Tear the City Down
Coltrane Davis is at once a knight and a hustler. He has risen to wealth and success, graduating from San Diego’s back alleys to the halls of power through his partnership with Saul Sollman, a crooked kingmaker among the city’s elite. Running multimillion-dollar scams with Saul, he has been Saul’s fixer, but now he wants out of the hustle so that he can focus on his teenage daughter’s burgeoning tennis career and finally be the dad he has always wanted to be.
But when the Los Angeles Chargers’ star running back vanishes one evening before a big game, Coltrane is drawn into an investigation of what happened by Saul and his protégé, the player’s agent; the stakes escalate with a gut-punch when the trail leads into San Diego’s underworld of drugs and prostitution and reveals clues to the disappearance of his daughter’s best friend, whose loss has haunted him.
Torn by the unreconcilable demands of the life he can’t seem to quit and the fierce desire he has to protect his own, Coltrane brings himself and his loved ones to the brink of destruction in his quest to free himself once and for all of Saul’s control—and focus on what really matters: family.
AUTHOR BIO
From NFL running back to author, educator, and business leader, Andre Hardy embodies reinvention and resilience. A two-time Hall of Fame inductee and crime novelist with an MFA from Antioch University, he writes with a noir sensibility, exploring identity, morality, and redemption with sharp insight.
His debut novel, TEAR THE CITY DOWN, set in the violent and corrupt underbelly of his hometown of San Diego, will be released by Grand Central Publishing in September 2026.
Hardy’s work spans creative nonfiction, essays, short fiction, screenwriting, and long-form narrative. His essays, interviews, and criticism have appeared in L.A. Tribe Magazine, Lunch Ticket, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. His short story “Negro in a Hot Tub” appears in Made in L.A.: An Anthology of Stories Rooted in the City of Angels.
Selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1984 NFL Draft, Hardy played for the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. His achievements earned him induction into the Hoover High School and St. Mary’s College Sports Halls of Fame. He is a member of the NFL Retired Players Association and the NFL Legends Community and earned his MFA through the NFL Players Trust tuition reimbursement program.
A committed educator and advocate for social justice, Hardy develops creative writing workshops and curricula that inspire new voices and integrate narratives of historical and cultural importance. He also mentors student-athletes and advises small business owners, reflecting his belief in empowering others through knowledge and support. Born and raised in San Diego, he recently relocated to Charlotte, NC, with his wife, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher JoAnna Hardy.
