Faces of the Gone

The first Carter Ross mystery by Brad Parks. After four bodies are found in a vacant lot in Newark, reporter Carter Ross distrusts the official story and begins investigating on his own. Combining newsroom detail, urban crime, and humor, the novel sends a young reporter into a dangerous truth.

crime fictionnewspaper reporterNewarkmultiple murderinvestigative reporting

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Work Information

Four bodies and one nagging doubt launch reporter Carter Ross into a dangerous investigation.

Newark reporter Carter Ross covers the discovery of four bodies in a vacant lot. Unsatisfied with the explanation leaked by the police, he draws on an editor, an intern, and street sources to get behind the case. His reporting eventually touches the center of a drug operation and puts his own life in danger.

Review Summaries

The novel is valued for adding lively dialogue and newsroom immediacy to a hard-edged crime investigation, giving the debut strong momentum. The protagonist’s reporting skills and the portrait of the city drive the story forward.

Book Information

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2009-12-08
Pages: 330 pages
Language: 英語
Size: 16.18 x 2.81 x 21.56 cm
ISBN-13: 9780312574772
ISBN-10: 0312574770
Price: 20279 JPY
Category: 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery

Four bodies, each with a single bullet wound in the back of the head, stacked like cordwood in a weed-choked vacant lot: Thats the front-page news facing Carter Ross, investigative reporter with the Newark Eagle-Examiner . Immediately dispatched to the scene, Carter learns that the four victimsan exotic dancer, a drug dealer, a hustler, and a mamas boycame from different parts of the city and didnt seem to know one another. The police, eager to calm jittery residents, leak a theory that the murders are revenge for a bar stickup, and Carters paper, hungry for a scoop, hastily prints it. Carter doesnt come from the streets, but he understands a thing or two about Newarks neighborhoods. And he knows there are no quick answers when dealing with a crime like this. Determined to uncover the true story, he enlists the aide of Tina Thompson, the papers smoking-hot city editor, to run interference at the office; Tommy Hernandez, the papers gay Cuban intern, to help him with legwork on the streets; and Tynesha Dales, a local stripper, to take him to Newarks underside. It turns out that the four victims have one connection after all, and this knowledge will put Carter on the path of one very ambitious killer. Faces of the Gone won the Shamus Award for Best First Novel and the Nero Award for Best American Mystery--it is the first book to receive both awards. The book was named to lists of the year's best mystery debuts by the Chicago Sun-Times and South Florida Sun-Sentinel .

Brad Parks is a Shamus and Nero Award winner. He spent a dozen years as a reporter with The Washington Post and The [Newark, N.J.] Star-Ledger . A graduate of Dartmouth College, he lives with his wife and two small children in Virginia, where he is currently working on the next Carter Ross adventure.

Reviews

can'T get away

you will enjoy it to the last word well written keeps you until the end good use of words and proper english
Enjoyable Murder Mystery

This was an enjoyable introduction to the author and his protagonist Carter Ross, investigative journalist. It would say this is a lighthearted mystery except for the dark topics of murder and torture. The main character keeps things light not unlike Koontz' Odd Thomas. I liked the main characters and the interaction between them. The book was entertaining and does inspire me to keep reading the books in the series.
Good read.

Good read. Not his best.
Not one for me

Couldn't get into this although I made it to a 3rd of the way. The authors writing style isn't for me.
A Stellar Debut

Carter Ross, an investigative reporter, is working on a story about four dead bodies all found in the same abandoned lot with one shot to the head and he has every intention of digging until he find out what connects these four people together. Carter knows that whatever connects these people is the reason that they are all dead together and that it isn't about a bar robbery like the cops are saying. Carter, with the the help of an intern named Tommy get cracking on some interviews and investigative work and eventually they track down what Carter thinks might be the link, but that just puts him square in the cross hairs of someone who is less than appreciative of all of his hard work. This was a great novel because the charter development was excellent and the pacing was deft. It had that slightly gritty tone to it but was still capable of making you laugh out loud at certain lines, which is always the mark of a great writer. I found myself loving Carter as a character which is always a good thing, and immediately wanting to by Brad Parks so it definitely leaves you wanting more. I highly recommend it and I know I read it really quickly.