- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Press (Aug 26 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385336144
- ISBN-13: 978-0385336147
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 3.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,256,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Forced by circumstances to become a small-town cop, the protagonist of former Boston district attorney Landay's inventive, gripping suspense debut finds himself embroiled in a big-city murder investigation. Ben Truman, the young police chief in the Maine town of Versailles (pronounced "Ver-sales"), tells us early on that he gave up his pursuit of a doctorate in history at Boston University to come home and care for his Alzheimer's-stricken mother. What he doesn't reveal-at least right away-is the true story of his mother's death and his father's alcoholic rages. Landay deals out pertinent details with the finesse of a poker player, first describing Ben's discovery of the bloated body of a Boston assistant district attorney in a rental cabin. Is the discovery really accidental? Is the almost immediate arrival on the scene of a retired Boston cop named John Kelly as fortuitous as it seems at first? Can Ben really be as much of a small-town hick (the Boston cops call him "Opie") as he appears to be? Determined to stay on the case, Ben joins a crew of big-city cops and prosecutors (including Kelly's intriguing daughter) in a search through the blighted (fictional) Boston neighborhood of Mission Flats for the answer to the ADA's murder and a 10-year-old mystery. As bits of his personal history surface, Ben occasionally seems in danger of violating one of the rules of crime fiction-that the narrator shouldn't lie to us about his role in the story. But Landay's book is such a rich, harrowing and delightful read that few will complain.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
With MISSION FLATS, William Landay joins the seemingly endless list of lawyers who hope to take down their shingles and become the next John Grisham. Although Landay's debut novel is an entertaining murder mystery, the plot is less than fully believable, particularly the conclusion, which is certainly unexpected but practically defies logic. The book is written from the perspective of Police Chief Ben Truman. Considering Landay's stilted writing and the choppy abridgment, Ron Livingston's reading is surprisingly good, especially his ability to use the pause as an effective narration technique. Livingston's major omission, however, is his failure to give any of the characters a New England accent, even though the book is set in Boston and Maine. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Debut Novel,
By
This review is from: Mission Flats (Hardcover)
I finished a great book yesterday, William Landay's debut,_Mission Flats_. Set largely in a fictional Boston neighborhood, it nevertheless reminded me a lot of Dennis Lehane's PI books. Landay is a former DA from Boston, so I guess he has the background to make things ring true. The book follows police chief Ben Truman, of Versailles (pronounced a promising graduate student in history when he left school to come Evidence seems to point to a drug dealer, Harold Braxton, who has been This was a great, compelling story, with a lot of insider information on how Still, Landay is a great writer and this is a memorable first novel. If you
4.0 out of 5 stars
There is power here,
By
This review is from: Mission Flats (Hardcover)
Although two infamous Boston search warrant cases fuel the plot(as also "The Cinderella Affidavit"), it is the family scenes that carry real power. The ending is a not-unexpected twist, and the author may have tried too many plot elements, but he shows real potential and his next work is anxiously awaited.
3.0 out of 5 stars
disappointing,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mission Flats (Hardcover)
From the other Amazon reviews I expected a better novel. This one toys with the reader. The story is a series of well-written vignettes, but the package as a whole doesn't make sense. I think the author wrote it to make various points, but failed to write a coherent, believable story.
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