Set in gritty 1970s NYC, this 2018 Shamus Award Winner is a "gripping multiple-murder mystery overlaid with tremendous atmosphere and action" (Foreword Reviews).
In the spring of 1977, multiple murders are linked to a serial killer known as Son of Sam. But, writing for a newswire, Coleridge Taylor can't compete with the armies of reporters fighting New York's tabloid war. Seeking out out stories, he investigates the murder of a young African American woman gunned down in her apartment building the same night Son of Sam struck elsewhere in Queens.
The story behind Martha Gibson's senseless shooting takes Taylor from the fringes of the outer boroughs to the privilege of Park Avenue socialites. Just as he's closing in on the killer—and his scoop—a blackout sends New York into an orgy of looting and destruction. Taylor and his PI girlfriend Samantha Callahan head out into the darkness, where a steamy night of mob violence awaits them.
"Zahradnik nails the period, with its pack journalism, racism overt and subtle, and the excesses of the wealthy at places like Studio 54, as he shows how one dogged reporter can make a difference" (Publishers Weekly).
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
November 1, 2018 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781603812146
- File size: 468 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781603812146
- File size: 468 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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October 1, 2017
In the spring of 1977, with the Son of Sam killings already in full swing, a young black woman is murdered in her Queens apartment the same evening as one of the serial killer's victims. While nearly every crime reporter in New York is chasing Son of Sam leads, Coleridge Taylor instead pursues this case of Martha Gibson, a recent college graduate who lost her job after refusing her boss's sexual advances and was forced to take a job as a maid for a wealthy Park Avenue family. Using actual headlines from the Son of Sam coverage as a way to highlight the passing of time and the less glamorous footwork involved in investigating a story, the novel works best when it focuses on Coleridge's trial-and-error investigation of Martha's death and the struggle to keep a case open as suspects die and police shift their focus elsewhere. In his fourth series mystery (after A Black Sail), former journalist Zahradnik does an excellent job capturing this moment in time for New York's print media, when several papers were folding and Rupert Murdoch was coming on the scene with his acquisition of the New York Post. VERDICT For readers who enjoy mysteries focusing on reporters or who have an interest in 1970s New York.--Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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