An epic novel of gangland intrigue from ‘one of crime fiction’s new stars’ [Sunday Telegraph]
When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly – she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Her bodyguard turns up horribly mutilated in the trunk of a beautiful vintage car and when her kidnapper calls he doesn’t want money: he wants time alone with Ray Hartmann, who works for a Washington-based organised crime task force.
All Ray wants to do is get this over with quickly, and go home to try and repair his broken marriage. Instead he must listen to the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, who wants to tell him his life story. It’s only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it’s already too late…
When Catherine Ducane disappears in the heart of New Orleans, the local cops react rapidly – she is the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana after all. But the case gets very strange, very quickly. Her bodyguard turns up horribly mutilated in the trunk of a beautiful vintage car and when her kidnapper calls he doesn’t want money: he wants time alone with Ray Hartmann, who works for a Washington-based organised crime task force.
All Ray wants to do is get this over with quickly, and go home to try and repair his broken marriage. Instead he must listen to the mysterious kidnapper, an elderly Cuban named Ernesto Perez, who wants to tell him his life story. It’s only when he realises that Ernesto has been a brutal hitman for the Mob since the 1950s that things start to come together. But by the time the pieces fall into place, it’s already too late…
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Reviews
Beautifully written, this is a novel to get lost in, a novel to savor and one that is a long ride into the darkness, and if you recall reading Mario Puzo's The Godfather as a teenager [as I did], then this powerful book will make you relive that memory - Masterful but beware of the brutality, because it comes out of the most literate prose I have read for many years.
May well be the best Mafia novel since The Godfather, it's one damn fine book and should be highly recommended to all but the coziest of crime-fiction fans.
This is a beautifully written, atmospheric novel that warps effectively between a hugely enjoyable thriller and an authentic recreation of the claustrophobic Mob world of brutality and paranoia
Ellory got his thriller writing off to a good start with Candlemoth and followed up tidily with Ghostheart. This book, though, should propel him right up there to battle it out with the big boys ... a satisfying puzzler, and you'll be turning the pages at a brisk rate.
Ellory's entrancing tale weaves the two storylines together, keeping you turning the pages ... this is one of the best mafia reads since Mario Puzo's Godfather
With exquisite pace and perfect timing, Ellory has given us a piercing assessment of the nature of love, loyalty and obsessive revenge, not to mention a deep understanding of la cosa nostra.