Faces of the Gone

Remember this post about Brad Parks' new book FACES OF THE GONE?

Since even I couldn't read and reject queries on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (sharks are not cold blooded, just cold!) I had a chance to read some of the books I've bought recently.

Here's a sample from FACES OF THE GONE narrated in the first person by Carter Ross, a Newark Eagle-Examiner reporter:

Still, when you take into account that a newspaper reporter's sole creation is the written word, we have to considered writers. And, as writers go, we're tough, resilient, dependable. We quietly scoff at the softer breeds. I mean, really, some magazine writers consider themselves "on deadline" when they're three weeks away from having to deliver copy. Where I come from, that's not a deadline. That's two weeks off and a few leisurely days at the office.

Then there are those namby-pamby novelists who write what the critics deem to be "literature." They're the bichon frises of the writing world--they're poofy, pretty, and everyone fawns over them. But the moment things get tough, they're hiding under the kitchen table, making a mess on the floor.

Harlan Coben called this a "terrific debut" and he's not wrong. I tivo'ed through the short italicized sections in the third person POV of the bad guy cause I hate that device almost as much as I hate prologues. I also didn't want to leave Carter Ross's voice. I think he's the dandiest reporter since Laura Lippman didn't want to cover a fire in Season Five of The Wire.

And I love his cat.

I hope enough people discover Brad Parks, and soon, so that he'll have a long and prosperous career.