Night in the City

by Michael McGarrity

When Sam Monroe’s former lover is found dead in her Manhattan penthouse, he must fight to clear his name.

In this exhilarating New York noir, Assistant District Attorney Sam Monroe, a Korean War veteran, quickly becomes the prime suspect in the murder of socialite Laura Neilson and is forced to risk his career and reputation to find the killer before the world comes crashing down around him. As Sam uncovers information about the men in Laura’s life, he suffers a series of attacks from rogue cops and is targeted for elimination by members of a well-known Mafia crime family. Forced to operate in the shadows, Sam becomes entangled with private investigator Deborah Jean Ryan, who offers to help for reasons she refuses to disclose. As surprising revelations about Laura’s steamy past emerge, mounting obstacles put them at deadly risk. Set in the vibrant, brilliantly evoked world of New York City in the mid-1950s, Night in the City is crime fiction at its best.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Noir, Historical Fiction, Crime

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2025

About the author

With the publication of Tularosa in 1996, Michael McGarrity turned to writing full time. Many of his novels have been national best sellers. He holds a BA with distinction in psychology and a master's degree in clinical social work. As an undergraduate, he held a Ford Foundation Scholarship at the University of New Mexico. Additionally, he is an honor graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.

His career in criminal justice spanned over twenty-five years and included creating treatment programs for drug offenders, supervising outreach services for at-risk juveniles, and re-establishing mental health services for the Department of Corrections after the infamous 1980 riot at the New Mexico Penitentiary. As a Santa Fe County deputy sheriff, he worked as a patrol officer, training and planning supervisor, community relations officer, and was the lead investigator of the sex crimes unit, which he established. Additionally, he taught courses at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, served as a caseworker and investigator for the Public Defender's District Office, and conducted investigations for a state government agency. In 1980 he was named New Mexico Social Worker of the Year and in 1987 was recognized by the American Legion as Police Officer of the Year.

In 2004 he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts -- Literature. He is also the 2015 recipient of the Frank Waters Exemplary Literary Achievement Award and the 2015 Santa Fe Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts – Literature. He has been instrumental in establishing the Hillerman-McGarrity Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of New Mexico, the Richard Bradford Memorial Creative Writing Scholarship at the Santa Fe Community College, and the N. Scott Momaday Creative Writing Scholarship at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife Emily Beth (Mimi).

Reviews

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun palette cleanser. Usually would probably be a 2 star for me as far as quality goes but it just so happened to be exactly what I needed to kick my reading slump to the curb.

Interested in more McGarrity.

[Bob Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of McGarrity's Kevin Kerney series I was eager to check out what I hope is a new mystery series set in New York City in the 1950's. Fast-paced and atmospheric, our hero Sam Monroe investigates multiple murders using logic and determination to solve the crimes. Excellent characters and a baffling plot.

[Claudia Cunningham · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were so many characters that by the time the murderer was exposed, I had forgotten who he was.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to this author…A great plot and excellent character development with Sam Monroe, Korean veteran, 1950’s in NY city, murder-a girlfriend-now a suspect, teenage years, Private Eye, corrupt police, District Attorney, Mafia-Irish and Italian plus an interesting twist. Enjoy. I will read more from this author.

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because Michael McGarrity is a wonderful writer and I love both his seies about the Kerney family. Night in the City is no Kerney, it is all about Sam Monroe a veteran of the Korean war and now working for the district attorney's office in New York he is suddenly accused of murdering an ex lover. This is a book in the traditional nnoir detective genre I have loved since my teens and it is as always when it comes to this author well written. Sadly I couldn't stop thinking about the Kerneys and that distracted me somewhat. I had however a good time reading this book and now I wonder if there will be more about Sam in the future.

[Joke Dekeersschieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is historical, so keep that in mind when you're reading it and remember that society was different back then. There are multiple crimes interwoven in one story, but everything fits well together. I read this book in two days because it was so interesting.

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the popular 1968 action film, “Coogan’s Bluff,” Arizona cop Clint Eastwood traveled to New York City to capture a dangerous criminal. The movie proved so popular that it spawned a TV series variation, “McCloud.” Over 60 years later, we have a literary mirror image of that premise. Instead of sending a Western cop to the Big Apple, author Michael McGarrity, best known for a series featuring a modern-day New Mexico lawman, takes his literary pen to New York and attempts his version of a classic genre, the 50s noir mystery. The results are less successful than Eastwood’s 1968 foray. McGarrity’s novel, “Night in the City,” buries an enjoyable whodunit under a lot of inferior noir trappings.

