Friday and that means Friday’s
Forgotten Books hosted by the always wonderful Patti Abbott at her blog found
at http://pattinase.blogspot.com/
If you are not reading her blog on a daily basis, you are making a serious
mistake……
For John Weston, his life has been virtually
destroyed. His son, Private Investigator, Wayne Weston, has been found dead,
apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His granddaughter,
five-year-old Betsy Weston, and her mother, Julie Weston, are both missing.
Media speculation, absent of any facts or evidence, is that Wayne killed his
wife and daughter, disposed of the bodies, returned home and was so despondent
that he committed suicide. John Weston does not believe any of it and wants
Private Investigators Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard to get involved. He wants
to know what happened and wants them to find Betsy and Julie.
John Weston knows the Police are actively working the case but his son knew of Lincoln Perry and had spoken highly of him and his partner. What Lincoln knows of the flamboyant Wayne Weston makes him feel differently about him, but there is no dispute that John Weston is suffering a living death. There are lots of reasons to stay out but one major reason to get involved and Lincoln finds himself agreeing to what John Weston wants. Before long, Joe Pritchard’s concerns about accepting the case pale in comparison to the clear and obvious fact that Wayne Weston made some very powerful enemies, both in public and in not so public areas. Enemies who will tolerate their presence and digging until they actually begin to make progress. Once that happens, the body count begins to steadily climb, as not only are the investigators targets but anyone they come into contact.
This novel quickly becomes a gripping read as one is pulled into this complex tale of powerful men, the Russia Mafia, murder, law enforcement corruption and good old basic evil. This is a powerful read, despite the author’s relative young twenty-one year old age, as the book works on all levels as if the author were much older. Despite some reviews, which have chastised the author for lack of character development, that simply isn’t the case. While the novel is primarily written from the viewpoint of Lincoln Perry, Joe Pritchard is also complex and given plenty of time before readers. Every debut novel has secrets about the main characters which will be fleshed out further later in the series and this novel is no exception.
That clear character development enhances a complex storyline with numerous twists and turns that reveal puzzles within puzzles. Just when it becomes clear who the enemies are, the author shakes things up and changes the stakes as well as the perceptions. Then, there is the final twist in the last few pages that hits with the literary effect of a sucker punch in the stomach. There is a reason why this novel won the “St. Martin’s Press/PWA Prize For Best First P.I. Novel.” If it isn’t clear already, the book is very good.
Tonight, I Said Goodbye
Michael Koryta
http://www.michaelkoryta.com
Thomas Dunne Books
2004
ISBN # 0-312-33245-9
Hardback
290 Pages
This entire review first appeared online at the now defunct "The Vacantfunhouse."
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005, 2012
John Weston knows the Police are actively working the case but his son knew of Lincoln Perry and had spoken highly of him and his partner. What Lincoln knows of the flamboyant Wayne Weston makes him feel differently about him, but there is no dispute that John Weston is suffering a living death. There are lots of reasons to stay out but one major reason to get involved and Lincoln finds himself agreeing to what John Weston wants. Before long, Joe Pritchard’s concerns about accepting the case pale in comparison to the clear and obvious fact that Wayne Weston made some very powerful enemies, both in public and in not so public areas. Enemies who will tolerate their presence and digging until they actually begin to make progress. Once that happens, the body count begins to steadily climb, as not only are the investigators targets but anyone they come into contact.
This novel quickly becomes a gripping read as one is pulled into this complex tale of powerful men, the Russia Mafia, murder, law enforcement corruption and good old basic evil. This is a powerful read, despite the author’s relative young twenty-one year old age, as the book works on all levels as if the author were much older. Despite some reviews, which have chastised the author for lack of character development, that simply isn’t the case. While the novel is primarily written from the viewpoint of Lincoln Perry, Joe Pritchard is also complex and given plenty of time before readers. Every debut novel has secrets about the main characters which will be fleshed out further later in the series and this novel is no exception.
That clear character development enhances a complex storyline with numerous twists and turns that reveal puzzles within puzzles. Just when it becomes clear who the enemies are, the author shakes things up and changes the stakes as well as the perceptions. Then, there is the final twist in the last few pages that hits with the literary effect of a sucker punch in the stomach. There is a reason why this novel won the “St. Martin’s Press/PWA Prize For Best First P.I. Novel.” If it isn’t clear already, the book is very good.
Tonight, I Said Goodbye
Michael Koryta
http://www.michaelkoryta.com
Thomas Dunne Books
2004
ISBN # 0-312-33245-9
Hardback
290 Pages
This entire review first appeared online at the now defunct "The Vacantfunhouse."
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005, 2012
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