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An Honest Living
"Like the best noir practitioners, Murphy uses the mystery as scaffolding to assemble a world of fallen dreams and doom-bitten characters . . . Murphy's hard-boiled rendering of the city is nothing short of exquisite . . . For anyone who wants a portrait of this New York, few recent books have conjured it so vividly." --The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice
A sharp and stylish debut from the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads in which an unwitting private eye gets caught up in a crime of obsession between a reclusive literary superstar and her bookseller husband, paying homage to the noir genre just as smartly as it reinvents it
After leaving behind the comforts and the shackles of a prestigious law firm, a restless attorney makes ends meet in mid-2000s Brooklyn by picking up odd jobs from a colorful assortment of clients. When a mysterious woman named Anna Reddick turns up at his apartment with ten thousand dollars in cash and asks him to track down her missing husband Newton, an antiquarian bookseller who she believes has been pilfering rare true crime volumes from her collection, he trusts it will be a quick and easy case. But when the real Anna Reddick--a magnetic but unpredictable literary prodigy--lands on his doorstep with a few bones to pick, he finds himself out of his depth, drawn into a series of deceptions involving Joseph Conrad novels, unscrupulous booksellers, aspiring fl�neurs, and seedy real estate developers.
Set against the backdrop of New York at the tail end of the analog era and immersed in the worlds of literature and bookselling, An Honest Living is a gripping story of artistic ambition, obsession, and the small crimes we commit against one another every day.
A sharp and stylish debut from the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads in which an unwitting private eye gets caught up in a crime of obsession between a reclusive literary superstar and her bookseller husband, paying homage to the noir genre just as smartly as it reinvents it
After leaving behind the comforts and the shackles of a prestigious law firm, a restless attorney makes ends meet in mid-2000s Brooklyn by picking up odd jobs from a colorful assortment of clients. When a mysterious woman named Anna Reddick turns up at his apartment with ten thousand dollars in cash and asks him to track down her missing husband Newton, an antiquarian bookseller who she believes has been pilfering rare true crime volumes from her collection, he trusts it will be a quick and easy case. But when the real Anna Reddick--a magnetic but unpredictable literary prodigy--lands on his doorstep with a few bones to pick, he finds himself out of his depth, drawn into a series of deceptions involving Joseph Conrad novels, unscrupulous booksellers, aspiring fl�neurs, and seedy real estate developers.
Set against the backdrop of New York at the tail end of the analog era and immersed in the worlds of literature and bookselling, An Honest Living is a gripping story of artistic ambition, obsession, and the small crimes we commit against one another every day.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 26, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
August 18, 2022
DNF. Yikes.
d.
d.
August 17, 2022
Neo-noir meets a New York summer in this captivating debut, where no-one is quite what they seem, and secrets lurk around every corner.
It’s a classic opening – a woman walks into a lawyer’s office, promising a case too easy and too well-paid to be true; catch her husband trying to sell any of her book collection, provide proof, receive fifteen thousand dollars for just a few hours of work. Somehow, though, it all comes off without a hitch, the money and evidence switch hands, and it begins to look like this will be a very short book. Luckily for readers, it is, of course, only the beginning of the story.
I found An Honest Living entirely compelling; post-pandemic I have struggled to sit down and read for long periods, but when it came to this book I lost track of time again. Our protagonist is nameless and genderless – though the blurb refers to the lawyer as male, there’s no such reference in the novel itself. But far from a shapeless reader-insert, I found them to be an interesting and very well-developed character, one I liked and one whose head was a fascinating place to spend time in.
This is a novel where the journey is the point, rather than the ending. Readers who are familiar with the movie Chinatown will recognize some plot beats, but rest assured – it’s intentional, done as homage and acknowledged in the text. The sense of atmosphere is second to none, and the feeling of those sweltering summer days provides the perfect counterpoint to the darkness of the central investigation.
An Honest Living is an impressive debut, one that serves as a love letter to New York and the noir genre – and establishes the author as a talent for readers to look out for.
This review originally appeared at mysteryandsuspense.com.