The protagonist of “Night in the City” is Sam Monroe. As the book begins, he’s an assistant district attorney who gets a call to meet his ex-girlfriend, Laura Neilson, at a local bar. When she stands him up, he goes to her apartment and finds her strangled to death using his Korean War dog tags (a gift he’d given her when they were a couple). Sam realizes he will soon become the primary suspect in her murder, so he grabs her diary (convenient for him), leaves the dog tags around her neck (convenient for the cops), and flees the scene. He discovers that the diary contains a list of Laura’s ex-lovers. Sam is the next-to-last name on the list. He decides to track down the other names in the diary, hoping one of them is Laura’s killer.

Those familiar with the classic noir cinema of the 1940s and 50s will find some aspects of this synopsis very familiar. For starters, this book’s title, “Night in the City,” evokes the classic Richard Widmark movie, “Night and the City” (itself based on a 30s noir novel by Gerald Kersh). There’s an even closer connection between Sam’s deceased ex-girlfriend, Laura, and the title character of Otto Preminger’s “Laura” (based on a 40s noir novel by Vera Caspary). Both Lauras were women of mystery, leaving a trail of men behind them, and, in both works, the hero tries to find Laura’s murderer.

I can’t believe the similarities between “Night in the City” and these two noir classics are mere coincidences. It appears the author researched the trappings of noir fiction and incorporated much of what he found into “Night in the City.” I also think the extent of the author’s research may have been a night spent binge-watching Noir Alley on TCM. Further, although “Night in the City” is set in and around New York City, it has few geographical references besides the broadest mention of well-known neighborhoods like Spanish Harlem. Instead, the author provides generic dialogue that sounds like it was cobbled together from various phrases in better novels: “Traffic was loud and noisy, the sidewalks were jammed with hordes of rushing New Yorkers, and a stiff breeze off the harbor kicked newspaper litter into the air. Underneath was the ever-present hiss and rumble of the city; a living machine that was populated by seven million people. Some would not survive the night.” (Non-spoiler: the last sentence wasn’t foreshadowing. While some New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t survive any particular night, none of the book’s characters met their demise that evening.)

The novel’s central mystery surrounding the murder of Laura Neilson is quite good. Monroe soon learns that Laura had a troubled youth that led to her often wild adult behavior. The author has degrees in psychology and social work, and both serve him well as Monroe uncovers Laura’s past. I doubt a period novel or film would have explored Laura’s past to this degree, and “Night in the City” is a better novel for it. The ultimate reveal of Laura’s killer came as a surprise, but not an unfair one.

Unfortunately, Monroe’s investigation of Laura’s death gets buried beneath a subplot that winds up taking up more space despite being far less interesting. I can sum up the subplot in two words: crooked cops. Monroe had a history with some of those aforementioned crooked cops when he worked in the District Attorney’s office, and they came after him following Laura’s murder. Most of the police in the book are crooked, and they keep trying to beat Monroe up, kill him, or frame him for Laura’s murder. “Night in the City” is a short novel, and having Monroe spend most of his time dealing with police corruption leaves far too little space for a fully fleshed-out murder investigation.

If you remove the corrupt cop subplot, what’s left in “Night in the City” barely qualifies as a novella. It’s a good story of the sort that formed the basis for some of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald’s better work. But while Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer would have gradually brought out every sordid detail of the backstory, Sam Monroe merely scratches the surface in his investigation before the author conveniently wraps up the story.

I also abhorred the author’s overreliance on tired genre tropes. Soon after Laura’s death, Monroe learns she had hired a female private investigator, DJ Ryan. What follows is a thoroughly predictable and ultimately ridiculous romance where she repeatedly falls for Monroe, gets upset with him over some triviality, and breaks up with him, then forgives him. Ryan’s capacity for unforgiving anger, followed by absolute forgiveness, is astonishing. Readers could create a good drinking game by downing a shot every time Ryan and Monroe break up and then make up. They could also create similar drinking games by imbibing every time Monroe has a gun stolen or confiscated (he keeps every fence in New York City busy) or every time he gets slapped around.

“Night and the City” is a short novel whose repetitious plot strands make it seem much longer. Those annoying, clichéd subplots take readers out of the far more interesting murder mystery for chapters at a time. It annoyed me that a talented writer, who knows how to create a good whodunit, let mediocre noir stereotypes repeatedly get in the way. Despite my enjoyment of the central storyline, I can’t recommend “Night in the City.”

