Sorrow's Anthem

Product Description Sorrow's Anthem is marked by a sure-handed exploration of both character and its relationship to crime. It more than delivers on the promise of Tonight I Said Goodbye. It establishes Michael Koryta as the top young mystery writer in America today. In the beginning, it was just about the money. Then things got personal. This is the story that Ed Gradduk tells his best friend, private investigator Lincoln Perry. Ed is on the run, hiding from the police who are looking to arrest him for arson and murder. When Gradduk is killed in a brutal confrontation with the Cleveland police, Perry is shaken. How could this have happened to his friend? With his trademark grit and determination, Perry sets out to understand the forces that brought down Ed Gradduk. Review ''Say hello to a new crime talent.'' Chicago Tribune ''Koryta's impressive second hardboiled mystery is a worthy successor to his debut, Tonight I Said Goodbye, an Edgar and Shamus finalist. . . The 22-year-old author, who works for a PI and for an Indiana newspaper, displays credible insider knowledge of those professions as well as a gift for creating both sympathetic characters and a fast-moving, twisty plot.'' Publishers Weekly ''Inspired by Hammett and Chandler, the 22-year-old Koryta displays the maturity of a writer with several novels under his belt, and his plot percolates with crisp dialogue that might impress Chandler himself.'' --Booklist (Starred Review)''Sometimes a book grabs you and stays in your memory long after the rest of the in-box's contents have been flushed away by new arrivals. Koryta's second mystery about Cleveland private eye Lincoln Perry has this kind of hold on me. . . . Dashiell Hammett of Red Harvest would appreciate the tangle of high-level political and police corruption of Sorrow's Anthem, but anyone who mourns for lost friendships will add a more visceral reaction.'' -- Chicago Tribune ''Perry is an appealing fellow, and Koryta is a straightforward storyteller, but the real pleasure here is touring the back streets of C-Town. . . . Nominated for an Edgar Award for best first novel at the age of 21, Koryta is now 22, but Sorrow's Anthem is no sophomore slump.'' -- Washington Post ''One of America's top young mystery writers.'' -- Toronto Sun ''[A] work of rare profundity. The multi-layered and labyrinthine plot is worthy of Raymond Chandler or (more aptly, perhaps) Ross MacDonald. And that's more than mere hyperbole; Koryta is that good. Sorrow's Anthem is so good it'll bring tears to your eyes. And it's good on just about every level; as a crime novel, as a hardboiled mystery, and as a mainstream exploration of choices, consequences, and of individual responsibility. In the end, and as far 'anthems' go, this one never misses a beat.'' --Mystery News''Koryta. . . receives high marks for a well-constructed plot and his particular talent at depicting action-packed scenes.'' -- Halifax Chronicle-Herald [A] great follow-up to Koryta's first novel, proving that he has a lot to offer his readers in terms of engaging plot lines, intriguing characters, and edge-of-your-seat endings.'' -- Indianapolis Star The extraordinarily vivid sense of place is made all the more palpable by the heat and humidity that can only erupt into thunder and lightening storms in a kind of arson in the sky. Lincoln Perry and his partner Joe Pritchard are perfectly orchestrated characters -- the young, idealistic and sometimes brash investigator balanced against the older, seasoned pro has never been done better. The characters they encounter during their investigation are unique, fully realized and absolutely alive. Ed's mother stood out for me in particular. I don't know how a 22-year-old man could write a middle-aged woman with such precision and empathy. This is an exceptional novel, to my mind every bit as good as Mystic River. Buy it. Read it. Give it to your friends. This book just might change the way you think about the private-ey