It’s a classic opening – a woman walks into a lawyer’s office, promising a case too easy and too well-paid to be true; catch her husband trying to sell any of her book collection, provide proof, receive fifteen thousand dollars for just a few hours of work. Somehow, though, it all comes off without a hitch, the money and evidence switch hands, and it begins to look like this will be a very short book. Luckily for readers, it is, of course, only the beginning of the story.
I found An Honest Living entirely compelling; post-pandemic I have struggled to sit down and read for long periods, but when it came to this book I lost track of time again. Our protagonist is nameless and genderless – though the blurb refers to the lawyer as male, there’s no such reference in the novel itself. But far from a shapeless reader-insert, I found them to be an interesting and very well-developed character, one I liked and one whose head was a fascinating place to spend time in.
This is a novel where the journey is the point, rather than the ending. Readers who are familiar with the movie Chinatown will recognize some plot beats, but rest assured – it’s intentional, done as homage and acknowledged in the text. The sense of atmosphere is second to none, and the feeling of those sweltering summer days provides the perfect counterpoint to the darkness of the central investigation.
An Honest Living is an impressive debut, one that serves as a love letter to New York and the noir genre – and establishes the author as a talent for readers to look out for.
This review originally appeared at mysteryandsuspense.com.
June 23, 2022
A Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy is a big disappointment. The book starts off with a lawyer in Brooklyn and is supposed written in "noir style" It is only style and nothing more. The lawyer speaks in first person and we never learn his name. He does not notice that being paid in cash by his client who is pretending to be someone else could be a red flag that the deal is not legit. A woman starts living with him in his apartment and I have no clue why. He talks of obsure pamplets and books endlessly.
The lawyer discusses a film noir, A Touch of Evil, making fun of the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican. I looked up the film and found thqt Orson Wells had one of the actressess darken her hair and eyebrows with black shoe polish. The movie seems more interesting to me than this book. The book was irritatingly tangential.
Not a book for me.
The lawyer discusses a film noir, A Touch of Evil, making fun of the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican. I looked up the film and found thqt Orson Wells had one of the actressess darken her hair and eyebrows with black shoe polish. The movie seems more interesting to me than this book. The book was irritatingly tangential.
Not a book for me.
May 30, 2024
(3.5) At the beginning of this modern noir, a struggling independent lawyer gets what he thinks is an easy job: a woman named Anna Reddick asks him to prove her husband is trying to sell off rare books that belong to her family, something she intends to use as ammunition when filing for divorce. Then, a shocking revelation – the woman was an imposter, the lawyer was set up, and the real Anna Reddick’s husband is now dead of a suspected suicide. Feeling implicated, the lawyer agrees to help (real) Anna figure out what kind of trouble her late husband was caught up in.
While I liked it, I’m not surprised by the low average ratings for this. You might expect a mystery set in New York to have a frenetic pace, but this is a slow-moving and meandering book. It’s not propulsive and definitely not a thriller, lacking any real momentum (for example, the protagonist is oddly incurious about who the fake Anna was and who set him up). What An Honest Living does have, in spades, is atmosphere: to employ a cliche, Murphy’s NYC is truly a character in the story, arguably more fully realised than any of the people. As he walks the city, the narrator frequently breaks off his already non-urgent plight to expand at length on something that’s going on with a friend (most of whom are much more interesting than the main plot). The mid-2000s setting is just long ago enough to feel like a time past; I was in two minds about whether it was appropriate to shelve this as ‘historical’, but the whole thing’s so suffused with millennial fin-de-siècle nostalgia, it feels right.
I loved the slow mystery, the digressive nature of the investigation, and the setting. I liked the wandering lawyer protagonist even if I found him a slightly confusing bag of personality traits. The book’s weak point is Anna: she’s an entirely unbelievable character from start to finish, and every word of her dialogue is like someone asked ChatGPT to write a femme fatale. There’s also what has to be one of the most sexless sex scenes I have ever read.
It sounds like damning with faint praise, but I’m tempted to call this ambient fiction. It’s a literary mystery in two senses (style and content), and the atmosphere excels while the plot lacks. ‘Murphy’s hard-boiled rendering of the city is nothing short of exquisite’ says a quote on the cover from the New York Times; I agree, as far as that particular element of the book goes, though some readers might want there to be more going on.