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOLIER ALERT

This complex and atmospheric story puts former ADA Sam Monroe and DJ Ryan against a host of corrupt cops and city officials, along with the mob, and former lovers. Sam's former lover Laura Neilson contacts Sam and wants to meet. When she doesn't show he goes to the apartment and finds her strangled. He is the prime suspect. He connects with a former friend of her DJ Ryan, who has a firm doing "Discrete Inquiries", and they agree to work together to find who killed Laura. This relationship becomes romantic and goes back and forth as Sam goes out on his own a few times to investigate.

There is a very large cast of characters, a long list of Laura's various lovers, listed in a journal that she kept and which Sam removed from the crime scene along with her calendar and address book. Using these and other information revealed about her life they determine that one of the residents of her apartment building, that she owned, Dennis Finch, had had an on-again off-again relationship with her and killed her during an altercation. At times it is hard to keep some of the cops straight, and especially who is good and who is bad. Otherwise, I enjoyed this standalone by a great storyteller.

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the popular 1968 action film, “Coogan’s Bluff,” Arizona cop Clint Eastwood traveled to New York City to capture a dangerous criminal. The movie proved so popular that it spawned a TV series variation, “McCloud.” Over 60 years later, we have a literary mirror image of that premise. Instead of sending a Western cop to the Big Apple, author Michael McGarrity, best known for a series featuring a modern-day New Mexico lawman, takes his literary pen to New York and attempts his version of a classic genre, the 50s noir mystery. The results are less successful than Eastwood’s 1968 foray. McGarrity’s novel, “Night in the City,” buries an enjoyable whodunit under a lot of inferior noir trappings.

The protagonist of “Night in the City” is Sam Monroe. As the book begins, he’s an assistant district attorney who gets a call to meet his ex-girlfriend, Laura Neilson, at a local bar. When she stands him up, he goes to her apartment and finds her strangled to death using his Korean War dog tags (a gift he’d given her when they were a couple). Sam realizes he will soon become the primary suspect in her murder, so he grabs her diary (convenient for him), leaves the dog tags around her neck (convenient for the cops), and flees the scene. He discovers that the diary contains a list of Laura’s ex-lovers. Sam is the next-to-last name on the list. He decides to track down the other names in the diary, hoping one of them is Laura’s killer.

Those familiar with the classic noir cinema of the 1940s and 50s will find some aspects of this synopsis very familiar. For starters, this book’s title, “Night in the City,” evokes the classic Richard Widmark movie, “Night and the City” (itself based on a 30s noir novel by Gerald Kersh). There’s an even closer connection between Sam’s deceased ex-girlfriend, Laura, and the title character of Otto Preminger’s “Laura” (based on a 40s noir novel by Vera Caspary). Both Lauras were women of mystery, leaving a trail of men behind them, and, in both works, the hero tries to find Laura’s murderer.

I can’t believe the similarities between “Night in the City” and these two noir classics are mere coincidences. It appears the author researched the trappings of noir fiction and incorporated much of what he found into “Night in the City.” I also think the extent of the author’s research may have been a night spent binge-watching Noir Alley on TCM. Further, although “Night in the City” is set in and around New York City, it has few geographical references besides the broadest mention of well-known neighborhoods like Spanish Harlem. Instead, the author provides generic dialogue that sounds like it was cobbled together from various phrases in better novels: “Traffic was loud and noisy, the sidewalks were jammed with hordes of rushing New Yorkers, and a stiff breeze off the harbor kicked newspaper litter into the air. Underneath was the ever-present hiss and rumble of the city; a living machine that was populated by seven million people. Some would not survive the night.” (Non-spoiler: the last sentence wasn’t foreshadowing. While some New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t survive any particular night, none of the book’s characters met their demise that evening.)

The novel’s central mystery surrounding the murder of Laura Neilson is quite good. Monroe soon learns that Laura had a troubled youth that led to her often wild adult behavior. The author has degrees in psychology and social work, and both serve him well as Monroe uncovers Laura’s past. I doubt a period novel or film would have explored Laura’s past to this degree, and “Night in the City” is a better novel for it. The ultimate reveal of Laura’s killer came as a surprise, but not an unfair one.

