Synopses & Reviews
A compulsively readable debut crime novel inspired by the legendary real-life murder of Kitty Genovese. At 4:00 A.M. on March 13, 1964, a young woman returning home from her shift at a local bar is attacked in the courtyard of her Queens apartment building. Her neighbors hear her cries; no one calls for help.
Unfolding over the course of two hours, Good Neighbors is the story of the woman's last night. It is also the story of her neighbors, the bystanders who kept to themselves: the anxious Vietnam draftee; the former soldier planning suicide; the woman who thinks she's killed a child and her husband, who will risk everything for her. Revealing a fascinating cross-section of American society in expertly interlocking plotlines, Good Neighbors calls to mind the Oscar-winning movie Crash, and its suspense and profound sense of urban menace rank it with Hitchcock's Rear Window and the gritty crime novels of Dennis Lehane, Richard Price, and James Ellroy.
Review
"Compelling, slick, exuberant, flashy, funny, fierce, and cinematic . . . Deftly written with panache and polish . . . This remarkable novel, a lean, psychologically unsettling noir tale, will stay with you long after you put it down and regretfully say, 'I wish I wrote that.'"
-Library Journal, starred review
"One of the best books I have ever read. . . . The writing is powerful, it takes hold of you from the first page and that hold gets tighter and tighter until the heart-wrenching ending. It was impossible to put down. Good Neighbors is a book not to be missed."
-Kendall Gutierrez, Suspense Magazine
"Intensely gripping . . . A fine and memorable novel."
-Booklist, starred review
"Heart-stopping."
-Library Journal
"Darkly powerful . . . Jahn inhabits these people and their problems so completely and convincingly that they don't seem like monsters even as they ignore the woman who's dying only a few yards away."
-Kirkus Reviews
"A terrific debut . . . A wonderfully visual book-the effect is of watching, unseen, through a dozen different windows as Jahn switches from one scenario to the next. Powerful, compassionate and authentic, it works both as a mystery and as a snapshot of America in the early 1960s."
-The Guardian
"Gripping . . . Jahn takes the nub of the real Genovese case and weaves a superb series of fictional stories around it. . . . He constructs a convincing edifice of doubt, anger, jealousy, despair and a host of other emotions leading inexorably to the same conclusion: do nothing."
-The Times (London)
"A striking first novel . . . It contains genuine insights into the way people act under pressure."
-The Sunday Times (London)
"An astounding piece of fiction. It grips you like a vice from the beginning and doesn't let you go. . . . [Jahn is a] bright new star to crime fiction."
-Crimesquad
"An audacious, inventive piece of literary thriller writing . . . Jahn's novel is subtle, delicately constructed and displays a fine ear for dialogue. It also announces the arrival of a distinctive new talent."
-Daily Mail
"Brutal and immediate . . . Cleverly written, accomplished and gripping. . . . At times I had to stop reading to catch my breath."
-The Bookseller
"Without a doubt, the most outstanding novel I have read this year."
-Rhian Davies, It's a Crime!
"Jahn's violent amorality tale has . . . drawn well-earned comparisons with Bret Easton Ellis and James Ellroy. . . . Gripping, and layered with juicy, scathing insights into the relationships and politics of the era, Jahn proves himself as a promising noir talent."
-The List
"Addictive and compelling."
-BookTime
"A gripping and thoughtful psychological thriller . . . Terse, telegraphic and present-tense, Jahn's style creates a voyeuristic distance between reader and characters that perfectly matches his theme, the fearfulness and atomization of urban life that encourages each man to be an island."
-Financial Times
"A very accomplished debut, a gripping thriller based on a real event in '60s America. Moving quickly from perspective to perspective, it scoops the reader up from page one and does not let go. This is not only a crime novel, but a brilliant evocation of '60s New York in terms of its prejudices, its corruption and its humanity."
-Crime Writers Association Dagger Award judges' citation
"Dark, compelling and powerful . . . Jahn is a rare and fine talent."
-R. J. Ellory, author of A Quiet Belief in Angels
"We might have thought we knew the Kitty Genovese story, but everything in here is unexpected and, by the end, nothing short of astonishing. Don't miss this remarkable debut novel."
-Cammie McGovern, author of Neighborhood Watch and Eye Contact
"Flat-out brilliant . . . At once brutal and empathic, fearless and humane, Good Neighbors leaves the reader gasping for what it ultimately reveals: the truth-about us. A brave, unique, and-yes-impossible-to-put-down read. Kitty Genovese died for our sins, and Jahn offers nothing less than final, beautiful redemption."
-Jerry Stahl
Review
"Compelling, slick, exuberant, flashy, funny, fierce, and cinematic. . . . Deftly written with panache and polish. . . . This remarkable novel, a lean, psychologically unsettling noir tale, will stay with you long after you put it down and regretfully say, 'I wish I wrote that.'" —Library Journal, starred review of Good Neighbors
Review
"A well-written, fast-paced book . . . along the order of Quentin Tarantino and with a long and bloody trail to the end." —Charlaine Harris, bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, on The Dispatcher
Review
"Violent, vivid, and disturbing, The Dispatcher is a stomach churner. If you want a book that grabs you—almost chokes you—and won't let go, this is it. But it should come with a warning label: Caution, a serious writer at work." —Ridley Pearson, New York Times-bestselling author
Synopsis
A gripping thriller from the acclaimed author of Good Neighbors, perfect for fans of Linwood Barclay and Robert Crais Los Angeles, 1952. After 13-year-old Sandy Duncan shoots his stepfather and carves a symbol from a comic book into the corpse’s forehead, district attorney Seymour Markley launches a grand jury investigation into the murder, one that could implicate east-coast crime boss James Manning. Also in the frame is the comic book’s creator, Eugene Dahl. When threatening notes appear nailed to his front door, he is lured to a downtown hotel where one of the men who could bring down James Manning is being held. There, Eugene finds the witness murdered, as well as the police officer charged with protecting him, and all fingers point to Eugene. Forced to go on the run, Eugene devises a plan that involves deeds far worse than any of which he’s been accused.
About the Author
Ryan David Jahn grew up in Arizona, Texas, and California. He finished school at sixteen, worked several odd jobs, and spent time in the army before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked in television and film for several years. His first novel, Good Neighbors, won the Crime Writers' Association John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger Award, and his novel The Dispatcher was longlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. Translation rights to his books have been sold in twelve languages. Jahn lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Jessica, and two daughters, Matilda and Francine.