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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780385339230 ISBN: 0385339232 Label: Delta Manufacturer: Delta Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 400 Publication Date: August 30, 2005 Publisher: Delta Release Date: August 30, 2005 Studio: Delta Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Lawrence Block was early out of the gates with a crime novel, Small Town, that drew its sweeping story from the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, U.S. terrorist attacks, only to be followed closely by John le Carré (Absolute Friends) and Dan Fesperman (The Warlord's Son). Now comes S.J. Rozan. In Absent Friends, this Edgar Award-winning author takes a wide detour from her series featuring Manhattan private eyes Lydia Chin and Bill Smith (Winter and Night) to deliver a standalone yarn that is much more satisfying as a character study than a mystery. Jimmy McCaffery, a decorated 46-year-old captain with the New York City Fire Department, was "notoriously publicity-shy but famous for daredevil heroic deeds." His death in the collapsing World Trade Center quickly came to symbolize the abundant sacrifices made on 9/11, as well as the ability of New Yorkers to mine courage from catastrophe. But when a newspaper alleges that McCaffery had long been funneling money from "a Staten Island developer and reputed organized crime figure" to the widow of Mark Keegan, a mechanic who'd been convicted for the 1979 self-defense shooting of a wannabe mobster (only to later perish during a prison fight), more than just McCaffery's reputation is put at risk. So are the late firefighter's closest childhood friends, who have maintained his secrets for much too long; Keegan's son, who has grown to accept his father's early demise and to hero-worship McCaffery; and Phil Constantine, the lawyer who defended Keegan and has since tried to engineer a relationship with his widow. When Harry Randall, the once-renowned newspaperman responsible for unearthing the McCaffery scandal, is killed in a fall from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge--is it suicide, or something more nefarious?--his much younger girlfriend, reporter Laura Stone, determines to continue that investigation. No matter where it leads, or who it might hurt. Rozan is at her best when describing Manhattan immediately after the attacks: This close to the site, a smoky scent drifted on the air. Fires were still burning under tons of dust and steel. Like everyone downtown, Laura had been smelling this odor for weeks; but still she was unsure whether it was a bitter smell, or sweet. The acridness was the scent of smoldering plastic, and steel, and jet fuel. The sweetness, she had been told, was flesh. She does well, too, at dribbling out the facts of the McCaffery case, wrapping each with remorse, regret, or guilt; and at telling her tale from multiple viewpoints, her principal players shaped equally by pain and hope. However, the conclusion of Absent Friends is something of a letdown, less surprising or emotionally wrenching than it is merely complicated. Once more we are told that nothing is as simple as it seems. Certainly not love. --J. Kingston Pierce Product Description: The secrets of a group of childhood friends unravel in this haunting thriller by Edgar Award winner S. J. Rozan. Set in New York in the unforgettable aftermath of September 11, Absent Friends brilliantly captures a time and place unlike any other, as it winds through the wounded streets of New York and Staten Island...and into a maze of old crimes, damaged lives, and heartbreaking revelations. The result is not only an electrifying mystery and a riveting piece of storytelling but an elegiac novel that powerfully explores a world changed forever on a clear September morning. In a novel that will catch you off guard at every turn, and one that is guaranteed to become a classic, S. J. Rozan masterfully ratchets up the tension one revelation at a time as she dares you to ponder the bonds of friendship, the meaning of truth, and the stuff of heroism. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Nothing is absent in this author's writingI haven't read the Lehane book that ABSENT FRIENDS is often weighed against or the author's preceding PI series, so I had no pre-defined notion about what this book may, or should, be. While reading, my sense was that the author considered it fundamentally necessary to write about September 11, 2001 and its aftermath -- and drew a perceptive and thought provoking story from within that framework. Ms. Rozan's quiet, eloquent prose must be evocative of what she was feeling -- of what each New Yorker ... Read More Rating:  - Not quiteThis is one of those books I really hoped to like. I enjoy S.J.Rozan, and firmly agree with the assessment that's been made of her Lydia Chin/Bill Smith books: she's the best-kept secret in mystery fiction today. This book is Rozan's attempt to emulate Dennis Lehane's Mystic River, which transformed him from a series detective writer to a serious, acclaimed novelist sans genre. Unfortunately, Absent Friends isn't quite as good as Mystic River. The book's built around the 9/11 attacks on ... Read More Rating:  - Absent a PointI can't begrudge award-winning mystery-novelist and life-long New Yorker, S. J. Rozan, finding it necessary to write this novel in order to cope with her feelings about 9-11, but I do begrudge her deciding to publish it and thus forcing this fan of hers to slog through it. Having literally devoured everything else she has written, I expected to be drawn in and deeply moved. Instead I felt like I'd been forced to endure somebody else's therapy sessions, somebody who won't be getting better anytime soon. ... Read More Rating: - 3.5 stars - Better than good.Not as much a mystery as a character study, it vacillates between multiple characters and two time periods, which I found tiring and a bit confusing. Rozen's depiction of 9/11 and its aftermath are remarkable and sad, and the characters are a reflection of that. However, I found the end very unsatisfying. Parts of the book are very well done and, as Ms. Rosen is a resident of NYC, I certainly understand its impetus. But personally, I'll admit I am anxious for the return of Bill and Lydia. Rating: - The TruthThis book what a wonderul look at friendship, mistakes and truth. In the beginning of the book, I wanted to find out the truth just as much as reporter Laura. In the end, I felt the same as she did : empty & sad. The truth does not always set you free. I loved the setting of this book, a few weeks after September 11, in New York City. Although the events of that day have nothing to do per se with the events, it does set them in motion. It's my first book by this author and I was left marvelling ... Read More |