While I liked it, I’m not surprised by the low average ratings for this. You might expect a mystery set in New York to have a frenetic pace, but this is a slow-moving and meandering book. It’s not propulsive and definitely not a thriller, lacking any real momentum (for example, the protagonist is oddly incurious about who the fake Anna was and who set him up). What An Honest Living does have, in spades, is atmosphere: to employ a cliche, Murphy’s NYC is truly a character in the story, arguably more fully realised than any of the people. As he walks the city, the narrator frequently breaks off his already non-urgent plight to expand at length on something that’s going on with a friend (most of whom are much more interesting than the main plot). The mid-2000s setting is just long ago enough to feel like a time past; I was in two minds about whether it was appropriate to shelve this as ‘historical’, but the whole thing’s so suffused with millennial fin-de-siècle nostalgia, it feels right.
I loved the slow mystery, the digressive nature of the investigation, and the setting. I liked the wandering lawyer protagonist even if I found him a slightly confusing bag of personality traits. The book’s weak point is Anna: she’s an entirely unbelievable character from start to finish, and every word of her dialogue is like someone asked ChatGPT to write a femme fatale. There’s also what has to be one of the most sexless sex scenes I have ever read.
It sounds like damning with faint praise, but I’m tempted to call this ambient fiction. It’s a literary mystery in two senses (style and content), and the atmosphere excels while the plot lacks. ‘Murphy’s hard-boiled rendering of the city is nothing short of exquisite’ says a quote on the cover from the New York Times; I agree, as far as that particular element of the book goes, though some readers might want there to be more going on.
July 22, 2022
Hmmmmmm, I was sooooooo looking forward to An Honest Living. I thought it would be my book of the summer. I’m an epic noir fan and a book labeled as reinventing noir, also set around my haunts in Brooklyn, how could it not work for me?
The first person narration was a huge bummer. It’s like sitting down at Goldie’s Bar and having the neighborhood drunk plop next to you and ramble out every detail of a loooooong self-involved story. It created a huge distance from the reader, and I felt allowed the author to be overly self-indulgent with look-at-how-clever-I-am references to films and books. Not clever at all.
Like Brooklyn hipsters, there’s lots of style here, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. I never really felt like I was anywhere in particular. Coulda been Greenpoint, could have been Bucktown in Chicago. Naming places in Brooklyn isn’t the same as capturing the feeling of being in Brooklyn. This is where first person narration real fails, it’s incredibly hard to create atmosphere or a sense of place.
The mystery was actually clever, interesting and felt different from a lot of things I’ve seen before, but there’s too much random stuff crammed around it and way too much telling to enjoy it.
I’m still trying to figure out how it “reinvents” noir. It definitely imitates noir, but reinvents, nah.
The first person narration was a huge bummer. It’s like sitting down at Goldie’s Bar and having the neighborhood drunk plop next to you and ramble out every detail of a loooooong self-involved story. It created a huge distance from the reader, and I felt allowed the author to be overly self-indulgent with look-at-how-clever-I-am references to films and books. Not clever at all.
Like Brooklyn hipsters, there’s lots of style here, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. I never really felt like I was anywhere in particular. Coulda been Greenpoint, could have been Bucktown in Chicago. Naming places in Brooklyn isn’t the same as capturing the feeling of being in Brooklyn. This is where first person narration real fails, it’s incredibly hard to create atmosphere or a sense of place.
The mystery was actually clever, interesting and felt different from a lot of things I’ve seen before, but there’s too much random stuff crammed around it and way too much telling to enjoy it.
I’m still trying to figure out how it “reinvents” noir. It definitely imitates noir, but reinvents, nah.
September 22, 2022
One of my favorite series was that by John Dunning, featuring a book dealer in Denver who gets involved in mysteries surrounding books. Now comes Dwyer Murphy, a former lawyer himself whose narrator finds himself embroiled in a situation involving rare pamphlets and nefarious (!) book collectors. No need to dissect the plot, it spools out at the right pace, intriguing, funny, and captivating. Add to that a true insider's knowledge of life as a New Yorker, the interlocking neighborhoods, the gentrification of previously disreputable streets, the weather, the fact that you may be at the Film Forum watching an obscure film sitting behind a celebrity in an otherwise empty auditorium. And seeing many celebrities just going about living their lives. Although many references are made to the movie Chinatown, for some reason I was reminded more of Altman's The Long Goodbye with its overlay of cynicism and menace. Can't wait for more from Dwyer Murphy.
