Good People [Hardcover]

Marcus Sakey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2008

The spectacular Dutton debut of a thriller writer whose ecstatically acclaimed work draws comparisons to luminaries such as Elmore Leonard, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane

A family, and the security to enjoy it: that’s all Tom and Anna Reed ever wanted. But years of infertility treatments, including four failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization, have left them with neither. The emotional and financial costs are straining their marriage and endangering their dreams. So when their downstairs tenant—a recluse whose promptly delivered cashier’s checks were barely keeping them afloat—dies in his sleep, the $400,000 they find stashed in his kitchen seems like fate. More than fate: a chance for everything they’ve dreamed of for so long. A fairy-tale ending.

But Tom and Anna soon realize that fairy tales never come cheap. Because their tenant wasn’t a hermit who squirreled away his pennies. He was a criminal who double-crossed some of the most dangerous men in Chicago. Men who won’t stop until they get revenge, no matter where they find it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. What would you do if, like Chicagoans Tom and Anna Reed, you stumbled on $400,000 that seemed heaven sent? After reading Sakey's masterful third crime thriller, you'd probably leave it untouched. In increasing debt from failed attempts to produce a child, Tom and Anna can't resist taking the money they discover hidden in their deceased tenant's apartment. After the initial euphoria, the Reeds find themselves dealing with a deadly drug dealer who wants something they don't have, a vengeful robber looking for the money they do have and a suspicious cop who knows they're holding out on him. Sakey, who excels at taking ordinary good people and forcing them to meet terrible challenges, ratchets up the stakes, creating ever more diabolical traps and ever more desperate escapes until the final shattering conclusion. Having topped his previous two novels (At the City's Edge and The Blade Itself), Sakey may have trouble equaling this stellar performance. (Aug.)
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From Booklist

Sakey, whose debut novel, The Blade Itself (2007), garnered a truckload of praise, returns with a chilling story that combines an ordinary couple’s desperation with a band of Chicago criminals’ unslaked thirst for revenge. It’s masterful in showing how the daily drip, drip of dreams deferred can lead people into peril. Sakey’s opening chapters juxtapose an unbearably tense murder-and-betrayal scene in a club against a domestic drama centered on a couple’s inability to conceive a child. Readers may feel a bit of whiplash with the contrast, but Sakey’s portrayal of the couple’s despair (to the tune of $15,000 per failed in vitro treatment) is essential to understanding their plight in the rest of the novel. The plot hinges, however, on one very creaky, contrived element. The couple owns a two-flat and rents the bottom unit to a taciturn, somewhat creepy tenant. The deus ex machina element comes in when the husband smells smoke, the couple investigates downstairs, and finds that where there’s smoke—there’s a pile of money just lying on the floor with the tenant conveniently dead. The couple is now $400,000 to the good, and the Chicago Police no wiser, but, of course, their troubles are just beginning. The dead tenant betrayed some very bad, well-connected criminals, who will stop at nothing to retrieve their money and exact revenge. Excellent chase and psychological drama, after the initial plot bump. --Connie Fletcher

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525950842
• ISBN-13: 978-0525950844
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good People=Good Book!, August 14, 2008

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Good People (Hardcover)

The basic premise of Good People centers on the question 'How far would you go to keep hidden the fact that you found $370,000?' When Tom and Anna Reed find $370,000 they develop a simple plan regarding their find. Their plan is to keep the money hidden and wait to see if anyone comes to claim it. If not, they plan to keep the money and use it in ways that will change their lives. What the Reeds don't realize is that their simple plan has led them to cross some very dangerous men who won't stop until they get revenge no matter where they find it. Let me be very clear about the fact that Sakey's third book, Good People, is a very fast-paced, exciting, entertaining read. What the premise of the book is not, however, is original. That is, it is very similar to the book written several years ago by Scott Smith called A Simple Plan. As I said, Good People is a book that is suspenseful and worth reading, especially by those who have never read (or seen the movie) A Simple Plan. In comparison, however, I think readers (and/or viewers) of A Simple Plan will find, as I did, that Good People pales somewhat in comparison.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous concept that I couldn't get past, September 4, 2009

By 

Amy Steele (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good People (Mass Market Paperback)

Good People is not a genre I read often but I tend to mix a thriller in from time to time and when I do I want a real page-turner: a Laura Lippman or a Harlan Coben. A story that keeps me thinking, guessing, and most importantly keeps me up all night reading. Good People, unfortunately, is not that book. Here's the premise: Chicago couple Tom and Anna Reed have been trying to have a child for an extremely long time and have hit the expensive stage of the fertility process: IUI [intrauterine insemination] and IVF [in vitro fertilization]. Anna and Tom find nearly $400K in hidden money in their tenant's basement unit. Not surprisingly, this hidden stash leads to more trouble than the couple ever expects when slowly the money's links to drug-deals, thieves, and other unsavory characters are exposed. How much is the money worth to them? While Sakey has a decent concept he fails to develop the characters of Anna and Tom enough that I cared why they wanted/needed the money to face so much danger and to deceive each other and those around them. Thousands of couples cannot have their own children. I did not feel so sorry for them that I was thrilled with their decision to keep this money. Adopt like other people and stop being so selfish. I did not buy into the entire morality tale that Sakey tried to build around this supposedly "good" couple finding a stash of tainted money and going to extreme lengths to keep it. These "good" people turned out to be just as calculated as the "bad" guys. Good People starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. This is not what I want in a thriller.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skimmer, September 2, 2009

By 

John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Good People (Mass Market Paperback)

I couldn't help myself. It felt so familiar. Pelecanos had a similar set up for a recent book. Nothing really held me back, so skimming this one got it done. Give me something to pause at. Great opening, then that fast slide.