Absent Friends

Starred review from September 6, 2004
New York City Fire Capt. James McCaffery is a hero to everyone who knew him, and many who didn't, even before his death at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of that awful day, "New York needs heroes," as one character puts it. So it's particularly upsetting to the people McCaffery grew up with on Staten Island when a newspaper reporter suggests he may have been linked to organized crime and a shooting that happened exactly 22 years earlier. On September 11, 1979, Mark Keegan, a childhood friend of McCaffery's and most of the other characters in this rich, beautifully written book, killed a local mob boss's stepson—allegedly in self-defense—and later died in prison. Ever since, someone has been financially supporting Keegan's wife and young son, Kevin. The benefactor turns out to be McCaffery, but why? And where did the money come from? Rozan is a wonderful and insightful writer, and she creates an intricate, intimate portrait of a group of 40-something New Yorkers coping with a city in ruins. But the small mystery of Mark Keegan and Jimmy McCaffery cannot help paling in comparison to the larger evil perpetrated on 9/11, and the scope of the author's canvas—multiple perspectives and far too many flashbacks—makes the story more convoluted than it deserves to be. Nonetheless, the book powerfully articulates the mix of heartbreak, anger, helplessness and resolve of New Yorkers after 9/11. Agent, Steve Axelrod. (Oct. 5)

Forecast:
The winner of Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and Shamus awards, Rozan is the author of
Winter and Night (2002) and other titles in her Bill Smith/Lydia Chin mystery series. With blurbs from Dennis Lehane and Lee Child, this strong stand-alone should help break her out as a mainstream crime writer.

June 1, 2004
Rozan, who's won every major mystery award, branches out to write a thriller featuring a group of New York City friends whose intertwined lives end mostly in tragedy after 9/11.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2004
As a boy, the yearning to be a New York City fireman burned under Jimmy McCaffery's skin. Now, after more than 25 years of service, he storms up the smoke-choked stairwells of the World Trade Center, knowing in his heart that he's battling his last blaze. Childhood secrets and grown-up lies suffuse Bronx-born Rozan's mesmerizing mystery set in the weeks and months following September 11, 2001. Jimmy McCaffery is heralded as a hero, until veteran " New York Tribune" reporter Harry Randall uncovers the late fireman's suspected connections to organized crime. Randall commits suicide before he can dig deeper into the story. Or was he murdered? His protege and lover, Laura Stone, is determined to honor his memory by getting to the truth. Details surface as Stone studies the pivotal friendships in McCaffery's past: brothers Tom and Jack Molloy, following in the footsteps of their gangster father; Markie Keegan, slain while serving time for a crime few believe he could commit; and Markie's son, Kevin, a neophyte firefighter convinced "Uncle" Jimmy can do no wrong. Winner of the Edgar, Shamus, and Nero Awards, Rozan shifts among several narrators and between present and past in this riveting offering reminiscent of Dennis Lehane's " Mystic River" (2001). An unforgettable elegy to the clear September morning that forever changed our lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)