Tonight I Said Goodbye (St. Martin's Minotaur Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Koryta (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's Minotaur Mystery | Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his upscale Cleveland suburban home. His wife and six-year-old daughter are now missing. The police think the former Marine murdered them. Hoping to exonerate his son, Weston’s father hires PIs Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard. 
 
Perry and Pritchard soon discover there is much more lying beneath the surface, including rumors of gambling debts, extortion, and a Russian mob that likes to wield baseball bats. But just when Perry and Pritchard believe they are making swift progress, a millionaire real estate tycoon and the FBI advise them to back off of the investigation. 
 

Then without warning, another murder suddenly forces them to change direction in the case as they uncover a trail of deadly twists—but the most shocking secret of all has yet to be unraveled...

 

Tonight I Said Goodbye is a 2005 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A pair of PIs investigate the murder of one of their own in Koryta's sharp, fast-paced debut. Crusty old John Weston hires partners Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard to investigate both the death of his son, Wayne, in an incident the cops have ruled a suicide, and the disappearance of Wayne's wife and young daughter. Perry and Pritchard soon determine that Wayne was working for Jeremiah Hubbard, "Cleveland's answer to Donald Trump," in a series of surveillance jobs that brought him into contact with Russian mobsters. The case heats up considerably when the detectives locate Randy Hartwick, a Marine who served with Wayne in a special ops unit, only to have him shot right before their eyes. The cat-and-mouse game shifts to South Carolina, as Perry noses around a Myrtle Beach resort where Hartwick had worked security, only to stumble into Wayne's daughter and wife, who are staying at the same hotel. Julie Weston reveals that she has a videotape her husband made of the mobsters committing a murder, and soon they're both in danger when the Russians come looking for the tape. Although he occasionally tries to substitute jaded PI patter for genuine character development, 21-year-old Koryta delivers well-crafted scenes and genuinely surprising plot twists. This riveting detective novel should delight fans looking for new talent.
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.

Review

"Quick pacing, sharp dialogue and very human characters--the good guys and the bad--make Michael Koryta's debut a fine and satisfying read."
--SJ Rozan, Edgar-winning author of Winter and Night

"Michael Koryta hits the ground running with this masterful debut. He's already so good, it's scary!"
-- Steve Hamilton, author of Ice Run

"An exciting debut that crackles with gunfire and terse, dead-on dialogue. This is noir, fresh and fine."
--William Kent Krueger, author of Blood Hollow

"...the 21-year-old author excels at building characters and story, making this one of the best mystery debuts this year."
--Library Journal

"This riveting detective novel should delight fans looking for new talent."
--Publishers Weekly

"A gracefully written, straight-ahead detective story with a welcome 11th-hour surprise."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Koryta is only 21, but he writes with the style of a seasoned vet...This is a writer to watch."
--Globe & Mail

"Michael Koryta makes an impressive debut."
--Midwest Book Review

"An incredibly fresh private-investigator novel...Koryta...emerges fully formed in his first effort."
--Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031293209X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312932091
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,865 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

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Debut Mystery, October 22, 2004

By 

Cleveland Sarah - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this book for the second time. I read it for the first time about three weeks ago and loved it, but I rushed through it a little and wanted to take another look. After the second reading, I am only more impressed. Michael Koryta is the youngest mystery writer I have ever read but he has still written one of the finest first books I've ever read. The book is dialogue-heavy, much like Robert B. Parker, and I love that style. The conversations are fast and witty and most importantly, they seem real. Lincoln Perry is a wonderful narrator, and Koryta creates his supporting cast vividly without getting into too much detail. The characters are developed through their words and actions in a plot that takes one twist after another. With Les Roberts no longer writing detective novels, it looks like Michael Koryta is poised to take over as Cleveland's finest noir writer. I can't wait for the next Lincoln Perry novel!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent investigative tale, September 25, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

In the Cleveland suburb of West Olmsted, John Weston hires private investigators Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard to learn who killed his son Wayne and what happened to his missing daughter-in-law Julie and five year old granddaughter Betsy. The police suspect a murder-suicide though they have not found two of the corpses while the media insist that Wayne killed his wife and child. John insists he just saw Wayne who was too contented to suddenly within forty-eight hours commit the horrors the press assert he did.

Though reluctant to get in the middle of an on-going official investigation, Lincoln accepts the case for a larger than normal fee. As he and his partner investigate an intriguing money trail that leads to gambling and South Carolina, several divergent parties threaten to kill the two sleuths if they do not drop the case; others try to hit home runs using the heads of Lincoln and Joe as baseballs. Still the increasingly dogmatic detectives dig deeper.

The dual mysteries of murder and missing people are cleverly handled so that readers accompany the sleuths as they follow the clues and antagonists in turn pursue them. The suspense increases by the moment with threats to harm or kill Perry and Pritchard if they fail to back off. Although an excellent investigative plot, the key that supports why TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE won the 2003 St. Martin's Press Best First PI Novel award is the cast. Lincoln especially is fully developed but the prime support players including Joe, the deceased and his family, some media and police, and the villains seem genuine. Michael Kortya makes an impressive debut.

Harriet Klausner

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific First Book...A Favorite, October 28, 2004

By 

Todd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry) (Hardcover)

Michael Koryta's web site www.michaelkoryta.com says one of the most influential writers to him was Dennis Lehane, and I believe it because this first novel is one of the best I've read since Lehane broke through with A Drink Before The War. Koryta's writing is not quite as dark as a Lehane or James Ellroy novel, but he has great dialogue and a narrator that seems more believable and accesible than some. Lincoln Perry is a strong voice and Koryta does a perfect job of blending Perry's internal thoughts with external dialogue. A moderate pace through the first 50 or so pages turns into a rapid-fire page-turner quickly and maintains that till the novel's end. A great, great debut.