@ehBeth,
I'm pretty sure I had never seen it before this thread either...or if I had, I would have assumed the writer had just misused the standard phrase.
It's easy to understand of course, so not too objectionable on that ground. I think it's a shame that current writers, especially the young, seem constantly striving to make things sound different. Maybe they think it makes their ideas seem fresher, more edgy.
I've just finished a James Lee Burke novel, I enjoyed it a lot and was regretful when it ended, but he's no Patrick Leigh Fermor.