of love and war set against the panorama of the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. So timely is the book, released as the bicentennial of the War of 1812 arrives, Mr. De Noux received an Artist Services Career Advancement Award from the Louisiana Division of the Arts for his work on BATTLE KISS. Also in 2012, Mr. De Noux's first private eye was published. ENAMORED a novel of obsession and murder, is set in 1950 New Orleans. Another crime novel, BOURBON STREET, set in 1947, was released in 2012, along with the young-adult superhero novel MISTIK. In 2012, O'Neil De Noux was elected Vice-President of the Private Eye Writers of America. In January 2013, the long-awaited return of NOPD Homicide Detective Dino LaStanza came with the publication of De Noux's crime fiction tour-de-force NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE, along with the re-issue of all the previous LaStanza novels as trade paperbacks and eBooks. Two more LaStanza novels are forthcoming. LaStanza Novels #1 GRIM REAPER #2 THE BIG KISS #3 BLUE ORLEANS #4 CRESCENT CITY KILLS #5 THE BIG SHOW #6 NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE