At the City's Edge [Hardcover]

Marcus Sakey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 22, 2008

Jason Palmer loved being a soldier. But after returning home from Iraq with an "other than honorable" discharge, he's finding rebuilding his life the toughest battle yet.

Elena Cruz is a talented cop, the first woman to make Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit. She's ready for anything the job can throw at her.

Until Jason's brother, a prominent community activist, is murdered in front of his own son.

Now, stalked by brutal men with a shadowy agenda, Jason and Elena must unravel a conspiracy stretching from the darkest alleys of the ghetto to the manicured lawns of the city's power brokers. In a world where corruption and violence are simply the cost of doing business, two damaged people are all that stand between an innocent child--and the killers who will stop at nothing to find him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sakey's second crime novel doesn't quite measure up to his impressive debut, The Blade Itself (2007), but it exhibits many of the same strengths: high-tension action, intricate plotting and a Chicago setting that thrums and pulses with the feel of the city. Jason Palmer, a veteran of the current Iraq war haunted by his experiences, has yet to settle down, unlike his older brother, Michael, who runs a bar in their old South Side Chicago neighborhood and is raising an eight-year-old son, Billy. But when Michael is murdered and Billy threatened, Jason finds himself reacting in the only way he knows—as a soldier. Soldiering, however, is only part of the answer, and Jason has to come to terms with his past, weigh new responsibilities and counter the carnage that gang warfare, political corruption and corporate greed are wreaking on the neighborhood. Sakey, who draws disturbing and thought-provoking parallels between Baghdad and Chicago, provides enough narrow escapes, traps and obstacles to satisfy a Die Hard fan, but enough meat to please readers who demand more than pyrotechnics. Author tour. (Jan.)
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Review

"At the City's Edge crackles and sears like a rip-roaring fire."

--Tess Gerritsen, author of The Bone Garden

"Goes from zero to sixty in a blazing rush. Sakey knows how to thrill a reader."

--David Morrell, author of Creepers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312360320
• ISBN-13: 978-0312360320
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,616,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marcus Sakey's thrillers have been nominated for more than fifteen awards, named New York Time's Editor's Picks, and selected among Esquire's Top 5 Books of The Year. His novels GOOD PEOPLE and BRILLIANCE are both in development as feature films.

Marcus is also the host of the acclaimed television show "Hidden City" on Travel Channel, for which he is routinely pepper-sprayed and attacked by dogs.

Prior to writing, he worked as a landscaper, a theatrical carpenter, a 3D animator, a woefully unprepared movie reviewer, a tutor, and a graphic designer who couldn't draw.

Marcus lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter. His website is MarcusSakey.com, or follow him on Facebook (Facebook.com/MarcusSakey) or Twitter, where he posts under the clever handle @MarcusSakey.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of crime fiction's finest writers at work today January 25, 2008

By Lynn B. Kostoff

Format:Hardcover

A fine piece of writing with a complex and conflicted protagonist in war-veteran Jason Palmer, powerfully rendered Chicago settings, a colorful and engaging mix of secondary characters, a conspiracy worthy of any paranoid's worst fears, and a plot-line that redefines unpredictable.

A novel that's both entertaining and ambitious. Highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Home Again July 13, 2008

By J. Caldwell

Format:Hardcover

Jason Palmer is a former soldier. A veteran of Iraq, he returned to Chicago with a less than honorable discharge and no future. He finds out, too late, that his brother is attempting to face down a criminal enterprise. Jason, his nephew, and Elena Cruz, a tough Chicago cop get to the bottom of things, encountering an alliance of corrupt city officals and gangsters.

This is an outstanding chase novel. The characters are extremely engaging. The reltionship between Jason and Elena is delightful (never mind that it develops in an impossibly brief time). The suspense is never ending. Each cliff hanger chapter end is followed by rapid, unexpected developments. The novel explores (painlessly) concepts of duty, a soldier's code of honor, the war in Iraq, and the heartache of parenting. The gang characters are chilling as well as engaging.
This is an outstanding effort. I strongly recommend the book and Sankey's earlier stand alone,"The Blalde Itself."

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Skating at the Edge September 3, 2009

By Stoney TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

THE SETUP
In contemporary Chicago, Jason Palmer, a former soldier with an "other than honorable" discharge, finds himself taking care of his young nephew Billy, after his tavern-owner brother Michael is murdered, in part for refusing to pay for "protection". Billy witnessed his father's death, by several white men (including at least one rouge policeman), who then contact a Black gang to kill Billy. Jason has no idea what he is up against when he decides to hunt down his unknown adversaries, but he does have the support of a Black pacifist activist Washington Mathews and policewoman Elaina Cruz. That's the setup.

VERDICT
The novel is a page-turner, well written, and with interesting characters. I found it enjoyable and satisfying. My general impression at the last page was, that I was glad I had read it, but not disappointment that the story had finished, nor "I hope the author has written more like this." Sakey makes it to my "good authors" list but not my "gotta read" list.

COMMENT
It should not be necessary to say that, as far as I can tell, the book is gaff-free. Novels full of hairballs (serious logical contractions, glaring inconsistencies, excessively implausible plots, etc.) should not get past editors. However these days, a large percentage of popular authors have become extraordinarily lazy--but get rave reviews, and their novels are automatic best sellers, so the editors don't care.