listened on Audible
2011 Minotaur Books
304 pgs. (9:43)
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished May 24, 2018
Goodreads rating: 3.89 - 741 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary Newark , NJ
First line/s: "I made at least four mistakes that Monday morning, the first of which was going into the office in the first place."
My comments: I listened to this great narration, whose inflections realized the subtle humor of the protanogist. Carter is really honest, knowledgeable, smart, and a pretty darn good writer. Other than the interplay with Tina, one of the editors of the newspaper for which he works, which gets a little tedious, this was a great addition to the series. The mystery comes together well, leaving no questions unanswered.
Goodreads synopsis: Carter Ross, the sometimes-dashing investigative reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner, is back, and reporting on the latest tragedy to befall Newark, New Jersey, a fast-moving house fire that kills two boys.
With the help of the paper’s newest intern, a bubbly blonde known as “Sweet Thang,†Carter finds the victims’ mother, Akilah Harris, who spins a tale of woe about a mortgage rate reset that forced her to work two jobs and leave her young boys without child care. Carter turns in a front-page feature, but soon discovers Akilah isn’t what she seems. And neither is the fire.
When Newark councilman Windy Byers is reported missing, it launches Carter into the sordid world of urban house-flipping and Jersey-style political corruption. With his usual mix of humor, compassion, and street smarts, Carter is soon calling on some of his friends—gay Cuban sidekick Tommy Hernandez, T-shirt-selling buddy Tee Jamison, and on-and-off girlfriend Tina Thompson—for help in tracking down the shadowy figure behind it all.
Brad Parks’s debut, Faces of the Gone, won the Shamus Award and Nero Award for Best American Mystery. It was heralded as an engaging mix of Harlan Coben and Janet Evanovich. Now Parks solidifies his place as one of the brightest new talents in crime fiction with this authentic, entertaining thriller.
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