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City of the Sun: A Novel by David Levien
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City of the Sun: A Novel

by David Levien

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This was an EXCELLENT thriller! I haven't previously read anything by David Levien, but I'm going to check out and see if he has any other titles.

I was a little leery of the story at first, since it deals with the disappearance of a child, but the characters are so real and engaging that I was quickly sucked into the story.

This is a read that kept me up late to finish it, and I highly recommend it! ( )
  GeniusJen | Oct 13, 2009 |
Great book with lots of action and suspense.A heart braker with a good ending. ( )
  HildaPowell | Aug 25, 2009 |
A story of child abduction, and two men who go off in search of the truth. The young boy's father hires a detective who has personal reasons for taking the case, and they both end up in Mexico, on a path that leads them into the dangerous, secretive world of child-trafficking.

The story read smoothly and quickly. The ending was quite abrupt, sort of left me hanging. Overall, a good read. ( )
  porchsitter55 | Feb 23, 2009 |
City of the Sun is a gripping, realistic and gritty crime thriller about a private detective investigating a kidnapping, which occurred over a year back, the trail stone cold. It sounds old hat, but there is a wonderful sense of pace, excellent characterisation and a style of narrative which is seldom found in this crowded genre. Genuinely unpredictable, the story is cleverly constructed, drawing the reader in with punchy short sentences, then filling out the detail later. It's the intriguing and subtle style of writing, and coupled with the terrific plot the result is an awesome and gripping novel. Haunting and realistic, this book will stay with you for some time. Absolutely recommended. ( )
  SonicQuack | Jan 11, 2009 |
A gritty and suspenseful story, City of the Sun is not one for the squeamish. Eleven year old Jamie disappears while on his early morning newspaper delivery round, the police seem unable or even unwilling to do very much, so Jamie’s’ father Paul eventually hires a PI, Frank Behr. Paul manages to persuade the unwilling Behr to take him along on is investigations and stakeouts. An initially uneasy relationship develops into one of mutual respect as they try to unravel the case.

A gripping story, all the more so as very early it hints at unspeakable possible destinies for young Jamie. Well written, Levien takes the time to give life to all his characters, a devise which while lending a sense of reality to the story also at times inevitably gets in the way of the otherwise fast paced momentum. Such is one’s involvement with the plot that one is tempted to skim quickly over such passages to get back to the main event. Of the characters Paul and Behr quickly engage the reader, and Jamie although we meet him only briefly immediately appeals as a decent young lad.

City of the Sun is a moving and involving story, all the more so because of its sense of reality, both in the telling and in the fact that such terrible things do happen in this world in which we live. One thing is certain, whatever the outcome might prove to be, the reader will be unable to put the book down until he learns of Jamie’s fate. ( )
  Bembo | Aug 26, 2008 |
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0385523661, Hardcover)

Riveting suspense in the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, City of the Sun introduces retired detective Frank Behr—an imposing, charismatic former cop who agrees to take the case of a boy who’s been missing for over a year.

Jamie Gabriel gets on his bike before dawn to deliver newspapers in his suburban Indianapolis neighborhood. He is twelve years old. Somewhere en route, as the October sky lightens, he vanishes without a trace.
Fourteen months later, Paul and Carol Gabriel are on the verge of abandoning all hope. Crushed by frustrating dead ends and exhausted by a police force that cannot (or will not) find their son, the Gabriels finally find a ray of hope: the name of an elusive private investigator who may represent their last chance.
Frank Behr is an enigmatic mountain of a man, a former cop who wants to help—but knows better than to give the Gabriels any hope of a happy ending. He has worked this kind of case too often. But Paul’s plea stirs up old personal demons that Behr can no longer ignore. Going against everything he fears, Behr enters into an uneasy partnership with Paul on a quest for the truth that is, in turn, dangerous … and haunting.
Richly textured and crackling with suspense on every page, City of the Sun weaves a moody narrative that hinges on the bond between a damaged detective and a lost father. From the antiseptic comforts of suburban Indianapolis to the city’s seamy underworld, David Levien introduces a private investigator as complex, idiosyncratic, and sympathetic as any in modern crime fiction. Levien is a gifted storyteller who will keep readers guessing right up until the final, explosive scene.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:08 -0400)

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