Unfortunately, Monroe’s investigation of Laura’s death gets buried beneath a subplot that winds up taking up more space despite being far less interesting. I can sum up the subplot in two words: crooked cops. Monroe had a history with some of those aforementioned crooked cops when he worked in the District Attorney’s office, and they came after him following Laura’s murder. Most of the police in the book are crooked, and they keep trying to beat Monroe up, kill him, or frame him for Laura’s murder. “Night in the City” is a short novel, and having Monroe spend most of his time dealing with police corruption leaves far too little space for a fully fleshed-out murder investigation.

If you remove the corrupt cop subplot, what’s left in “Night in the City” barely qualifies as a novella. It’s a good story of the sort that formed the basis for some of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald’s better work. But while Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer would have gradually brought out every sordid detail of the backstory, Sam Monroe merely scratches the surface in his investigation before the author conveniently wraps up the story.

I also abhorred the author’s overreliance on tired genre tropes. Soon after Laura’s death, Monroe learns she had hired a female private investigator, DJ Ryan. What follows is a thoroughly predictable and ultimately ridiculous romance where she repeatedly falls for Monroe, gets upset with him over some triviality, and breaks up with him, then forgives him. Ryan’s capacity for unforgiving anger, followed by absolute forgiveness, is astonishing. Readers could create a good drinking game by downing a shot every time Ryan and Monroe break up and then make up. They could also create similar drinking games by imbibing every time Monroe has a gun stolen or confiscated (he keeps every fence in New York City busy) or every time he gets slapped around.

“Night and the City” is a short novel whose repetitious plot strands make it seem much longer. Those annoying, clichéd subplots take readers out of the far more interesting murder mystery for chapters at a time. It annoyed me that a talented writer, who knows how to create a good whodunit, let mediocre noir stereotypes repeatedly get in the way. Despite my enjoyment of the central storyline, I can’t recommend “Night in the City.”

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

[Silver Screen Videos · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the popular 1968 action film, “Coogan’s Bluff,” Arizona cop Clint Eastwood traveled to New York City to capture a dangerous criminal. The movie proved so popular that it spawned a TV series variation, “McCloud.” Over 60 years later, we have a literary mirror image of that premise. Instead of sending a Western cop to the Big Apple, author Michael McGarrity, best known for a series featuring a modern-day New Mexico lawman, takes his literary pen to New York and attempts his version of a classic genre, the 50s noir mystery. The results are less successful than Eastwood’s 1968 foray. McGarrity’s novel, “Night in the City,” buries an enjoyable whodunit under a lot of inferior noir trappings.

The protagonist of “Night in the City” is Sam Monroe. As the book begins, he’s an assistant district attorney who gets a call to meet his ex-girlfriend, Laura Neilson, at a local bar. When she stands him up, he goes to her apartment and finds her strangled to death using his Korean War dog tags (a gift he’d given her when they were a couple). Sam realizes he will soon become the primary suspect in her murder, so he grabs her diary (convenient for him), leaves the dog tags around her neck (convenient for the cops), and flees the scene. He discovers that the diary contains a list of Laura’s ex-lovers. Sam is the next-to-last name on the list. He decides to track down the other names in the diary, hoping one of them is Laura’s killer.

Those familiar with the classic noir cinema of the 1940s and 50s will find some aspects of this synopsis very familiar. For starters, this book’s title, “Night in the City,” evokes the classic Richard Widmark movie, “Night and the City” (itself based on a 30s noir novel by Gerald Kersh). There’s an even closer connection between Sam’s deceased ex-girlfriend, Laura, and the title character of Otto Preminger’s “Laura” (based on a 40s noir novel by Vera Caspary). Both Lauras were women of mystery, leaving a trail of men behind them, and, in both works, the hero tries to find Laura’s murderer.

I can’t believe the similarities between “Night in the City” and these two noir classics are mere coincidences. It appears the author researched the trappings of noir fiction and incorporated much of what he found into “Night in the City.” I also think the extent of the author’s research may have been a night spent binge-watching Noir Alley on TCM. Further, although “Night in the City” is set in and around New York City, it has few geographical references besides the broadest mention of well-known neighborhoods like Spanish Harlem. Instead, the author provides generic dialogue that sounds like it was cobbled together from various phrases in better novels: “Traffic was loud and noisy, the sidewalks were jammed with hordes of rushing New Yorkers, and a stiff breeze off the harbor kicked newspaper litter into the air. Underneath was the ever-present hiss and rumble of the city; a living machine that was populated by seven million people. Some would not survive the night.” (Non-spoiler: the last sentence wasn’t foreshadowing. While some New Yorkers undoubtedly don’t survive any particular night, none of the book’s characters met their demise that evening.)

