If you found a briefcase sitting on a city bus, would you take it??xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

If you found $50,000 cash inside, would you keep it?

If you could make a million for doing something truly terrible, would you do it?

Hardcases is a fast-paced thriller set on the streets of St. John’s and escalating to a hair-raising conclusion amid the ancient fjords of Newfoundland’s west coast. A twenty-something Englishman new to The Rock, protagonist Greg Masters, soon falls in with “The Gulls”—a gang of characters as colourful as the capital city’s famous jelly bean row houses. After finding a briefcase full of cash on a city bus, he and his misfit friends are pulled into a series of increasingly risky dares perpetrated by a mysterious, riddling benefactor. Finding a twist at every turn, The Gulls embark on a journey that tests their friendships, their loyalties, and the limits of their morality, all leading to the million-dollar question: Where would you draw the line? Hardcases has been described by early readers as “a page-turning Ocean’s Eleven with a Newfoundland twist.”

Gareth Mitton is a writer originally hailing from Rochdale, northern England, who has been living in Atlantic Canada since moving across the pond as an adventurous twenty-something in the early 2000s. His 2020 debut novel, Pedestal (Engen Books)—a science fiction story—was lauded by the Miramichi Reader as “. . . an admirable first novel, an innovative leap from the genre’s first-gen.”Gareth is a published essayist, blogger, and author, whose short story “Watcher”—a 2017 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story semifinalist—was featured in Engen’s 2019 anthology, Dystopia from the Rock.His “day job,” Gareth is an advertising creative director and copywriter with over two decades of local and national campaigns to his credit.Hard Cases sees a return to his first love of fiction writing, with more novels set for publication in the near future.Gareth lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with his partner, Krista; stepchildren, Piper and Tommi; and beloved beagle, Duke.Gareth is a big advocate and supporter of Beagle Paws Rescue and encourages you to please support the cause of mistreated and neglected beagles. Please visit www.beaglepaws.com to learn more.You can follow Gareth in the following places (and he loves it when you reach out and say hi!):Website: garethmitton.comInsta: instagram.com/garethmitton/Facebook: facebook.com/gwmittonX (formerly Twitter): @GazMit

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