The Whiskey Files - Book Two
The bar burned.
What rose from the ashes was something far more dangerous.
When Coyote's goes up in flames, Joker is supposed to disappear with the smoke. Instead, he leaves the ruins standing and starts building quietly around them. The Whiskey Fuse stops being a refuge and becomes a structure-disciplined, expanding, and impossible to ignore.
Power doesn't come looking for him with guns. It comes with paperwork. Investigations that never end. Deals that sound reasonable until you read the fine print. Pressure applied through money, permits, and influence-meant to choke him without ever pulling a trigger.
The Fuse expands anyway.
Old loyalties are tested. Secrets meant to protect start doing damage. Ghosts from the past refuse to stay buried, and the cost of leadership climbs faster than the body count. Joker learns that survival isn't enough anymore-every move forward creates debt, and every debt demands payment.
This isn't a story about revenge.
It's about reckoning.
Because every empire runs on credit.
And sooner or later, the devil always comes to collect his tab.
About the Author :
Brad "Joker" Barnes is a veteran, storyteller, and the creator of The Whiskey Files, a crime-thriller series rooted in loyalty, consequence, and the cost of power. Drawing from Southern grit, military discipline, and years spent around back-road bars and hard-earned brotherhoods, his work blends modern noir with the rhythms of the Gulf Coast.Barnes writes about men who build empires in the shadows, the families who survive them, and the debts that never stay buried. His stories favor realism over spectacle, restraint over noise, and consequences that feel earned.He lives and writes along the Gulf Coast, where whiskey, memory, and redemption tend to collide.
Review :
"This isn't just crime fiction - it's a full-scale war story wrapped in Southern fire and blood."
"Barnes writes like a man who knows exactly how power is built, broken, and buried."
"Savage, intelligent, and fearless. Once the Fuse lights, there's no putting it out."
"A brutal, cinematic ride where loyalty is currency and mercy gets you killed."
"This series doesn't escalate - it detonates."
"Every page feels earned. Every decision carries weight. Every ending hits hard."
"Gritty enough to scar you. Smart enough to stay with you."
"Brotherhood, betrayal, and consequence collide in a saga that refuses to blink."
"This is outlaw noir at full throttle."
"By the time you realize how deep you're in, it's already too late."
