Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The Preservationist is laced with foreboding from the first page. Its plot cooks and simmers until it eventually boils over. Justin Kramon knows that crimes of the heart cut the deepest, and he proves himself one of our most versatile and insightful young writers working today" Jason Pinter, bestselling author of the Henry Parker series
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" " Booklist
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" " Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In
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" " Kirkus Reviews
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" " Mystery Scene Magazine
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" " Bookreporter
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" " David Gutowski, largeheartedboy.com
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"The Preservationist offers that rare alchemy of page-turning suspense and first-rate writing. I raced to the explosive conclusion, then found myself haunted by it. One of my favorite thrillers of the year, it's a book you don't want to miss." Otto Penzler, Edgar award-winning editor and founder of The Mysterious Press
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"Justin Kramon's supporting characters are so quirky and funny, you'd swear they were drawn from real life...The Preservationist is a classic romantic triangle....Kramon has experienced the literary world's equivalent of overnight success." The Baltimore Sun
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" effectively mixes literary thriller and realistic horror, as characters' secrets are revealed with increasing creepiness, and the story moves...to unbearable foreboding as the three suspiciously circle one another, landing the reader in a happily torturous state of anxiety." Booklist
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"What distinguishes this book is Kramon's willingness to put predator and prey on almost equal footing: The predator is inhumane but not inhuman. A respectable thriller. Don't be surprised if the movie appears at a multiplex near you." Kirkus Reviews
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"Kramon has given readers one of the truly suspenseful books of the year. Each chapter peels back the layers of evil and becomes progressively more chilling as each secret is revealed. Crime fans won't want to miss this one." Mystery Scene Magazine
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"Which dude is the psycho killer? That's the question at the thumping heart of Justin Kramon's new thriller...Kramon's omniscient narrator peers into the minds of principal characters, and...all of them have something to hide." Washington Post Book World
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"Dark, unsettling and perceptive, is a vivid exploration of different conceptions of love -- both true and truly twisted." Bookreporter
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"A masterfully told and thoroughly modern literary thriller." David Gutowski, largeheartedboy.com
Synopsis
To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he is feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, a great beast of a birthday, as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.
Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam s relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches.
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About the Author
Justin Kramon, author of Finny, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and Alaska Quarterly review. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden international Writers' Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation. He lives in Philadelphia.