The electrifying first novel in a new crime series from a veteran Washington, D.C., reporter When the teenage daughter of a powerful Washington, D.C., judge is found dead, three local black kids are arrested for her murder-- but reporter Sully Carter suspects there' s more to the case. From the city' s grittiest backstreets to the elegant halls of power, wry yet wounded Sully pursues a string of cold cases, all the while fighting against pressure from government officials, police, suspicious locals, and his own bosses at the newspaper. Based on the real-life 1990s Princeton Place murders, Neely Tucker' s debut novel is a pitch-perfect rendering of a fast-paced newsroom and a layered, edge-of-your-seat mystery sure to please fans of Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos.
About the Author :
Neely Tucker was born in Lexington, Mississippi, one of the poorest places in America, in 1963. He worked for newspapers in Miami and Detroit before taking postings in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Filing stories from more than sixty countries, he frequently covered war and violent conflict. When he returned to Washington, DC, in 2000 to work for The Washington Post, he covered criminal courts and the fates of former prison inmates. Elmore Leonard, a friend in Detroit, used him as the basis and namesake for a foreign correspondent in "Cuba Libre." Tucker is now a staff writer for the Post's Sunday Magazine and lives just outside DC with his wife, Carol, their three children, and one very large Rottweiler who is, of course, named Sully.
Scott Sowers is an actor and audiobook narrator. AudioFile magazine named him the 2008 Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense. He is the winner of seven Earphones Awards.
Review :
"The Ways of the Dead is a great read. Deep characters, pitch perfect dialogue and a plot with as many curves as the Rock Creek Parkway as it moves through the side of Washington D.C. far away from the Smithsonian. Neely Tucker takes this novel up an even further notch with a story framed around the hot button issues of our time, including race, justice and the media. If this is Tucker's first novel, I can't wait for what's coming next."
-- "Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Gods of Guilt"
"The Ways Of The Dead has everything you'd want from a book noir--enveloping atmosphere, flavorful characters, evocative writing, and a serpentine plot which seems to make the pages turn themselves. Neely Tucker is an impressive new talent."
-- "Richard North Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Loss of Innocence"
"[An] exciting fiction debut...The brisk plot is punctuated by an insightful view of journalism and manipulative editors, shady politicians, and apathetic cops, while also showing residents working to create a better neighborhood. Readers will be pleased that Tucker leaves room for a sequel."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Crisp, crafty and sharply observed...Rich yet taut description, edgy storytelling, rock-and-rolling dialogue, and a deeply flawed but compelling hero add up to a luminous first novel.
-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"
"From the powerful opening to the shocking finale, The Ways of the Dead delivers the very best in gritty, hard-edged suspense. Complex characters, taut dialogue, and a riveting plot all add up to one extremely excellent novel."
-- "Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fear Nothing"
"With the emphasis on gritty urban life in a city rife with racism and blight, [The Ways of the Dead] evokes the Washington, D.C. of George Pelecanos. This riveting debut novel should spawn a terrific series."
-- "Booklist (starred review)"
