Kind of a sleeper. A period piece set in 1975 in the gritty parts of New York, a disgraced news reporter who has been demoted to writing obituaries finds a compelling story, which he hopes will restore him to good graces. A dead young homeless person is brought to the morgue frozen to death, but his physical condition belies his appearance. Taylor figures out who the dead boy really is, and is determined to find the culpable party and deliver justice (to save his job.) He makes friends in the homeless community via compasson when tracking down the owner of the clothes in which the boy was found. I liked the author's delineation between homeless, hobos, bums, etc. too. ( )

A remarkably good debut featuring 34-year-old reporter Coleridge Taylor. As indicated in the publisher's blurb, he was demoted from the police beat for "inventing sources" and forced to write obituaries. This debacle turns out to be a set-up. It seems as if the whole world is against him, his editors, the police, everyone except his colleague and prot̩g̩ Laura Wheeler. Many years younger than Taylor, I could understand her admiration for his dedication to crime news and his investigative intensity, it was less clear what was the sexual attraction she found in him. Nevertheless, once he gets his teeth into a lead, he will pursue it with a passion. It's a short book, without a lot of filler, and moves along steadily, building excitement. I found it hard to believe that he could break the story in such a short time. Secondly, although he eventually finds his source for the "invented" story, we never do find out exactly who set him up and why. The story progresses much like a police procedural.

This was the first time I listened to a book narrated by Donald Corren, but he was very good. I look forward to listening to the second in this series. ( )