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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jan 2007, 320 pages
Paperback:
Nov 2007, 352 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Danny Carter started his life as a petty criminal, living from score to score with his friend Evan. Years later, Danny has built a new world for himself: a legitimate career, a girlfriend, and a clean conscience. He’s normal, successful. Happy. Until he spots his old partner staring him down in a smoky barroom mirror. Prison-hardened Evan, having served his time without dropping Danny’s name, believes he’s owed major payback -- and he’s willing to do anything to get it.
How far would you go to protect everything you love?
On the South Side of Chicago, you’re only as strong as your reputation. Danny Carter and his best friend, Evan, earned theirs knocking over pawnshops and liquor stores, living from score to score, never thinking of tomorrow.
Then a job went desperately wrong, and in the roar of a gun blast, everything changed.
Years later, Danny doesn’t think about his past. He’s built a new world for himself: a legitimate career, a long-term girlfriend, and a clean conscience. He’s just like anyone else. Normal. Successful. Happy.
Until he spots his old partner staring him down in a smoky barroom mirror. The prison-hardened Evan is barely recognizable. Having served his time without dropping Danny’s name, his old friend believes he’s owed major payback---and he’s willing to do anything to get it. With all he loves on the line and nowhere to turn, Danny realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice: How far will he go to protect his future from his past?
A debut novel that’s drawn comparison to Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and Quentin Tarantino, The Blade Itself is the story of a good man held hostage by circumstance; a riveting exploration of class, identity, and the demons that shape us, where every effort to do the right thing leads to terrifying consequences and one inevitable conclusion:
The more you have, the more you have to lose.
Chapter One
But for the Grace
The alley wasn’t as dark as Danny would’ve liked, and Evan was driving
him crazy, spinning the snub-nose like a cowboy in some Sunday matinee.
“Would you put that away?”
“Keeps me cool.” Evan smiled the bar-fight grin that showed his chipped
tooth.
“I don’t care if it makes you feel like Rick James. You shouldn’t have
brought it.” Danny stared until his partner sighed and tucked the pistol
into the back of his belt. Evan had always lived for the thrill of the job,
all the way back to when they had stolen forties of Mickeys from the
7-Eleven. But the addition of the gun made Danny uneasy. Made him wonder if
Karen was right to suggest he start thinking long-term. Reconsider his
options.
He shook his head and stared out the window. Earlier, munching greasy
chips in a taco bar across the street, they’d watched the owner of the
pawnshop lock up. The dashboard ...
Wake up and smell the fear! There's a new thriller writer in town who is drawing comparisons to some of the most established names in the business...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardener
Taut, involving, and memorable. Marcus Sakey is an authentic, original new voice in crime fiction. Lee Child, author of The Hard Way
A truly excellent debut---like vintage Elmore Leonard crossed with classic Dennis Lehane.” T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Fallen
The Blade Itself is a terrifically good debut---streetwise, heartfelt, and exciting. I loved this book.Marcus Sakey was born in Flint, Michigan and graduated from the
University of Michigan. He is married
and lives in Chicago where he has recently completed his second novel, At the City's Edge (Jan 2008). To prepare for
The Blade Itself he shadowed
homicide detectives, learned to pick a
deadbolt in sixty seconds, and drank
plenty of Jameson.
Sakey was motivated to write a book
after inviting author J.A. Konrath out
for a beer following a speech Konrath
gave at Columbia College, which Sakey
attended for a short time. When they
staggered out of the bar five hours
later one ...
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