The novel’s central mystery surrounding the murder of Laura Neilson is quite good. Monroe soon learns that Laura had a troubled youth that led to her often wild adult behavior. The author has degrees in psychology and social work, and both serve him well as Monroe uncovers Laura’s past. I doubt a period novel or film would have explored Laura’s past to this degree, and “Night in the City” is a better novel for it. The ultimate reveal of Laura’s killer came as a surprise, but not an unfair one.

Unfortunately, Monroe’s investigation of Laura’s death gets buried beneath a subplot that winds up taking up more space despite being far less interesting. I can sum up the subplot in two words: crooked cops. Monroe had a history with some of those aforementioned crooked cops when he worked in the District Attorney’s office, and they came after him following Laura’s murder. Most of the police in the book are crooked, and they keep trying to beat Monroe up, kill him, or frame him for Laura’s murder. “Night in the City” is a short novel, and having Monroe spend most of his time dealing with police corruption leaves far too little space for a fully fleshed-out murder investigation.

If you remove the corrupt cop subplot, what’s left in “Night in the City” barely qualifies as a novella. It’s a good story of the sort that formed the basis for some of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald’s better work. But while Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer would have gradually brought out every sordid detail of the backstory, Sam Monroe merely scratches the surface in his investigation before the author conveniently wraps up the story.

I also abhorred the author’s overreliance on tired genre tropes. Soon after Laura’s death, Monroe learns she had hired a female private investigator, DJ Ryan. What follows is a thoroughly predictable and ultimately ridiculous romance where she repeatedly falls for Monroe, gets upset with him over some triviality, and breaks up with him, then forgives him. Ryan’s capacity for unforgiving anger, followed by absolute forgiveness, is astonishing. Readers could create a good drinking game by downing a shot every time Ryan and Monroe break up and then make up. They could also create similar drinking games by imbibing every time Monroe has a gun stolen or confiscated (he keeps every fence in New York City busy) or every time he gets slapped around.

“Night and the City” is a short novel whose repetitious plot strands make it seem much longer. Those annoying, clichéd subplots take readers out of the far more interesting murder mystery for chapters at a time. It annoyed me that a talented writer, who knows how to create a good whodunit, let mediocre noir stereotypes repeatedly get in the way. Despite my enjoyment of the central storyline, I can’t recommend “Night in the City.”

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

[Viccy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Monroe is a lawyer with the DA's office in NYC. He survived Korea, came home and went to law school. He meets a beautiful, rich woman and falls in love; she breaks up with him, and then she is murdered. Sam is the prime suspect. He determines he is going to find out who killed Laura Nielsen, while she was wearing his dog tags. He runs into a friend of Laura's who knew her when she was a child, DJ Ryan, who is also a wealthy socialite, but is also a private investigator. DJ and Sam team up and they make a great team. DJ also did an investigation of Sam for Laura when she first started dating him. There are a lot of corrupt cops in NYC and one of them has a particular grudge against Sam, but Sam sees him get executed by another cop. As Sam and DJ begin to zero in on the murderer, life gets very complicated. McGarrity also wrote the Kevin Kearney books about a sheriff in New Mexico that had some of the best place setting writing I have ever read. This is an ode to NYC in the 1950s and every noir detective novel you have ever read.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the Goodreads Blurb: In this exhilarating New York noir, Assistant District Attorney Sam Monroe, a Korean War veteran, quickly becomes the prime suspect in the murder of socialite Laura Neilson and is forced to risk his career and reputation to find the killer before the world comes crashing down around him. As Sam uncovers information about the men in Laura’s life, he suffers a series of attacks from rogue cops and is targeted for elimination by members of a well-known Mafia crime family. Forced to operate in the shadows, Sam becomes entangled with private investigator Deborah Jean Ryan, who offers to help for reasons she refuses to disclose.

A lot of characters, a lot of story threads. I found myself losing the thread. Maybe it is just my old brain, but I would have appreciated one or two fewer side excursions, and a few reminders of who was who. DJ Ryan, the Private Eye he becomes "partners" with, finds Sam's tendency to walk impulsively into dangerous situations very annoying. So did I.

