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"By the author of A Quiet Belief in Angels, praised by Michael Connelly as "a beautiful and haunting book," Saints of New York is a powerful new crime novel. The death of a young heroin dealer causes no great concern for NYPD Detective Frank Parrish--Danny Lange is just another casualty of the drug war. But when Danny's teenage sister winds up dead, questions are raised that have no clear answers. As the homicides continue--and a disturbing pattern emerges--Frank tries desperately to make some sense of the deaths, while battling with his own demons. Trying to live up to the reputation of his father, John--not only a legendary NYPD detective, but also one of the original "Saints of New York"--the men charged with the responsibility of ridding New York of the final vestiges of Mafia control in the 1980s--Parrish struggles to come to terms with the broken pieces of his own life. But, as the murders escalate, he must discover the truth behind them before there are further innocent victims Dark and intense, Saints of New York is a novel of corruption and redemption, of the relentless persistence required to find the truth, and of one man's search for meaning amidst the ghosts of his own conscience"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pierthinker
This is a dark bleak novel set in modern day New York where, in Mick Jagger’s words, ‘Every cop is a criminal’ and where what separates good from bad is a very wide blurred line. Frank Parrish is a seriously flawed policeman (in a book where none of the characters is likeable), son of a
I did not like Parrish or his family, the strongest characters in the book, as they lash out at each other every time they speak. The remaining characters are thinly drawn and Parrish’s counsellor, Marie Griffin, is little more than a cipher allowing Parrish to reveal back story as therapy.
For all the blackness involved this is gripping stuff and whenever I put the book down I was eager to pick it up again. Ellory is an Englishman, but he captures the diseased underbelly of big city life in America through a detailed knowledge of New York and through his conistent refusal to blink as events unfold.
This is an exciting, driving and well-structured read. Just avoid it if you are o suicide- or vigilante-watch.
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police hero with a dark and unpleasant past. Parrish, at the end of his tether and the end of the line as far as the NYPD are concerned, pursues a paedophile suspect outside the boundaries of the law with the certain knowledge he is right. The story unfolds as a redemptive tale that offers hope to Parrish and those around him.I did not like Parrish or his family, the strongest characters in the book, as they lash out at each other every time they speak. The remaining characters are thinly drawn and Parrish’s counsellor, Marie Griffin, is little more than a cipher allowing Parrish to reveal back story as therapy.
For all the blackness involved this is gripping stuff and whenever I put the book down I was eager to pick it up again. Ellory is an Englishman, but he captures the diseased underbelly of big city life in America through a detailed knowledge of New York and through his conistent refusal to blink as events unfold.
This is an exciting, driving and well-structured read. Just avoid it if you are o suicide- or vigilante-watch.
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LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
I started reading R.J. Ellory's books with A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS which I absolutely loved. Then moved onto THE ANNIVERSARY MAN which made my Top Ten of 2010 and eventually, after I worked out a way to finagle the definition, into the two books that I nominated as my favourites for that year in
SAINTS OF NEW YORK is veering more towards a traditional procedural crime novel than earlier books, but with Ellory's trademarks of flawed characters, in a dark and murky world, struggling against personal and external demons and pressures.
In Frank Parrish's case, a lot of his demons come directly from the larger than life legacy of his father, one of the original "Saints of New York", the policemen who famously stood up to the Mafia in the early 1980's. Whilst everybody else regards John Parrish as a hero and legend, Frank stands alone, remembering a man who seemed to care more about the job, and the money, and status than he did about his own family. How Frank deals with his own day to day life, as a divorced, alcoholic, desperate and disaffected man, is woven brilliantly into this book as he has been forced to attend daily sessions with a Police Department counsellor. As these sessions proceed, Frank's state of mind, his background and his life are drawn out, just as he inches closer and closer to the killer of what turns out to be more than just one teenage girl.
SAINTS OF NEW YORK has a wonderfully dark, murky, tense and slightly desperate feel about it. It sets itself deep in the underbelly of New York, simultaneously taking you deep into the personal world of Frank Parrish. Violent and dark, there is also an intricate and compelling plot in which a man handles the professional with aplomb and the personal with a staggering lack thereof. I really have no idea how this author does it, but there's something amazingly compelling about Frank Parrish. Which doesn't take anything away from a fast-paced, well plotted novel that takes a few chapters to pull you in and then grabs you and holds onto you until the very end. And then for a while after that.
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my contribution to an article in Deadly Pleasures magazine. SAINTS OF NEW YORK is the latest I've been lucky enough to read, and with each book, I just get more and more impressed.SAINTS OF NEW YORK is veering more towards a traditional procedural crime novel than earlier books, but with Ellory's trademarks of flawed characters, in a dark and murky world, struggling against personal and external demons and pressures.
