Amazon.com: At the City's Edge (9780792752288): Marcus Sakey, Grover Gardner: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: 2008

Elena, a talented copy and the first woman to make Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit, is ready for anything the job can throw at her. Until Jason's brother, a prominent community activitist, 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 are looking for him.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Elena, a talented copy and the first woman to make Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit, is ready for anything the job can throw at her. Until Jason's brother, a prominent community activitist, 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 are looking for him.

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Marcus Sakey Page

I'm a novelist, which means I make a living telling lies. Hopefully they keep you up at night or make you miss your train stop. My books have been named New York Time's Editor's Picks, selected among Esquire's Top 5 Novels of The Year, and optioned for film by Ben Affleck and Tobey Maguire.

Visit me at MarcusSakey.com, or follow me on Twitter (Twitter.com/MarcusSakey) or Facebook (Facebook.com/MarcusSakey)

Customer Reviews

26 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

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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 "Reader from South Carolina" (Florence, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: At the City's Edge (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.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Home Again, July 13, 2008

By

J. Caldwell (Sharon, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the City's Edge (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."

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

By

Stoney (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: At the City's Edge (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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of confusion and our hero may fine peace in the end.
I quite liked this story of the confused and actually ill returned from Iraq service man who inadvertently steps right into a huge problem - actually problems. Read more

Published 4 months ago by loves a mystery

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing novel
After reading this, I immediately purchased more of the authors work. This one will appeal to both men and women. The writing is clean and tight, the characters richly drawn. Read more

Published 5 months ago by M. Pyle

3.0 out of 5 stars good premise that does not quite live up to pectations
Jason Palmer returns from Iraq as a lost soul until the sudden death of his brother leaves him with his brother's young son and a mystery to solve in order to protect him. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Fred Luke

1.0 out of 5 stars At The City's Edge
This is a strange comment, but I just purchased this book at Costco, yesterday for $4.59 so I have to wonder about the pricing here. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Seth Evans

2.0 out of 5 stars Been there, done that.
Jason Palmer returns from Iraq with a less than honorable discharge after one of the men in his unit was killed. Read more

Published on June 17, 2009 by michael a. draper

4.0 out of 5 stars At the City's Edge
Good writing. The Chicago authenticity is there. Part of the plot is somewhat unbelievable,but good reading.

Published on September 30, 2008 by Timothy O'reilly

3.0 out of 5 stars At the City's Edge
The book was a gift to my husband, he enjoyed it and gave it a 7 on a scale of 1 - 10.

Published on August 10, 2008 by Sandra Taylor

3.0 out of 5 stars Continuity - not a problem
Continuity - not a problem because it does not exist in this book. Flashbacks are confusing. Grover Gardner is the narrator for the audio book and is one of the best 'Readers" in... Read more

Published on June 8, 2008 by Peggy Randall-Martin

2.0 out of 5 stars As a big fan of Sakeys debut, I was left wanting after City's Edge
As most of the reviewers on this site have stated, I really enjoyed The Blade Itself. I saw that Sakey had a new book at the store, and was excited to get started with a fun... Read more

Published on May 24, 2008 by clifford

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewing: "At the City's Edge" by Marcus Sakey
Jason Palmer found his reason for being by being a soldier. Then, one mistake later, he was ultimately out and on his way back home to Chicago. Read more

Published on April 12, 2008 by Kevin Tipple

› See all 26 customer reviews...

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
When the man pointed a gun at him, Jason Palmer was cooling down after his daily five and picturing the first beer of the day, a sweating Corona-and-lime that he figured he'd drink in the shower. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
soul patch, lantern bearers

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Michael Palmer, Jason Palmer, Adam Kent, Uncle Jason, Lower Wacker, Officer Cruz, Dion Wallace, Alderman Owens, Gangster Disciples, Lincoln Park, Gang Intelligence, Tom Galway, Monte Carlo, South Side, Daryl Thomas, Chicago Police Department, Jesus Christ, Elena Cruz, Lake Shore Drive, Army T-shirt, Eight Ball, Jim Beam, Crazy Dee, James Donlan, Black Label