Danny and Evan were born on the mean streets of Chicago and did a little bit of bad-boy stuff knocking over liquor stores. It was strictly small-time. Then Evan made a mistake and he ended up in jail.

Danny went straight after that. He got himself a girl and got a job with prospects. Time passed. Then Evan got out. And Evan's not someone to let bygones be bygones. He thinks Danny owes him. And, unfortunately, Evan knows a secret or two that will tear Danny's new life apart . . .

**

### From Publishers Weekly

*Starred Review.* Sakey's brilliant debut, a crime novel set in Chicago, is a must read. From the thrilling opening, a horribly botched pawnshop robbery by childhood friends Evan and Danny, to the riveting ending, the tension ratchets up to almost unbearable levels. After the robbery, Evan serves prison time while Danny turns over a new leaf and eventually earns a responsible management job in a construction company. Seven years later, Evan is out and comes looking for Danny for payback. Using their past ties as leverage, Evan tries to drag Danny back into their partnership. Sakey convincingly portrays the bonds forged in adolescence and the gulf wrought by prison for one and hard work for the other. In a battle of wits and wills, the stakes escalate as Danny fights to preserve his new life and the ruthless Evan counters every attempt Danny makes to break free. The collateral damage is high in a page-turner that has already received plaudits from Lee Child, George Pelecanos and T. Jefferson Parker. *Author tour. (Jan.)*
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### From Bookmarks Magazine

Tapping into the "it" genre of the moment isn't easy. Not every author can deliver a *Mystic River* or *L.A. Confidential*, but add first-time novelist Marcus Sakey to the current crop of suspense and thriller writers who deliver well on the genre's premise. While his characters may feel overly familiar, he deftly uses the streets of Chicago, and his familiarity with the city (his home) is compelling. From page one, Sakey is in control. While his plot may seem a bit overwrought in some places and a bit too convenient in others, and while a few critics thought the ending too sentimental, Irish genre writer Ken Bruen says of Sakey, "Boston has Lehane. D.C. has Pelecanos. And now Chicago has its very own dark poet."
*Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.*