[Cheryle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this exhilarating New York noir, Assistant District Attorney Sam Monroe, a Korean War veteran, quickly becomes the prime suspect in the murder of socialite Laura Neilson and is forced to risk his career and reputation to find the killer before the world comes crashing down around him. As Sam uncovers information about the men in Laura’s life, he suffers a series of attacks from rogue cops and is targeted for elimination by members of a well-known Mafia crime family. Forced to operate in the shadows, Sam becomes entangled with private investigator Deborah Jean Ryan, who offers to help for reasons she refuses to disclose. As surprising revelations about Laura’s steamy past emerge, mounting obstacles put them at deadly risk. Set in the vibrant, brilliantly evoked world of New York City in the mid-1950s, Night in the City is crime fiction at its best.

[Carlo Corti · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, this was just a smooth, easy-to-read book, that felt like it just put me in a black and white noir movie in the 50s. Love the old-school dialogue, the dated language, the compromised but uncompromising protagonist who all the ladies seem to love, all the guys seem to fear, and somehow he is able to unravel any mystery. A few too many stretches of credulity (how he keeps surviving being attacked, how he keeps evading legal consequences, how everyone keeps being in love with him, how the bad guys always give away all their plans) for me to rate it higher, but that does also play into the kind of cool noir feel of the book.

[Joseph Hilden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sincerely hope Mr McG has not ended his Kevin Kerney novels. I read this disappointing book and felt McG has taken a wrong turn and got lost in NY. None of the charm of his usual characters and the wonder of New Mexico which captured my reading each and every book in the series. Hopefully his next effort returns to Southwest and doesn't necessarily have to include Kevin but why quit a sure thing???

[Susan Feiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for optimistic noir you’ll find it here. Gritty Post WWII NYC. Dirty cops, anti-corruption campaigns and women with agency. A powerful combination. Crisscrossing the City & the Hudson theres plenty of action. Well drawn, relatable characters with snappy dialogue. An engrossing read. Perfect for the summer. I hope there’s a second installment

[Patrick Macke · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's first rate, keeps you turning pages with a well-told story and smart, interesting characters ... Sam Monroe is a dimensional detective worthy of the best bookish detectives that came before him and Laura is a lively dead person ... Michael, if you write more "Sam" books, please call and let me know

[Kurt Kamperschroer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all 14 Kevin Kerney books and really enjoy them. I was wondering what a new story and setting would be like for Michael McGarrity. Nothing to worry about. This book was excellent, with a good characters and an engaging story.

[Richard Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very satisfying contemporary rendition of a mid-century noir novel. lots to recommend it...an upstanding gumshoe, a femme fatale or two, dirty cops, twists and turns, and NYC. what more do ya need?

[Elizabeth Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing - this book tries so hard to be a noirish atmospheric mystery but the author lacks the writing chops to pull it off. The sexism, while perhaps fitting for the time period, was nauseating, for example: "Had she been nothing more than a crazy sex junkie?" Sexist and laughably bad.

[Kidlitter · Rating 3 out of 5]

New York noir that is readable without feeling too dated, though sadly the victimization of women who have sex continues to be a thing in these kind of thrillers. At least one of those women gets to play detective along with the big boys!

[James Pepin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started a little slow, and I really wasn't sure what to expect from Michael when he totally left his New Mexico base. I believe Michael has a brand new character and a new environment to create more stories about.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

McGarrity leaves behind the southwest for the mean streets of 1950's New York in this unputdownable new thriller. This novel has it all: corrupt policeman, murder, mayhem, and a falsely accused protagonist. I hope that there is more Sam Monroe books in the offing.

[Mike Vines · Rating 4 out of 5]

50's Noir in NYC as Michael McGarrity ventures from his terrific books set in New Mexico. Well done, nicely plotted. Enjoy! Remember to shop your local, independent bookstores. They need your support.

[Nolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starts out interesting, but around 40% through started to get boring with the running around investigating everything. Just on and on. Very slow paced. I did skim some to get to the end to find out who the killer was. Wasn't at all impressed with this story.

[Lolli Haugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won the book through a Goodreads contest. The book was a perfect blend of mystery, adventure, and romance all with a Dick Tracy/PI feel throughout. I would recommend it for a fun and easy read!

[Bikerider99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern detective noir that could have taken place in the 1930's. Only if you enjoy detectives ...

[Vickie T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do prefer his Kevin Kearney novels.

[Riodelmartians · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually two stories and the longest one is about a corrupt police dept and not the main murder described on the jacket cover. hope there is a number #2 with these great detectives from the noir 50s.

[Doug Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid start to a new series with a lead character with a conscience and drive to understand conundrums.