In Frank Parrish's case, a lot of his demons come directly from the larger than life legacy of his father, one of the original "Saints of New York", the policemen who famously stood up to the Mafia in the early 1980's. Whilst everybody else regards John Parrish as a hero and legend, Frank stands alone, remembering a man who seemed to care more about the job, and the money, and status than he did about his own family. How Frank deals with his own day to day life, as a divorced, alcoholic, desperate and disaffected man, is woven brilliantly into this book as he has been forced to attend daily sessions with a Police Department counsellor. As these sessions proceed, Frank's state of mind, his background and his life are drawn out, just as he inches closer and closer to the killer of what turns out to be more than just one teenage girl.
SAINTS OF NEW YORK has a wonderfully dark, murky, tense and slightly desperate feel about it. It sets itself deep in the underbelly of New York, simultaneously taking you deep into the personal world of Frank Parrish. Violent and dark, there is also an intricate and compelling plot in which a man handles the professional with aplomb and the personal with a staggering lack thereof. I really have no idea how this author does it, but there's something amazingly compelling about Frank Parrish. Which doesn't take anything away from a fast-paced, well plotted novel that takes a few chapters to pull you in and then grabs you and holds onto you until the very end. And then for a while after that.
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LibraryThing member devenish
Frank Parrish is a detective working in the NYPD. He is also a maverick with a huge chip on his shoulder whose whole life and career is dominated by his dead policeman father.
He investigates a series of murders which involve drugs and pornography and in the course of the case becomes rather more
Although perhaps less original than some of his other stories,all of which are 'stand alone' novels,this is still an extremely readable book. Dark and at times deeply unpleasant,this is not something for the faint-hearted. One thing that constantly amazes me is that R.J.Ellory is an Englishman who writes so well about Americans and America,and all power to him for that.
He investigates a series of murders which involve drugs and pornography and in the course of the case becomes rather more
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involved,on a personal level than he should be.Although perhaps less original than some of his other stories,all of which are 'stand alone' novels,this is still an extremely readable book. Dark and at times deeply unpleasant,this is not something for the faint-hearted. One thing that constantly amazes me is that R.J.Ellory is an Englishman who writes so well about Americans and America,and all power to him for that.
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LibraryThing member runner56
Truly outstanding from one of the greatest story tellers of modern times.
LibraryThing member Daftboy1
I enjoyed this book.
The main character is Frank Parrish a detective with NYPD.
He has a few issues, he has to see the shrink every day and he is also feeling the heavyweight of his dead Father who was a top Policeman in his day.
There is a serial killer going round killing young girls, Frank digs
The murders arent really the main bit of the story it is Frank coming to terms with his life and future.
Well written worth a read book.
The main character is Frank Parrish a detective with NYPD.
He has a few issues, he has to see the shrink every day and he is also feeling the heavyweight of his dead Father who was a top Policeman in his day.
There is a serial killer going round killing young girls, Frank digs
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a bit deeper follows up on his instinct and with a bit of luck stops the killer before he goes on to do more killings. The murders arent really the main bit of the story it is Frank coming to terms with his life and future.
Well written worth a read book.
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LibraryThing member Floratina
READ IN DUTCH
I've read Saints of New York for the Ezzulia Reading Club and I had therefor received a free copy of this book. I want to thank the publisher of the Dutch version for its generosity!
I've read three books by RJ Ellory so far, and I've liked them all. They are said to be literature
It didn't disappointed me. I liked reading it, thought it to be very interesting. The writing style was a little bit less literate than in the other books I've read by Ellory, but I think it had to do with the main character being a hard police-officer instead of for example a writer. It was still very readable. I am planning on reading the other books as well, but there are still so many books waiting...
I've read Saints of New York for the Ezzulia Reading Club and I had therefor received a free copy of this book. I want to thank the publisher of the Dutch version for its generosity!
I've read three books by RJ Ellory so far, and I've liked them all. They are said to be literature
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thrillers, and although that is a term that is widely used in The Netherlands (not always correctly, I would rather say, mostly incorrectly) Ghostheart by RJ Ellory was the first book I thought was really a combination between literature and thriller. So, I was really glad when I got the chance of reading this new book by RJ Ellory. It didn't disappointed me. I liked reading it, thought it to be very interesting. The writing style was a little bit less literate than in the other books I've read by Ellory, but I think it had to do with the main character being a hard police-officer instead of for example a writer. It was still very readable. I am planning on reading the other books as well, but there are still so many books waiting...
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