The Killing Moon

✍ Scribed by Hogan, Chuck

• Book ID: 107172286
• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 177 KB
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

From Publishers Weekly

Hogan's fourth novel (after the Hammett Award–winning Prince of Thieves) convincingly and movingly brings alive the dying Massachusetts community of Black Falls, which is plagued by a brain drain and by a corrupt, if small, police force. Don Maddox, the town's first (and only) college scholarship recipient, reneged on his obligation to return and work in the community, but 15 years later the prodigal son shows up for his mother's funeral. Oddly, Maddox becomes a part-time auxiliary policeman, clashing often with his superiors. The author soon reveals Maddox's hidden agenda, which is related to a lucrative drug ring and to a series of murders believed to have been committed by a registered sex offender. Strong characters and a memorable setting more than offset a windup with some predictable cliffhangers. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Hogan, winner of the 2005 Hammett Prize, turns in another disturbing thriller, this one revealing the dark underside of small-town life. At the behest of one of the city fathers, Donny Maddox has returned to Black Falls, where he's installed as a part-time cop. Bucky Pail, who runs the force more like a gang than a law-enforcement agency, is incensed by the maneuver, especially since he's unable to intimidate Maddox. Black Falls is full of terrible secrets, and laconic, angry Donny fits right in, though his motives seem less overtly corrupt and self-serving than most of the people he encounters. Hogan feeds out Maddox's history at a frustratingly slow rate, and his use of different narrators makes for a sometimes bumpy telling. But there's no denying the attraction of the righteous-angry-man-against-the-corrupt-system theme, and Hogan delivers plenty of excitement, much of which comes in the form of several riveting (and notably vicious) confrontations. At his best, Hogan will remind readers of Lee Child and Stephen Hunter. Stephanie Zvirin
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