Sorrow's Anthem (The Lincoln Perry Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Koryta (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Lincoln Perry Mysteries | Publication Date: January 2, 2007

Once Lincoln Perry and Ed Gradduk were friends. Then Perry became a cop, Gradduk turned dangerous, and their friendship imploded. Now, Gradduk is dead. And Perry wants to use his PI license to prove that whatever else his childhood friend might have been, he wasn't a murderer.
 
For the police, this case is over. The woman Gradduk is alleged to have killed can't tell her side of the story, and the building she entered with him has burned to the ground. But Perry is making connections to a wave of arson that struck Cleveland seventeen years ago--fires that lit up the dark secrets of two families, a local powerbroker, and at least one crooked cop. Now Perry and his partner can see ties between the past and present, between innocents and criminals--and sirens that keep playing...
 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Koryta's impressive second hard-boiled mystery is a worthy successor to his debut, Tonight I Said Goodbye (2004), an Edgar and Shamus finalist. Cleveland PI Lincoln Perry, haunted by the circumstances that led to his estrangement from his best friend, Ed Gradduk, clutches at an opportunity for redemption on learning that Gradduk is a fugitive from the law, suspected of arson and murder. Perry's hopes of repairing their relationship are dashed after his childhood confidant dies in an accident. As a result, Perry shifts his mission to clearing the dead man's name. Perry, aided by his partner, follows a winding trail of dirty cops and multiple suspicious fires toward the truth. The 22-year-old author, who works for a PI and for an Indiana newspaper, displays credible insider knowledge of those professions as well as a gift for creating both sympathetic characters and a fast-moving, twisty plot. Author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Cleveland private investigator and former police officer Lincoln Perry has always been passionate about his work. But professional devotion becomes obsession when his childhood friend, Ed Gradduk, is accused of killing the director of a local urban renewal project, then setting fire to the house where her body was found. Perry, who is still plagued by guilt for once arresting Gradduk on a drug charge, is determined to get to the truth. But the suspect is murdered before Perry can gather clue one. With the help of his partner, retired cop Joe Pritchard, Perry combs his old neighborhood for answers and encounters a host of nefarious characters. Inspired by Hammett and Chandler, the 22-year-old Koryta (Tonight I Said Goodbye, 2004) displays the maturity of a writer with several novels under his belt, and his plot percolates with crisp dialogue that might impress Chandler himself. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312936605
• ISBN-13: 978-0312936600
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Koryta (pronounced ko-ree-ta)has written eight novels, praised by such authors as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane, and his most recent novel, THE RIDGE, was called "A freshly imagined and elegantly constructed variation on the dead-of-night ghost story," by the New York Times and "a chilling supernatural thriller by a rising literary star," by the Wall Street Journal. In addition to winning the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, his novel ENVY THE NIGHT was selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. A former private investigator and newspaper reporter, Koryta graduated from Indiana University with a degree in criminal justice. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Bloomington, Indiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy follow-up to his highly praised debut, April 28, 2006

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorrow's Anthem (The Lincoln Perry Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Long repressed emotions erupt when Cleveland PI Lincoln Perry learns that former friend Ed Gradduk has been accused of arson and murder. Feeling pangs of regret from the results of a well meant past gesture gone bad, the ex-cop seeks his childhood pal out to offer his assistance. He eventually locates Ed, only to see him run down by a police car moments later. Motivated primarily by guilt and shame, Perry strives to uncover the truth behind the accusations, hoping to clear his friend's name. Investigating, he starts poking around at the edges of a conspiracy that includes members of a local police precinct; unfortunately for him, the conspirators are willing to go to any length, including murder, to protect their secrets.

A worthy follow-up to his highly praised debut, 2004's Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem is notable not only for its swift pacing, well drawn cast, and harrowing, hard boiled action, but also for the fact that its author is all of twenty two years old. Displaying an outsize talent that belies his youth, Koryta cements his reputation as one of the "top young mystery writers in America today," delivering a work that takes a hard look at the world of crime, and on the impact of the choices people in that world, both criminals and law enforcement officials, make everyday, choices that often mean the difference between life and death, and between a life lived inside or outside the blurry confines of the law.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Follow-Up, April 10, 2006

By 

Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorrow's Anthem (The Lincoln Perry Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I think I was one of the few people who really didn't care for Koryta's debut, _Tonight I Said Goodbye_, which I thought was very gimmicky and didn't really come to life. That said, this second book in the Lincoln Perry-Joe Pritchard detective series, is a wonderful turnaround. This time, the characters rang true and the story was vivid and gripping. Where the first book felt a bit forced at times, this one is natural and flows beautifully. It's still hard to believe Koryta is as young as he is.

This time around, Lincoln is drawn into a mystery that ties into his past, as he witnesses the unfortunate death of a childhood friend, Ed Gradduk, apparently run over accidentally by a police car while trying to escape arrest. Ed was the prime suspect in a murder/arson case and he was just starting to open up to Lincoln when the cops arrived to take him in. Lincoln had lost touch with Ed many years before when, as a rookie policeman, he'd been responsible for Ed's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges, all the while hoping Ed would save himself and roll over on the real culprit. When that didn't happen, the two best friends became estranged and their tight-knit community turned its back on Lincoln and his father.

Unable to clearly spell out his reasons for doing so, Lincoln finds himself investigating his friend's death, which seems to be related to a string of arsons, some recent and some dating back 20 years. There may also be a link to Cleveland's mafia and, perhaps, some police corruption involved.

Lincoln and his partner, Joe Pritchard, are well-visualized characters. They're both retired veterans of the Cleveland police department, Joe with 30 years' experience. Lincoln is the younger of the two and besides the detective agency, owns a gym. The portrait of Cleveland is a vivid one and the sense of community, of tight-knit neighborhoods where everyone knows everyone, a way of life that is on its way out, is well-developed. The mystery is an intriguing one and its twists and turns don't lead where we think they will.

I was very impressed by the novel and am looking forward to Koryta's next.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars as good as pelecanos or coben, March 31, 2009

By 

L. Lumpkin III "luv2rok" (Osprey, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sorrow's Anthem (The Lincoln Perry Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading Koryta's first book, I was wondering if this kid was a one-hit wonder, or if he might be at the beginning of a truly great writing career. Well, it looks like it's the latter. Within the first few pages, the reader is given an obviously guilty character (there's a video, for goodness sake!), and unbelievably the protagonist is convinced of his innocence. And it gets more complicated from there. The book is emotionally evocative, the reader really cares. Even the title--"Sorrow's Anthem", which was what the main character's father called the sound of ambulance and police sirens, is moving. Very readable, very satisfying. Comparable to Pelecanos, Coben, Childs, already; this guy is on his way.