Customer Reviews

At the City's Edge

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

 

 

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.

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."

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.

Another stay-up-late, page-turner from a deft crime writer that deserves to be on your nightstand.

While his first, "The Blade Itself" will remain my favorite (if you haven't discovered this pulse-pounder already, stop reading this and go add it to your cart pronto), City's Edge gives it a run for its money. Sakey stomped on the gas here in a more ambitious story that gets even more dirt under its fingernails, more complexity in its characters and more stakes that leave a higher body count its wake and your heart leaping from your throat. Throw in some deftly woven social commentary and a villain that sneers with the best of them and you've got one fun book that's head and shoulders above most of his peers.

I enjoyed Marcus Sakey's debut, THE BLADE ITSELF, so much that I rushed out and read his second book without thinking twice. But I must admit I was pretty disappointed with his sophomore effort.

AT THE CITY'S EDGE is well written (Sakey definitely knows how to write forceful, punchy prose) but the story has very little originality. In fact, most of the scenes and situations in this novel are recycled from other books and TV shows I have either read or seen. Jason Palmer, the tortured Iraq war veteran with a dark secret he refuses to discuss, is the type of character I've seen before in countless books.

The same thing could be said about Elena Cruz, the tough Latina cop who makes the mistake of sleeping with one of her male superiors. Hey, what are the chances that Jason and Elena fall for each other? Close to certain, I would say. It also doesn't help that most of the other supporting characters are stereotypes, straight from central casting, including the little boy that Jason must bond with by the end of the story.

The actual plot itself, about gang warfare and police/political corruption, is pretty much by-the-numbers stuff and unfolds predictably. Sakey tries to make some legitimate points about gang life in the inner city, but he isn't particularly subtle about how he makes his points, which makes parts of AT THE CITY'S EDGE seem rather heavy-handed.

In short, I was disappointed with this effort. I think Sakey is a very talented writer, but I hope his next novel contains a more inspired storyline than what I found here.

Good writing. The Chicago authenticity is there. Part of the plot is somewhat unbelievable,but good reading.

When his brother is brutally murdered, Iraq war veteran Jason Palmer finds himself protecting his eight-year-old nephew from two ruthless killers with a mysterious agenda, while his Chicago South Side neighborhood erupts in a bloodbath of gang warfare and high-level political corruption. BT.
Though some of the plotting seemed rehashed, I found it quite suspenseful. I liked the writing style because it kept me wanting to read just another page. Overall a good second novel.

I'm not sure what I like most about Mr. Sakey's fist two novels: the original story lines, compelling characters, or the non-stop nostalgia I feel when reading about Chicago. As a former resident, Mr. Sakey takes me back to the city that I loved for many years. He has a great ability to make you feel like your right there with his characters.

At the City's Edge is a great follow up to The Blade Itself. Each one of his charaters force you to like them in one way or another whether its the villain or the hero. To many times did I find myself laughing during extremely stressful moments do to Sakey's ability to weave in commical situations and character reactions.

Big fan of this book, looking forward to the next.

At The City's Edge, Sakey's second novel, is a worthy successor to his excellent debut book, The Blade Itself. His writing style is one that will keep you wanting to read "just one more page" in order to see what happens next. The plot, which is described in depth in some other reviews, is fast-moving and filled with action. These qualities alone made it a book that I'm glad I read and one that I would recommend to you. That being said, however, be aware that At The City's Edge is not without its flaws. I found the dialogue and narrative on several occasions to be "preachy," and I felt that Sakey got a bit carried away with his parallels of being a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan and being "on the streets" of Chicago. These two factors almost caused me to give this book a 3-3 1/2 star rating. Further, while as I said, At The City's Edge has lots of action, I felt a lot of it was predictable; as was the interaction between the main male and female characters.

Marcus Sakey won critical and popular acclaim with THE BLADE ITSELF, his debut novel. His sophomore effort, AT THE CITY'S EDGE, is a gutsy change of pace from its predecessor.

While highlighting Sakey's canny ability for thriller writing, AT THE CITY'S EDGE is at its core a mystery, one that is complex, multilayered and, above all, intriguing. The primary character, as with THE BLADE ITSELF, is the author's beloved Chicago, but his latest book introduces an entirely new and riveting cast of personalities to bounce off of his fast-moving plot.

Chief among them is Jason Palmer, an Iraq war veteran whose discharge "for reasons other than honorable" chafes him internally as he returns to his old neighborhood. Jason realizes immediately that he has only exchanged one war for another when his brother Michael is brutally murdered. A tavern owner and community activist, Michael had been extremely vocal about gang activity in his local area and made a number of dangerous enemies. When he is killed during the torching of his business in front of his young son, Billy, it appears that he is yet another victim of an ongoing and apparently never-ending street war. Billy's description of his father's assailants, however, doesn't quite equate with that conclusion.

Jason doesn't have much time to puzzle it out, because even as they are grieving, he all too quickly learns that the men who killed his brother are now after Billy as well. Jason and Billy find themselves on the run, but Jason wants revenge for his brother's death, even as he discovers that the reasons for Michael's execution are more complicated than he originally thought.

Meanwhile, Elena Cruz, a police officer with Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit, is quietly being warned off the case, which she had hoped would redeem her professionally from an earlier error in judgment. Already at a loss as to where to turn for help or which way to go, she forms an uneasy alliance with Jason that is both complicated and made easier by the growing attraction between the two. Almost immediately, however, they find themselves caught between a street gang and the police, along with a shadowy third party whose motives are as shady as they are powerful.

Sakey combines classic whodunit elements with thriller sensibilities to make AT THE CITY'S EDGE a follow-up effort that is the equal of his impressive debut. And for good measure, the author tosses in a tour of Chicago's underbelly that isn't covered in any guidebook. This is one novel that you won't soon forget.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub