Absent friends

by S. J. Rozan

Paper Book, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

813/.54

Genres

Mystery

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

New York : Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2005, c2004.

Description

The secrets of a group of childhood friends unravel in this haunting thriller by Edgar Award winner S. J. Rozan. Set in New York in the unforgettable aftermath of September 11, Absent Friends brilliantly captures a time and place unlike any other, as it winds through the wounded streets of New York and Staten Island...and into a maze of old crimes, damaged lives, and heartbreaking revelations. The result is not only an electrifying mystery and a riveting piece of storytelling but an elegiac novel that powerfully explores a world changed forever on a clear September morning. In a novel that will catch you off guard at every turn, and one that is guaranteed to become a classic, S. J. Rozan masterfully ratchets up the tension one revelation at a time as she dares you to ponder the bonds of friendship, the meaning of truth, and the stuff of heroism.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member bookappeal

This is not part of the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith novel. Rozan's story is her way of coping with the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks in New York City. Her depictions of life in the days and weeks after the attack are excellent but the storyline itself is rather boring and frustrating. Even the

resolution is unsatisfying. She also uses chapter headings that are not explained until the final chapter and, even then, they don't make much sense.

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LibraryThing member kd9

I live in the western United States. I have no friends from high school or college. I have no secrets that go back twenty years. Although I remember the events of 9/11, I was not personally affected by them. My particular experiences make this book a poor fit for my sensibilities. Although I have

been to New York City and have lived on the East Coast, the people in this book seem more foreign to me than someone living in Europe. Because the chapters are short and the characters are only seen in glimpses, it took me quite a while to catch the rhythm of the author.

The story is about a murder of the son of a minor mobster twenty years ago and the family of the man who went to jail for the murder and died there. The friends of the victims are twisted and torn by these events, especially when one of them dies during 9/11 and leaves papers behind describing the events that actually happened. A once celebrated journalist investigates this ancient crime and also dies. His lover takes up the crusade and finds out a truth that should have stayed buried.

Some parts of this tale are moving, but many of them are too subjective to be fully described.

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LibraryThing member nocto

This tale concerns a group of friends who grew up on Staten Island in the 1970s and mostly takes place in late 2001 in New York just after the attacks on the World Trade Center. I was looking forward to reading it but in the end felt disappointed.
Despite the fact that I've loved and adored Rozan's

other books I never really got into the swing of this one and the plot always felt a little clunky and culminated in an ending that seemed very so-so to me. Just didn't seem to be as well written as I'd hoped. And though I found some of the sections dealing with life in Manhattan after September 11th interesting I didn't find them as emotionally involving as I thought I should and it started to feel voyeuristic reading the book.
I guess I'd just hoped for better.

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