Sorrow's Anthem

March 28, 2011
Cleveland PI Lincoln Perry must confront his past when he learns that his best friend from childhood, Ed Gradduck, is accused of arson and murder and is on the run. Years ago, when Perry was on the police force, he sent Gradduck to prison, destroying their friendship and earning the detective the disdain of his old neighborhood. With the hope of resurrecting something of their former amity, Perry sets out to help his friend, but he's barely started when Gradduck is killedâhit by a car right in front of Perry. Now, with a deep sense of obligation, Perry sets out to prove the dead man's innocence and clear his friend's name, no matter the cost. The multiple awardâwinning Brick proves an excellent choice to read this noir. Fully embracing Perry's first-person narration, he brings the right world weariness to Koryta's seen-it-all PI.; the intimacy of his reading makes the expository passages sound like Perry is speaking directly to listeners, pulling them into the story, while the dialogue has a smooth, natural flow. It is an accomplished performance that only enhances this well-written updating of the classic detective story. A St. Martin's paperback.

January 15, 2006
P.I. Lincoln Perry is back -and this time it's personal. Perry hears that Ed Gradduk, his estranged childhood friend, is accused of murdering a lawyer and then burning the house down around her and has subsequently become the object of a manhunt through their old neighborhood. Perry feels compelled to help his old friend, who proclaims his innocence. But the chase ends with Gradduk dead under the wheels of a cop car, eliminating any hope of reconciliation and opening up a lot of questions for Perry, who witnesses the accident. Perry isn't sure that Gradduk is guilty and sets out to find the truth, but first he has to deal with some old baggage and call in a lot of favors. While it is interesting to read about childhood friends who have grown in different directions and yet find their lives still intertwined is interesting, the pacing is uneven, the characters fall flat, and the plot just strains credibility. A disappointing second effort from Koryta, the gifted young writer of "Tonight I Say Goodbye". Recommended for larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 10/1/05.]" -Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2006
Cleveland private investigator and former police officer Lincoln Perry has always been passionate about his work. But professional devotion becomes obsession when his childhood friend, Ed Gradduk, is accused of killing the director of a local urban renewal project, then setting fire to the house where her body was found. Perry, who is still plagued by guilt for once arresting Gradduk on a drug charge, is determined to get to the truth. But the suspect is murdered before Perry can gather clue one. With the help of his partner, retired cop Joe Pritchard, Perry combs his old neighborhood for answers and encounters a host of nefarious characters. Inspired by Hammett and Chandler, the 22-year-old Koryta (" Tonight I Said "Goodbye, 2004) displays the maturity of a writer with several novels under his belt, and his plot percolates with crisp dialogue that might impress Chandler himself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)