For those of you who prefer to read in paper, but may have found the hardcover a little too expensive, this is just a quick post to say that the paperback edition of my latest book, One for the Monkey, is now available. Links to all the various formats are at the bottom of the post.
Personally, I think the hardcover is a handsome book (admittedly, I’m biased), but I get it. $32 is a lot to plunk down for a book these days, but I am glad to have all three major formats (hardcover, paperback, and ebook) available depending on your needs and preferences as a reader.
A number of people have asked if an audio version is forthcoming. I’m exploring some new options on that front, which is holding things up, but hopefully something will come together eventually.
Making good progress on the latest Garrison Gage book. I know many of you have been asking for it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy One for the Monkey. It’s a very different kind of mystery than the Gage books, both in character and in tone, but I had great fun writing it.
The above photo was from a couple weeks ago, when Rosie and I went for an afternoon hike at Silver Falls State Park, about thirty minutes from where I live. It was a nice reminder of why the Willamette Valley can be such a lush, green paradise. I sometimes take it for granted. We’ve had some erratic weather lately, but that was a particularly nice Thursday. I got ten pages of writing in the morning and nine miles of hiking in the afternoon, spending a blissful three and half hours east of the waterfalls up in the forest where it’s a lot less crowded. Did I say less crowded? I saw only one person the whole hike.
Of course, afterward my body reminded me that I’m in my fifties now. I don’t recover nearly so fast.
First, some happy news: My short story, “The Seduction of Doctor Dimension,” which appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, is a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award in the Best Short Story Category. It may be a cliche to say so, but it really is an honor just to be one of the five finalists. The winner will be announced at the 2026 Thriller Awards during the Awards banquet at ThrillerFest in New York City May 2026. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend this year, but in the very unlikely event my story wins, the editor of EQ (the excellent Jackie Sherbow) will be accepting on my behalf. I told her to extoll the virtues of subscribing to great short story magazines like Ellery Queen!
My new novel, One for the Monkey, has been out in both hardcover and ebook for about a month. Thank you for all the kind emails. I especially appreciate those of you who take the time to write a review at Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, etc. It really does help, even if your review is just a sentence or two. A trade paperback version will be out in a few weeks, for those of you who prefer paper but may have found the jacketed hardcover too expensive. (Personally, I think the hardcover is a gorgeous book.) There are no more autographed copes for sale at this time. While I enjoyed making those available, I only plan to do that a few times a year (usually when I release a book) because of how time consuming it is.
As far as what I’m working on now, fans of my Garrison Gage books will be pleased to hear that I’m well into the tenth book in the series. It’s going to be a while yet, but I’m having a blast revisiting my cranky PI with the bum knee, and I hope that joy carries over into the book itself.
And just because I can, I’ll cap off this post with a few pictures from our 10-day trip to Costa Rica back in February. Neither Heidi or I had ever been to Central America, and my wife, who is quite the bird lover, was also eager to see the wildlife. We spent half it in La Fortuna, at a resort near the Arenal Volcano National Park, then hopped on a 12-seater turboprop Cessna to spend the second half within walking distance of Manuel Antonio National Park. Plus a little bit of lounging on a sunny beach, of course. Man, those little planes never let you forget you’re flying.
Gotta watch out for the little capuchin monkeys, though. At Manuel Antonio, they’ll grab the snacks right out of your backpack.
Hey friends! Just a quick post to say that the ebook version of One for the Monkey, my new mystery novel, is now available along with the hardcover. Thanks to all of you who preordered it. If you’re looking for a fun read on St. Patrick’s Day, I hope you check it out. Or a fun read on any other day, for that matter, because the book has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day. It’s just a coincidence . . . although I’d never turn down a little luck of the Irish, if any is on offer!
A little more about the book, as well as links to all the major retailers, is below. Thanks for reading!
From the award-winning author of the Garrison Gage series, comes a gripping new mystery that buckles you in from the first car ride and never lets go.
After flaming out of MIT in a blaze of bad choices, Ashton Byrd reinvents himself in Los Angeles as a financial advisor to the rich and clueless (while taking a tidy cut for himself, of course). Got a huge monkey on your back? Rule one: don’t take life seriously. Rule two: see rule one.
But when the sun-kissed playboy reluctantly returns to his soggy Oregon hometown, life gets serious in a hurry. Like fresh corpse serious.
Larry O’Conner—private investigator, his father’s former partner, and Ash’s honorary uncle—turns up dead. On top of that, something important has gone missing. Not “the valet misplaced my car keys” important. More like “end of the world as we know it” important. And powerful people want it back.
Now Ash is dodging bullets, bad memories, and the long shadow of his larger-than-life father while trying to figure out what Uncle Larry died protecting. Plus he can’t do it alone. To solve the case—and finally shake the monkey off his back—he’ll need help from Stephanie “The Streak” Hart, who may start as his surly Uber driver but soon proves to be a valuable asset. Tough. Brave. And with a trunkful of secrets of her own.
Hey, I’ve got a new book out in the world! If you’re a fan of my crime fiction, One for the Monkey should be right up your alley. I’m really excited about this book, which I’ll tell you more about in a second, but first I want to let you know that we’re doing something a little different this time around: Before the ebook is published on Tuesday, March 17, we’re making a limited number of autographed hardcover books available for purchase directly from Flying Raven Press.
After these copies are gone, you’ll still be able to buy the hardcover from major retailers, but this is your chance to get an autographed copy. We’re also making available ten autographed copies of the first edition hardcover ofWooden Bones, my middle-grade novel about what happened to Pinocchio after he became a real boy. Shipping and handling is a flat $4.99, whether you buy one book or ten, mailed via USPS anywhere in the United States. Please note: Books will ship the week of March 17.
If you want the ebook version of One for the Monkey, it will be released on Tuesday, March 17 and is available for pre-order at Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, B&N, Kobo, and many other retailers now.
More information about the book is below. A trade paperback version of the book will follow in about a month, for those of you who prefer that format.
One for the Monkey
by Scott William Carter
From the award-winning author of the Garrison Gage series, comes a gripping new mystery that buckles you in from the first car ride and never lets go.
After flaming out of MIT in a blaze of bad choices, Ashton Byrd reinvents himself in Los Angeles as a financial advisor to the rich and clueless (while taking a tidy cut for himself, of course). Got a huge monkey on your back? Rule one: don’t take life seriously. Rule two: see rule one.
But when the sun-kissed playboy reluctantly returns to his soggy Oregon hometown, life gets serious in a hurry. Like fresh corpse serious.
Larry O’Conner—private investigator, his father’s former partner, and Ash’s honorary uncle—turns up dead. On top of that, something important has gone missing. Not “the valet misplaced my car keys” important. More like “end of the world as we know it” important. And powerful people want it back.
Now Ash is dodging bullets, bad memories, and the long shadow of his larger-than-life father while trying to figure out what Uncle Larry died protecting. Plus he can’t do it alone. To solve the case—and finally shake the monkey off his back—he’ll need help from Stephanie “The Streak” Hart, who may start as his surly Uber driver but soon proves to be a valuable asset. Tough. Brave. And with a trunkful of secrets of her own.