August 1, 2022
AN HONEST LIVING easily could be considered somewhat autobiographical. Dwyer Murphy practiced law at the New York City firm of Debevoise & Plimpton before leaving to become editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, one of the most popular websites for devotees of crime, mystery and detective works. The lead character in Murphy’s narrative is also an attorney, who left a large law firm to go it alone in the mid-2000s. He practices law in Brooklyn, working with a variety of unique and eccentric clients whose experiences provide readers with an entertaining journey through the environs of the Big Apple.
The unnamed attorney remarks at one point, “All lawyers tend to have a condition. They suffer from it like a disease, and it has to do with believing they can fix things or get to the bottom of them simply by talking to a lot of people.” He wanders through New York meeting a large cast of characters, including hustlers, writers, politicians and real-estate developers, all walking the fine line between honesty and crime. Reading the book is almost like having the author sitting next to you in a bar and after some opening conversation telling you about his work. It is quite a story.
Murphy’s maiden novel begins with a reminder that lawyers often repeat when advising clients: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The attorney meets a woman named Anna Reddick, who seeks to retain his professional services to do some investigative work. Reddick is experiencing difficulties in her marriage. She believes that her husband is attempting to hide or dispose of marital assets, in this case some rare legal books. If the attorney can ferret out the plan, he will be paid a bonus in addition to the large retainer she is willing to pay. He successfully completes his work and receives the bonus, only to be met several days later by a different woman --- the real Anna Reddick. She wants to know how and why someone posed as her, deceiving not only the attorney but also her husband and herself.
In an interview prior to the book’s release, Murphy acknowledged that no one takes a more cynical view of lawyers than they themselves do. For his part, Murphy admits to being slightly more jaundiced than the book’s narrator. He is not the Atticus Finch type, but more like Paul Newman’s character in The Verdict or Saul Goodman from “Better Call Saul.” For these fictional lawyers, professional cynicism is prevalent. Still, many of the cases that the main character handles in AN HONEST LIVING are based on Murphy’s actual work as a lawyer, including my favorite --- a dispute between two major financial institutions that want to own the rights to the color black.
Sprinkled throughout are mentions of recognized works of literature, film and a few cameo appearances of well-known New Yorkers. Sometimes the references meld into the plot, and other times they just appear to add to the New York noir of the novel. Regardless of the reasons for their inclusion, they are clever and smoothly written.
Reading a debut always raises questions for readers. What about sequels? Murphy tells us that one is in the works. It will be set in Miami, with characters “running around talking about books and movies and dancing and occasionally somebody is killed or badly hurt and all of them dream of obscure lawsuits.” I hope that some members of the supporting cast will stick around for the follow-up. It also would be nice if Murphy’s attorney had a name; it would make reading and writing about him that much more enjoyable if he did.
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
The unnamed attorney remarks at one point, “All lawyers tend to have a condition. They suffer from it like a disease, and it has to do with believing they can fix things or get to the bottom of them simply by talking to a lot of people.” He wanders through New York meeting a large cast of characters, including hustlers, writers, politicians and real-estate developers, all walking the fine line between honesty and crime. Reading the book is almost like having the author sitting next to you in a bar and after some opening conversation telling you about his work. It is quite a story.
Murphy’s maiden novel begins with a reminder that lawyers often repeat when advising clients: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The attorney meets a woman named Anna Reddick, who seeks to retain his professional services to do some investigative work. Reddick is experiencing difficulties in her marriage. She believes that her husband is attempting to hide or dispose of marital assets, in this case some rare legal books. If the attorney can ferret out the plan, he will be paid a bonus in addition to the large retainer she is willing to pay. He successfully completes his work and receives the bonus, only to be met several days later by a different woman --- the real Anna Reddick. She wants to know how and why someone posed as her, deceiving not only the attorney but also her husband and herself.
