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About The Book

The acclaimed debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chain, this Irish bad-boy thrillerset in the hardest streets of New York Citybrims with violence, greed, and sexual betrayal.

"I didn't want to go to America, I didn't want to work for Darkey White. I had my reasons. But I went."

So admits Michael Forsythe, an illegal immigrant escaping the Troubles in Belfast. But young Michael is strong and fearless and clever—just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month. Michael and his lads tumble through the streets, shaking down victims, drinking hard, and fighting for turf, block by bloody block.

Dodgy and observant, not to mention handy with a pistol, Michael is soon anointed by Darkey as his rising star. Meanwhile Michael has very inadvisably seduced Darkey's girl, Bridget—saucy, fickle, and irresistible. Michael worries that he's being followed, that his affair with Bridget will be revealed. He's right to be anxious; when Darkey discovers the affair, he plans a very hard fall for young Michael, a gambit devilish in its guile, murderous in its intent.

But Darkey fails to account for Michael's toughness and ingenuity or the possibility that he might wreak terrible vengeance upon those who would betray him.

A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent—complete with an Irish lilt.

About The Author

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Adrian McKinty is an Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2020 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. He is also the author of the Michael Forsythe trilogy and the Lighthouse trilogy. He is a winner of multiple awards including the Edgar Award, the Macavity Award, and the International Thriller Writers Award.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (October 14, 2003)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780743253550

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Raves and Reviews

PRAISE FOR ADRIAN MCKINTY

"McKinty is one of the most striking and most memorable crime voices to emerge on the scene in years." —Tana French

"Adrian McKinty just leapt to the top of my list of must-read suspense novelists. He's the real deal." —Dennis Lehane

"Adrian McKinty is one of those rare writers who creates characters and dreams up stories that are consistently real and sizzling." —The Durango Telegraph

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