City of the Sun [Mass Market Paperback]

David Levien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2009

Private detective Frank Behr has been perfectly content living a solitary life, working on a few simple cases, and attempting to move on from his painful past. But when Paul and Carol Gabriel ask him to help them find their missing son, he can hardly refuse. Going against everything he fears—Behr's been around too long to hope for a happy ending—he enters into an uneasy partnership with Paul on a quest for the truth that will become both dangerous and haunting. Richly textured and crackling with suspense on every page, City of the Sun masterfully takes readers on an investigation like no other.www.davidlevien.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Screenwriter Levien's debut crackles with raw intensity as it hurtles from a placid Indianapolis suburb to a dingy Mexican outpost. Paul and Carol Gabriel are devastated when their 12-year-old son, Jamie, disappears on his paper delivery route one morning. Fourteen months later and with the police no closer to finding Jamie, they hire PI Frank Behr, an imposing ex-cop with a checkered past. Behr soon discovers that Jamie's disappearance was no random grab but part of a larger operation run by Riggi, a real estate tycoon who deals in everything from drugs to stolen children. Reluctantly allowing Paul to accompany him, Behr tracks Riggi's men to Mexico, where he and Paul discover the true extent of Riggi's depravity as they race against the clock to find Jamie. Levien expertly weaves a subplot involving the tragic death of Behr's own young son into the complex kidnapping story, and the moments shared between the two grieving fathers are heartbreaking. Fans of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch will be particularly delighted. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Levien is the new must–read thriller writer.” -Lee Child“Relentless suspense.” —Harlan Coben“It doesn't get any more intense than this.” —The Free Lance-Star“One of the toughest, most gut-wrenching, and most believable suspense novels I've ever encountered. If David Levien pulled any punches, I was too dazed to notice.” —Lincoln Child“Top-shelf suspense writing…. [Imagined] with icy…precision.” —Entertainment Weekly“A nerve-jangling novel that places ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.” —USA Today

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Paperback Edition edition (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307387208
• ISBN-13: 978-0307387202
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and engrossing; "The Searchers" for the modern era, February 29, 2008

By 

Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City of the Sun: A Novel (Hardcover)

In many ways, this compelling debut by David Levien is a retelling of the John Ford/John Wayne classic.

In "The Searchers", a young girl is kidnapped by raiding Commanches, and an aging ex-Texas Ranger -- aided by her adoptive brother -- tracks her down through the underbelly of Texas, their own contentious relationship turning into a partnership of mutual respect along the way.

In "City of the Sun", a young boy is kidnapped, and an aging ex-cop -- aided by the boy's father -- tracks him down through the sub rosa world of sex slavery, their own strained relationship turning into a partnership of mutual respect along the way.

"The Searchers" was a classic, and "City of the Sun" ably steps into those shoes as a literary retelling of a story with such raw emotional power.

The characters are fully three-dimensional and believable; you can feel the anguish and torment of the parents as their marriage slowly disintegrates in the aftermath of the kidnapping, and they desperately hope for the best while slowly growing to accept that their son has died, with all the attendant self-blame and guilt.

Frank Behr, the ex-cop, is meanwhile trying to deal with his own demons, and come to terms with the death of his own young son many years before.

A novel of complexity and great depth, written in a fluid and fast-paced style, this is a very solid five-star performance.

According to the flyleaf, this is the debut of a series featuring Behr; if so, I eagerly await the next installment.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will read it in one night and then spend a few more thinking, March 17, 2008

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City of the Sun: A Novel (Hardcover)

CITY OF THE SUN is a fantastic work of fiction. You realize this within the first few sentences, the ones that sink hooks into your brain with every letter. These letters coalesce into words, sentences and paragraphs, and before you know it, the night is gone and the book is done. You're still on the edge of your seat, and your eyes are bleary (maybe a little wet, too).

Though this is not David Levien's first novel, he has been known primarily as a screenwriter. You may have seen his work on the film Ocean's 13, the television show "Tilt" and a number of other successful projects. None of what has gone before, however, will prepare you for this stark tale of good versus evil in its most basic form.

What Levien does is create a perfect modern noir tale around Frank Behr, a damaged, quietly bent ex-cop turned private detective whose people skills are somewhat lacking but whose strength and courage seem inexhaustible. Behr is based in Indianapolis, hardly a city one thinks of as being a hotbed of danger. But Levien transforms it into a fearsome locale within a few pages, with one simple yet horrific act: the disappearance of 12-year-old Jamie Gabriel while he is on his early morning paper route. The author gives the reader just enough to know that Jamie is in a very bad, if unknown, place. Unfortunately his parents, Paul and Carol, don't even possess that much knowledge.

With no trace of Jamie more than a year after his abduction, and a lackluster police investigation, the Gabriels turn to Behr, who reluctantly agrees to take the case. Still, he informs them that they must work from the assumption that their son is dead. His investigative technique is plodding, even boring, and as realistic as it gets: he waits, makes wrong turns and right moves, good guesses and bad mistakes.

One thing leads to another. Behr begins with a simple yet ingenious question, pursues it to the end, and then begins again. And again. His technique involves much more than kicking over rocks; he is slower, more deliberate and thoughtful. Since he knows in his own heart what happened to Jamie, there is no need to rush. His technique with the unwilling, on the other hand, is worth the price of admission all by itself. Behr also breaks his own immutable rule and allows Paul to join him in the investigation, an act that permits the men to form a solid if initially uneasy bond as they slowly but doggedly follow a long and deadly trail that leads to the answer regarding Jamie's fate.

CITY OF THE SUN is one of those novels that will keep you up for several nights running. You will read it the first night and then spend a few more thinking. I can't wait for Levien's next project!

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city." Proverbs, March 7, 2010

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: City of the Sun (Mass Market Paperback)

Hard knuckled P.I. Frank Behr reluctantly agrees to help Paul and Carol Gabriel search for their son Jamie, who has been missing for over a year.

Frank knows that the chances of finding Jamie are slim. He tells the Gabriels that even if they do find where the thirteen year old boy is, they might not find him alive.

Jamie never returned from his job of delivering newspapers. He loved being on his new bike and Frank uses this knowledge to get his first clue. He is able to contact one of his old snitches and gets the name of someone who used to steal children's bikes and resell them.

As the case moves forward, Paul Gabriel feels compelled to be doing something himself to aid in finding his son. He pleads with Frank to allow him to join Frank in the next part of the case. Maybe because Frank had lost a son himself, he breaks one of his cardinal rules and lets Paul join him.

The reader follows this dramatic story as the investigators get a lead and then something stands in the way of further success. It is like peeling an onion, a little at a time.

The novel shows a parent's faith and family love. The Gabriel's never give up and their faith holds them together. The story is well plotted with realistic characters and moves well with suspense that maintains the reader's interest.