True Crime: The Novel

by Andrew Klavan

1997

Status

Available

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Standard Shelves

Publication

Dell (1997), 400 pages

Description

In the heat of the city, a man is out of time: speeding in a beat-up Ford Tempo, blasting easy-listening music. Reporter Steve Everett drinks too much, makes love to his boss's wife, and has just stumbled upon a shocking truth: a convicted killer is about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. In the cold confines of Death Row, Frank Beachum is also out of time. Ready to say good-bye to the wife and child he loves and hello to the God he still believes in, Beachum knows he did not kill a convenience store clerk six years ago. But in a few hours--if Steve Everett can't find the evidence to stop it--a needle is going to pierce Frank Beachum's skin. The killing machine is primed. The executioner is waiting. And so is the priest. Now the clock is ticking down and the race is on--between the reporter and his demons, between the system and its lethal flaws, between the last innocent man and society's ultimate crime . . . . "From the Paperback edition."… (more)

Media reviews

Publishers' Weekly

Klavan puts an intensely human, often intriguingly quirky face on a familiar plot device: the race to save a convicted killer on death row. Klavan gives us the photo finish to end all photo finishes: readers may be gasping for breath by the time [the killer's] fate is decided. The author's vivid

characterizations and dramatic prose--packed with tension, black humor and wry observations on the human condition--command attention.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member hankreardon

A frenetic race against time by a dedicated - but flawed - journalist to save a man on Death Row. The fact that the hero is human and super-human, makes the story all the more believable and emotionally charged. And reader really feels the pace.

I first saw this as a movie with Clint Eastwood - and

it was a perfect role for him. He knows how to play the strength-within-weakness that is the hallmark of credible, realistic heroes.

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LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire

Reporter Steve Everett is not usually the type to turn into an heroic do-gooder overnight - he drinks too much, makes love to his boss' wife, and has just stumbled upon a shocking truth that has him literally fighting the clock. He has just discovered that a convicted killer is about to be executed

for a crime he didn't commit. Now an imperfect defender must find a way to stall the ultimate end-game.

In the cold confines of Death Row, Frank Beachum is preparing himself for the end. He's ready to say goodbye to the wife and child he loves and greet the God he still believes in. He knows that he will go into Eternity with a clear conscience, heart and soul; filled with the knowledge that he did not commit the murder of a convenience store clerk six years ago.

But in the interest of justice - unless Steve Everett can find the evidence to halt his execution - Frank Beachum will die by lethal injection. The killing machine is primed; the executioner is waiting and now the battle is on - between the reporter with all his inner demons, and a system with lethal flaws. The prize at the end of this fight will be the life of an innocent man.

I really enjoyed this book so much. I have never seen the movie adaptation of the book, I don't usually like Clint Eastwood, but I would definitely be curious to see how the book is interpreted. True Crime is Grade A+! material to my mind and I can't wait to find more of Andrew Klavan's work to read.

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LibraryThing member MashaK99

Another stellar work from one of my favorite writers. This is probably the only book I've ever read where I knew how it comes out in the end, yet could not put it down. Klavan's understanding of human nature is scary. My favorite moment is when our cynical, grade-A S.O.B. protagonist ponders all

the reasons why he should not get involved, then says something like, "Of course I KNEW I had to. I just couldn't think of a reason why, that's all, but I knew." Even before Klavan started writing openly pro-Christian fiction, when he was still firmly in the noir "life-sucks-and-then-you-die" mode, he was already producing gems like this. It's one of those books where you rush to get to the end, then want to read more because you know the author has more to say, and you want to listen.

As an aside, I used to be a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, but after reading this book and finding out that he insisted on changing the condemned man's race to "make it more relevant," I am hard pressed to keep my respect for him as an artist. The whole plot of the story revolves around the accused being white. If you pay attention to how the story comes together, its twists and turns, they just would not happen, beginning to end, without the defendant being white. Boo to Mr. Eastwood. Not to mention he was wrong for the role... Just read the book, enjoy the story as it was meant to be, and forget the movie.

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LibraryThing member Roycrofter

Didn't see the movie. Finished the book in three days. Not going to see the movie: nothing could be better than this. This story is a roller-coaster, it's got everything -- including a Ford Tempo!

LibraryThing member susandennis

Someone read this list and sent me e-mail instructing me to RUN to the bookshop and get this book. I actually waited a couple of weeks until it came out in paperback. His recommendation was right on the money. This is a meaty book that you just eat with a spoon. It would be a great airplane book or

beach book. Use any excuse, just read it. I can't tell you the most intriguing part of this book cause that would be a major spoiler. Just go get it and read it. (It is fiction, contrary to what the title would leave you to believe.)

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