The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski

The Recruiter by Gregg Podolski

Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!

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The Recruiter

An action-packed debut from Gregg Podolski, The Recruiter is a thrilling and unique adventure through the European underworld.

When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.

He’s a criminal recruiter, searching for contract killers, cyber hackers, gun smugglers, and any other assorted villains-for-hire a European crime boss might need. But, when the family he left behind in New Jersey is caught up in a client’s plot to monopolize the black market, Rick has to save them from two of his own top candidates: deadly assassins known only as Ghost and The Persian.

Fixing his own mess will require a set of skills he doesn’t have–not a problem, as finding qualified help is where he excels. But stepping into action, becoming the hero his family needs, that’s new territory. For a man who’s spent the last ten years being the best at helping the worst, this may be his last chance to do something right.

To purchase The Recruiter, click any of the following links: Blackstone, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Indigo Chapters.

Interview with Gregg Podolski, Author of The Recruiter

The Recruiter features Rick Carter. What would you like readers to know about him?

Rick is a recruiter for the criminal underworld.

If you need a hitman, a hacker, somebody to run guns or launder money, Rick’s the guy you hire to find those people. He’s also really bad at being an action hero despite being the hero in an action thriller, which is probably my favorite thing about him.

The Recruiter is set in Europe, but in the seedy, underbelly aspects that tourists never see. Tell us about how the environment impacts your debut.

The first half of The Recruiter is set in Europe mainly because when I started writing, Rick mentioned that he was in Belgium. I’ve never been there, but Google can be a wonderful tour guide, so I just ran with it.

Like all cities, Brussels has a seedy underbelly, but when it comes to the details of that underbelly, I honestly made most of it up. Fiction is so much easier than nonfiction sometimes.

The Recruiter combines action and humor, how did you go about working humor into such a deadly plot?

By making Rick the same kind of smartass that I am in real life.

When I read a book or watch a movie, I do it to be entertained. And while dark, gritty, serious stories can also be entertaining, I tend to have more fun with something that also makes me laugh. Especially when it’s interwoven with a story that could be deadly serious.

I’d love to pull back the curtain on the mechanics of how I mixed the two, but it’s just the way I think.

Your day job is as a headhunter for a recruitment firm, but not for criminals or the dark web. How did your real-life experiences translate to your crime fiction?

There were originally a lot more insider details of how recruiters operate in the first draft, but I realized pretty quickly that most of it was boring.

I liked the idea of a guy who used to work for a traditional recruitment firm–like I do now–pivot to using those skills to find bad people for other bad people, but I didn’t want to get lost in the weeds with it. There are still a few nuggets in there that my fellow headhunters will–hopefully–smile and nod at, though.

What do you love best about New Jersey?

The attitude. Jerseyans have a very low tolerance for B.S., and there’s something to be said for always knowing where you stand with most of the people you meet.

Also, our pizza is better than yours. And yes, that includes you, NYC.

What are you working on now?

The Candidate, the sequel to The Recruiter, is in the hands of my editor at Blackstone right now, waiting for the green light. Assuming that happens, I already have the story beats for Book 3 mapped out and just need to get typing.

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

Write the kind of story you want to read. If other people want to read it too, that’s when you get published. If you only try to write for other people, then all you’ll produce is dollar-store versions of stuff they already like. And the dollar-store version of anything is usually crap.

Author Pet Corner!

Greg Podolski — Author of The Recruiter

Gregg is a Jersey boy, born and bred. He still lives in the Garden State with his wife, their two kids, cranky cat, and a psychotic rescue mutt named CJ. (Short for Crazy Janey. Points if you know the Springsteen reference).

He loves Philly sports, the Jersey Shore, and is one of the last people on the planet who still buys CDs. (Seriously, he has over a thousand. It’s becoming a problem).