In an interview prior to the book’s release, Murphy acknowledged that no one takes a more cynical view of lawyers than they themselves do. For his part, Murphy admits to being slightly more jaundiced than the book’s narrator. He is not the Atticus Finch type, but more like Paul Newman’s character in The Verdict or Saul Goodman from “Better Call Saul.” For these fictional lawyers, professional cynicism is prevalent. Still, many of the cases that the main character handles in AN HONEST LIVING are based on Murphy’s actual work as a lawyer, including my favorite --- a dispute between two major financial institutions that want to own the rights to the color black.
Sprinkled throughout are mentions of recognized works of literature, film and a few cameo appearances of well-known New Yorkers. Sometimes the references meld into the plot, and other times they just appear to add to the New York noir of the novel. Regardless of the reasons for their inclusion, they are clever and smoothly written.
Reading a debut always raises questions for readers. What about sequels? Murphy tells us that one is in the works. It will be set in Miami, with characters “running around talking about books and movies and dancing and occasionally somebody is killed or badly hurt and all of them dream of obscure lawsuits.” I hope that some members of the supporting cast will stick around for the follow-up. It also would be nice if Murphy’s attorney had a name; it would make reading and writing about him that much more enjoyable if he did.
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
September 27, 2022
Whew this is rough.
I got hyped for this book just by reading the blurb. A literary mystery in mid-aughts NYC? Rock on, brother. And then I read interviews by Dwyer Murphy and got even more pumped. His favorite authors are my favorite authors and his views on crime fiction nine.
And THEN some favorite writers blurbed it, including dropping a Chinatown reference to the plot. So…this rocked right? Yes?
Sigh.
On some level, I’m sure folks will appreciate the metatextual commentary on the genre and the constant vomiting of literary references. People might also appreciate the hangout aspects of this (which I mostly enjoyed) over a complete lack of plot or momentum (which I didn’t).
I just feel like when you try to cram Macdonald and Bolaño and Wharton and Leonard and God knows how many other literary references, you’re putting way too much weight on the simple foundation of noir. Noir should be sparse, it should cut, it should sharpen. This book is bloated and over-referential.
There’s enough meat on the bone, enough New Yorkness that I’m giving this three stars. But barely. I may appreciate this one when I get older. For now, it feels like a missed opportunity.
I got hyped for this book just by reading the blurb. A literary mystery in mid-aughts NYC? Rock on, brother. And then I read interviews by Dwyer Murphy and got even more pumped. His favorite authors are my favorite authors and his views on crime fiction nine.
And THEN some favorite writers blurbed it, including dropping a Chinatown reference to the plot. So…this rocked right? Yes?
Sigh.
On some level, I’m sure folks will appreciate the metatextual commentary on the genre and the constant vomiting of literary references. People might also appreciate the hangout aspects of this (which I mostly enjoyed) over a complete lack of plot or momentum (which I didn’t).
I just feel like when you try to cram Macdonald and Bolaño and Wharton and Leonard and God knows how many other literary references, you’re putting way too much weight on the simple foundation of noir. Noir should be sparse, it should cut, it should sharpen. This book is bloated and over-referential.
There’s enough meat on the bone, enough New Yorkness that I’m giving this three stars. But barely. I may appreciate this one when I get older. For now, it feels like a missed opportunity.
July 16, 2022
Imagine if Better Call Saul was written by Ray Bradbury and directed by Wes Anderson.
