Product Description

Hailed by both the Chicago Tribune and the Detroit Free Press as one of the best mysteries of 2001, Closing Time firmly established Jim Fusilli as a writer to watch and introduced readers to Terry Orr, his precocious daughter, Bella, and what The New York Times called "the vital citizens of Fusilli's gorgeous nightmare of a city." In A Well-Known Secret, Terry's life is turned upside down while the city around him reels.

Terry's latest case concerns Sonia Salgado, recently released after thirty years in prison for the robbery and murder of diamond dealer Asher Glatzer. When Terry discovers her battered body in an East Village halfway house, the ensuing investigation leads him back to the brutal city of the seventies, where seeds of corruption were first sown. Terry is soon at odds with an influential cop harboring family secrets; a smooth-talking Hispanic civic leader; and Julie Giada, the angel in the DA's office. At the same time, Terry tries to do right by daughter Bella while grappling with the memories of his lost wife and son and a forever-changed New York City.

An "imaginative, daring writer" (Publishers Weekly), Fusilli delivers another beautifully moody and atmospheric winner.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1541298 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-22
• Released on: 2003-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Fusilli's second Terry Orr thriller, set two years after his outstanding debut, Closing Time (2001), is even better-the writing more focused, the characters sharper, the plot less diffuse. Orr continues to struggle to accept the deaths of his wife and infant son, who were pushed under a subway train four years earlier-and to search for the elusive madman he believes killed them. A writer turned private detective, he's still protective of his precocious daughter, 14-year-old Bella, although she seems the more resilient of the two in coping with tragedy, including the September 11 catastrophe close to their lower Manhattan home. Here, Orr's housekeeper asks him to find her friend Dorotea Salgado's estranged daughter, Sonia, recently released after 30 years in prison for robbery and murder. He discovers Sonia's beaten body and a conspiracy pointing back to the 1970s. As Orr peels the layers of deception, he uncovers at the core a corrupt police family and the complicity of Sonia's three childhood friends in her downfall. Orr's unwillingness to commit hampers his nascent romance with Assistant DA Julie Giada but, with Bella's encouragement, he manages by the book's end to conquer one paralyzing fear stemming from his family tragedy. Again, Fusilli's sense of place is stunning; a tangible, poetically evoked Manhattan infuses this complex, haunting story.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Five years ago, Terry Orr's wife and infant son died when a madman pushed them in front of a New York subway train. Since then, Terry has focused on two things: his daughter, Bella, and finding the madman who murdered his loved ones. He's quit his job as a music critic for a New York paper and become a licensed PI, and although his aim is to find the killer, he's also helped the police with some of their most baffling cases. The cops don't quite know what to make of him, but they do admire his fearless tenaciousness. Terry's latest case involves him in a controversial murder. Sonia Salgado, convicted of killing diamond merchant Asher Glatzer, spent 30 years in prison and then was found murdered, just a few days after her release. Who killed her and why? Terry's investigation leads him into the seedier areas of the city, pits him against corrupt cops, earns him the wrath of the DA's office, and reveals decades-old secrets. This superb follow-up to Fusilli's first Terry Orr novel--Closing Time [BKL Ag 01]--combines a brilliantly conceived plot, droll wit, often-outrageous characters, moody prose, and atmospheric descriptions of a gritty, post-September 11 New York. A winner on all fronts. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Jim Fusilli is a music critic for The Wall Street Journal. This is his second novel.