Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Pg. 69: Marcus Sakey's "Good People"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Marcus Sakey's Good People.

About the book, from the publisher:
The spectacular Dutton debut of a thriller writer whose ecstatically acclaimed work draws comparisons to luminaries such as Elmore Leonard, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane

A family, and the security to enjoy it: that’s all Tom and Anna Reed ever wanted. But years of infertility treatments, including four failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization, have left them with neither. The emotional and financial costs are straining their marriage and endangering their dreams. So when their downstairs tenant—a recluse whose promptly delivered cashier’s checks were barely keeping them afloat—dies in his sleep, the $400,000 they find stashed in his kitchen seems like fate. More than fate: a chance for everything they’ve dreamed of for so long. A fairy-tale ending.

But Tom and Anna soon realize that fairy tales never come cheap. Because their tenant wasn’t a hermit who squirreled away his pennies. He was a criminal who double-crossed some of the most dangerous men in Chicago. Men who won’t stop until they get revenge, no matter where they find it.
Among the early praise for Good People:
"GOOD PEOPLE is gleefully dread-filled, mercilessly tense, and moves with the speed of something fired from a sawed-off. Based on his first three novels, one can't help but feel Marcus Sakey is exactly the electric jolt American crime fiction needs."
--Dennis Lehane, bestselling author of Mystic River and The Given Day

"Sakey creates a moral dilemma fit for an advanced ethics class... I felt [the protagonists's] pain to the point of flinching."
--Chicago Sun-Times

"Dark, disturbing, and timely...Marcus Sakey is a prodigious talent."
--Laura Lippman, bestselling author of What the Dead Know

"Crime drama for the 21st century."
--National Public Radio

"Sakey may have trouble equaling this stellar performance."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A killer of a book. If you could read it with one eye closed, you'd feel safer — edge of the reader's seat stuff, and yet a wondrous streak of compassion tears your heart out. This is the novel that truly launches Sakey into the majors. Magnificent."
--Ken Bruen, Edgar-nominated author of Priest

"This is neither a simple nor a stereotypical thriller. The action is frenetic, the suspense high, and the results shocking. Highly recommended."
--Library Journal
Read an excerpt from Good People, and learn more about the author and his work at Marcus Sakey's website.

Marcus Sakey is the author of The Blade Itself and At the City's Edge.

The Page 69 Test: The Blade Itself.

The Page 69 Test: At the City's Edge.

The Page 69 Test: Good People.

--Marshal Zeringue