May 23, 2022
As someone who lived and played in and around Brooklyn for most of the early aughts, this book was, amongst other things, a nice little trip down memory lane. It evokes that short, singular period of time, after 9/11 but before the prevalence of smart phones, where the city seemed poised between two worlds, a liminal period of transition between eras. The book is an engaging mystery but it balances this expertly with a laid-back, fun, "stoner noir" vibe that is absolutely a blast to spend some time with. It loves books, movies, and bars-- like all good Brooklyn hipsters-- and the specificity of its references to NYC institutions and culture prove its bona fides. A must-read for anyone who has ever complained that they loved something when it was still underground-- and I mean that in the most loving, generous way possible. =)
September 4, 2022
Think, if you will, of the 1981 chart topping Phil Collins song “In the Air Tonight.” But in this instance, there is no legendary drum break. You just have Phil droning on and on that he, “can see you in the air tonight.” Dwyer Murphy’s debut mystery An Honest Living is like this. Very repetitive, with a climax that never appears (in that regard, perhaps, the musician Sting with his fabled 7-hour Tantric sex escapades may be a better example then poor Mr. Collins who has been rumored to have his climaxes usually arrive unfortunately within the first 30 seconds, a rarity for rock superstars. To be honest, author Murphy seems to not really be interested in writing a mystery. Despite the excellently hardboiled title and set up of a lawyer hired by to track down stolen rare books for a messy divorce, only to discover it was not actually the wife who hired him at all, but an imposter! Mr. Murphy is much more interested in the secondary characters, the poets, criminals, busboys, even New York City in the summertime. They seem to be included to season this story like paprika in a Hungarian goulash. Sadly, the flavor they provide is somewhat bland and missing any heat. While the characters were interesting, the lack of momentum slowed things a bit and decreased my enjoyment.
August 17, 2022
No plot, just vibes.
May 10, 2023
I tried, I really tried hard to finish this book, but I couldn't go further than 2/3 of the book.
What it is about? About New York, books, layers and artists. A book about everything and nothing.
A solo working layer is asked to meet a book collector and expose him for a divorce case. Later the book collector commits suicide and the same layer is asked to investigate the case.
The story is a very slow going with a lot of descriptions of different aspects of life in New York.
For me the book was associated with a slow jazz music, that one can listen it forever and relax. The same was this book you can read and read it, and you are still in the same place.
You can try it if you like such books, but I couldn't take it more. I was waiting for action and development in the story, but they didn't come.
What it is about? About New York, books, layers and artists. A book about everything and nothing.
A solo working layer is asked to meet a book collector and expose him for a divorce case. Later the book collector commits suicide and the same layer is asked to investigate the case.
The story is a very slow going with a lot of descriptions of different aspects of life in New York.
For me the book was associated with a slow jazz music, that one can listen it forever and relax. The same was this book you can read and read it, and you are still in the same place.
You can try it if you like such books, but I couldn't take it more. I was waiting for action and development in the story, but they didn't come.
August 2, 2022
DNF @ page 74
The premise sounded interesting, but the delivery was rambling and disjointed. There were so many unnecessary and irrelevant details. The character and the story seemed to meander aimlessly around NYC. What is this story and why am I reading it? I simply don't care anyone.
The premise sounded interesting, but the delivery was rambling and disjointed. There were so many unnecessary and irrelevant details. The character and the story seemed to meander aimlessly around NYC. What is this story and why am I reading it? I simply don't care anyone.
March 2, 2023
Atmospheric and stylish quasi-noir set in 2005-2006 in NYC and Brooklyn. Atypical mystery in that the ending is left open, the case is not solved, but the ride along the way is both fun and thoughtful, and features an enticing cast of characters - a minx, a fence, a famous young novelist, a would-be real estate developer, a poet. I'd read another book featuring this mostly unnamed protagonist, his name apparently is quite similar to the author's, and he is, like the author, a former big-firm lawyer, who skedaddled away from the grind of big firm practice to work on his own taking on small cases and doing favors, a man in his mid-30s, making his way in the city, rougher-edged then before all the big development got its paws on the place, tasked with a case set in the world of rare books that he can't let go.
October 26, 2022
I am honestly struggling to categorize and rate this book. I came into it assuming it would be a bibliomystery, one of my favorite subgenres of mysteries to read. But after finishing the book last night, I am left wondering,"what the heck was that?" Sure there is mystery in the story, and a death, but there is no serious attempt to solve anything. Its a bunch of loose threads that never really come together into a cohesive whole. More than a mystery, its a love letter to NYC, and the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area of Brooklyn in particular. As a native New Yorker, I find myself drawn to books about the city I both love and hate, but somehow this book felt completely foreign to me. I didn't recognize the neighborhoods he described at all. The main character sort of just drifts through life, and this book has that same vibe, which ultimately makes it an unsatisfying read.
