Christa Faust is an author and winner of the 2009 Crimespree Award. Her hard-boiled crime novels feature female protagonists and detectives. Noir Feminist.

"That line of conversation went nowhere fast. What was I supposed to say? Well, Vic, I was raped, shot and left for dead so I hunted down the bastards who did it and killed them in cold blood. That sort of thing doesn’t exactly make for nice casual catch-up chat. 'You look good,' I said. At first I just said it because I needed to say something, but once it was out, I realized that I meant it.         He shrugged and cocked his head with a self-deprecating smirk that was vintage Thick Vic."

- Christa Faust, Choke Hold