Ask A Dead Man - Hardcover

Robert S. Levinson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158724974X ISBN 13: 9781587249747

Publisher: Wheeler Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

A #1 L.A. Times Bestselling Author

The cold-blooded murder of KC McClory's husband draws her into a plan for revenge by assassinating one of the world's great leaders. The past quickly becomes the present, and takes KC from the strife-torn back alleys of Falls Road in Northern Ireland to the posh streets of Pasadena, California, where KC grew up among the wealthy inhabitants and where vengeance will be carried out in the shadow of the annual Rose Bowl.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Best known as a series author (the well-received Neil Gulliver and Steve Marriner mysteries: Hot Paint, etc.), Levinson now spins a novel that not only stands alone but stands tall. Writing with considerable invention, grace and energy, the author, who's a national director at-large of Mystery Writers of America, tells an intricate and emotionally potent tale of murder and doublecross. His antiheroine here is one KC McClory, widow of Frankie McClory, a slain IRA honcho, who's asked by her dead husband's malevolent brother to smuggle guns into America to give to the Plowman, an IRA assassin who aims to kill a world leader in exchange for moneys flowing to the IRA; in the U.S., KC is to stay at the Pasadena home of Judge Osborne and his family, who raised her. Credible but terrible complications ensue almost at once. KC, we learn, is in fact an agent of TRIAD, a U.S. counterterrorism operation, but TRIAD no longer trusts her; some of the novel's tension arises from KC's juggling the wishes of the IRA and TRIAD. More arises when an assassin disguised as a priest picks her up on the train to Pasadena and tries to kill her—his fatal mistake; and when the investigating cop in the homicide turns out to be Peter Osborne, the Judge's son and KC's old flame, the complications grow byzantine, eventually putting KC and those she loves at great risk. This is a dense, dark, beautifully wrought tale of love and betrayal, sin and retribution, offering serious suspense, terrific twists and full-blooded characters. Levinson may not have an Irish name but he carries the soul of the Irish poets in his pen and in his heart—only a dead man wouldn't relish this read.
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Review:

"This is a dense, dark, beautifully wrought tale of love and betrayal, sin and retribution, offering serious suspense, terrific twists and full-blooded characters. Levinson may not have an Irish name but he carries the soul of the Irish poets in his pen and his heart only a dead man wouldn?t relish this read."
-- Publishers Weekly (December 2004) (Publisher's Weekly 20041201)

"From Belfast to L.A., the pace never slows. IRA assassins mix it up with government agents and the LAPD in a story that Hollywood should grab at once. There are two smashing roles for women in this unusual thriller."
-- Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, (September 2004) (Mystery Writers of America Grand Master 20040901)

"...Levinson's story structure, eye for detail, flavorsome style, and knack for Hitchcockian suspense set pieces cannot be denied."
--Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2005 (Ellery Queen Mystery 20050601)

"...talk about a story that doesn't quit until the very last page. Wow! The plotting is incredible, the shifting POVs dazzling, the humor is delicious, the mastery of the Irish lilt flawless, and the sheer joy in the act of writing etched on every page...A rollercoaster of a read."
--Jerry Ludwig, April 2005 (Doody Enterprises 20050401)

"...it sinks its narrative claws into our skin and drags us along on what proves to be an exhilarating ride..."
--Booklist (November 20040 (Booklist 20041101)

About this edition

• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 158724974X
• ISBN 13: 9781587249747
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 655