August 2, 2022
This was not a long book but for me, dragged interminably. Too many characters, too slow, uneven pacing and an ending that seem to signal a sequel.
January 26, 2023
Failed to live up to its potential. Murphy can write but this needed a much better edit. Meandering and unfocused, too preoccupied with representing NY and not tight enough on plot development. The narrative was flat and lacked arcs of action and suspense to sustain it. Pity.
June 28, 2022
This book was not for me, but the author does have talent for this particular genre which is noir fiction. The plot has a couple of good twists, but just not enough for me. Many characters are introduced, and I had to make a list of all of their names and the pages when they appeared in case I needed to revert back to them. As it turned out, most of them were unimportant, but some were significant. The setting is in Brooklyn, and I understand that the author describes Brooklyn as it really is, and that would be important to anyone who is familiar with Brooklyn. I was just expecting something more from reading this book.
August 9, 2022
(2 1/2). Such an interesting and unusual little book. It reminded me of Seinfeld, in that there really wasn’t a great deal going on, but there was a great deal going on. We meander our way through the canyons of New York City in the literary world, with our lawyer protagonist trying to find a path that will be interesting, economically sustainable and ethical. His sidekick Ulises and sort of girlfriend Anna are great characters, as is the City itself. I thought it would turn me off, as it was so untraditional in its mystery/sleuth category, but I became very attached to the story. Some fun twists, especially at the end. A mellow read, pretty good stuff.
May 30, 2022
The best kind of private eye novel - one that feels wholly modern but timeless at the same time. Murphy evokes the greats like Elmore Leonard and George Higgins without losing his own, sharp voice. A stylish, memorable debut.
August 4, 2022
Got halfway through and realized I’d been conned. Nothing happens in this book, and it takes an unforgivable shot at Chinatown.
August 12, 2022
This tried way too hard to be a noir crime novel. I know this because it literally told me numerous times. Skip it. Go read Raymond Chandler.
Want to read
July 4, 2022Oh this sounds very fun. From an interview on Study Hall:
A smartly updated literary noir set in pre-financial crisis Manhattan. It’s suffused not only with risk-taking and critical thinking, but with Murphy’s generosity of spirit. The novel is playful and welcoming, coaching the reader to think the best of its cast of oddballs and misfits — a lawyer who hates lawyers; a wealthy, successful novelist who can’t stand writing fiction; a suite of elderly book collectors — who the novel treats with empathy and humor.
A smartly updated literary noir set in pre-financial crisis Manhattan. It’s suffused not only with risk-taking and critical thinking, but with Murphy’s generosity of spirit. The novel is playful and welcoming, coaching the reader to think the best of its cast of oddballs and misfits — a lawyer who hates lawyers; a wealthy, successful novelist who can’t stand writing fiction; a suite of elderly book collectors — who the novel treats with empathy and humor.
Read
August 10, 2022DNF
August 14, 2023
This is a very solid effort in which the Wallace Shawn matinee cameo is one of the novel's funnier scenes. It's actually quite packed with asides and moments of Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Roberto Bolano, Sal Bass, and more. The overall rating on Goodreads seems a bit lower than it should be, and I'm wondering if that's because numerous readers expected less literary and rare-book city and more noir. I'm not sure.
August 15, 2022
This was a stylish noir book with a great sense of place. But I never did understand the mystery, which was certainly not gripping as the blurb says. Nonetheless I did enjoy this book. Kind of a peek into a different time and culture. A little on the slow side.
August 3, 2022
Nails neo-noir style. The sentences are crisp and filled with Marlowe-like observations. The plot, with its focus on rare book collecting and references to literary works, is probably in sweet spot for serial readers. The highlight of the book for me was the "inconceivable" aside in the movie theater where the author trolls some other theater goers. Despite its nailing of the style and intriguing plot, the book kind of trails off with the falling action scene leaving me wondering what two characters were doing without giving enough breadcrumbs to make strong inferences. Maybe I'm just dense, but just because the Big Sleep was incomprehensible in the end doesn't mean that every noir-adjacent book can or should aim for similar levels of abstruse plot points.
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November 12, 2022Largely joyless romp through nyc
January 1, 2024
Not recommended if you're not a fan of NYC
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