The Death of a Century

April 20, 2015
Set in 1922, Robinson’s atmospheric tale of betrayal and revenge paints a passionate picture of the Lost Generation, those who came of age during WWI. When New York reporter Joe Henry pays a call one night on old army buddy and newspaper colleague Wynton Gresham at his Greenwich, Conn., house, Joe finds Gresham lying dead on his sofa with two bullet holes in his chest. The sheriff who arrives soon after regards Joe as a suspect, but allows him to go home. Later, in Gresham’s office desk, Joe discovers a first-class ticket on a Cunard liner leaving for Cherbourg the following day. Posing as Gresham, Joe uses the ticket to sail to France, where he hopes to find his friend’s killer and clear his own name. Joe’s reflections on his time in the war and the atrocities he witnessed slow the narrative, but Robinson (After the Fire) does a fine job of bringing Hemingway’s Paris to life. Agent: Sarah Warner, Warner Literary Group.