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Books by J.B. Kohl
One Too Many Blows To The Head 
Second Wind Publishing, 2009
"Boxing and noir once went hand in glove, but you don't see many boxing novels anymore, and that's a shame. Here's one that dredges up all the blood and spit and sweat and money of the fight game, and wraps it around a tough noir storyline full of revenge and dark secrets. Kohl and Beetner get it exactly right." --Steve Brewer, author of Cutthroat
"One Too Many Blows to the Head feels like a long-lost pulp you find in a favorite bookstore. A delicious mix of classic hardboiled grit and the heart-heavy world of film noir, it's a one-sitting read that sends you back to a lost time of fight halls, Chicago boys and last chances." --Megan Abbott, author of Bury Me Deep and Queenpin
"Razor sharp debut from noir partnership Beetner and Kohl. From its first savage punch, the dark world of organised crime and boxing grips and refuses to let you go. Highly recommended." --Nick Quantrill, author of Broken Dreams
"One Too Many Blows to the Head feels like a long-lost pulp you find in a favorite bookstore. A delicious mix of classic hardboiled grit and the heart-heavy world of film noir, it's a one-sitting read that sends you back to a lost time of fight halls, Chicago boys and last chances." --Megan Abbott, author of Bury Me Deep and Queenpin
"Razor sharp debut from noir partnership Beetner and Kohl. From its first savage punch, the dark world of organised crime and boxing grips and refuses to let you go. Highly recommended." --Nick Quantrill, author of Broken Dreams
Kansas City, 1939. One story from two points of view: the hunter and the hunted. Ray Ward - seeking revenge for his brother's death in the boxing ring. Detective Dean Fokoli - hot on a killer's trail.Ray's hunt takes him underground into Kansas City's criminal nightlife. Dean Fokoli lives there full time but he's on the run from his own troubles. Two men racing forward to collide like a knockout punch.A razor-edged story of revenge, redemption and what happens when you confront the ghosts of the past.
The Deputy's Widow
Second Wind Publishing, 2008
1948 is drawing to a close and things couldn't be much worse for Private Detective Hamilton Baker. It starts with a simple phone call from Diana Kramer, a smooth tongued woman who begs the detective to find letters she's written to her lover, Sheriff's Deputy Chester "Chet" Ferrebee. Chet is to wed another woman this afternoon and Diana, the scorned mistress, wants the letters back where they belong.with her. Hours after the wedding, when Chet turns up dead in a roadside motel room, his bride beaten beyond recognition and unable to remember anything, Baker fears his client is somehow involved. As he searches for the letters, he unwillingly digs into the past of the sleepy town of Crane Haven and uncovers the dangerous secrets of a group of men who shattered a young girl's mind, as well as her chance for happiness, years ago.
1948 is drawing to a close and things couldn't be much worse for Private Detective Hamilton Baker. It starts with a simple phone call from Diana Kramer, a smooth tongued woman who begs the detective to find letters she's written to her lover, Sheriff's Deputy Chester "Chet" Ferrebee. Chet is to wed another woman this afternoon and Diana, the scorned mistress, wants the letters back where they belong.with her. Hours after the wedding, when Chet turns up dead in a roadside motel room, his bride beaten beyond recognition and unable to remember anything, Baker fears his client is somehow involved. As he searches for the letters, he unwillingly digs into the past of the sleepy town of Crane Haven and uncovers the dangerous secrets of a group of men who shattered a young girl's mind, as well as her chance for happiness, years ago.