G. D. Baum

G. D. Baum is an American crime novelist whose detective thrillers are set in Northern New Jersey.[1][2] His novels feature detective Lock Tourmaline who is skilled in a hybrid form of Okinawan karate and Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu which combines striking, kicking, seizing, and grappling, called Shaolin Kempo Karate.[3] Reviewers describe Baum's novels as having "carefully choreographed martial arts moves"[1][4][5][6] and compare his "clean and breezy"[7] style to that of Dashiell Hammett[3] and Raymond Chandler,[8][9][10] One critic suggested there was "too much dialogue",[6] but another suggested it was "rapid-fire" and "real-life".[3]