A pacy, intelligent crime debut - Raymond Chandler meets the Coen brothers with shades of Harlan Coben
Harry Dolan graduated from Colgate University, where he majored in
philosophy and studied fiction-writing with the novelist Frederick
Busch. He earned a master's degree in philosophy from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked for several
years as a freelance editor.
Dolan, who grew up in Rome, New York, now lives in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, with his partner, Linda Randolph.
Bad Things Happen is a very smart, well-written roller coaster ride
that is always threatening to hurl the reader out into roaring
empty space. Go along for the thrill ride!
*James Patterson*
Bad Things Happen is a tense read that keeps you tightly in its
grip until the very last page. Harry Dolan has written an
incredibly rich, smart read reminiscent of A Simple Plan or
Presumed Innocent - not to mention that it's just a damn good
story. Readers are in for a breathless ride
*Karin Slaughter*
Great f***ing book, man. I was totally hooked. I hope you write a
dozen more, and that's just next year
*Stephen King*
Thriller-writing of the highest order
*Daily Mail*
You better believe [Dolan] has a gift for storytelling...The
narrative comes with startling developments and nicely tricky
reversals.
*New York Times Book Review*
If I say that the novel is as well plotted as Agatha Christie at
her best, I don't mean to make it sound old-fashioned; it's not.
Even more than Christie, this novel reminded me of Patricia
Highsmith. It's witty, sophisticated, suspenseful and endless fun
-- a novel to be savoured...and the best first novel I've read this
year.
*Washington Post*
Dolan gets everything right in his debut, a suspense novel that
breathes new life into familiar themes. Pitch-perfect prose and
sophisticated characterisations drive the noirish plot, which
offers plenty of unexpected twists. Fans of Peter Abrahams and
Scott Turow will find a lot to like...the talent Dolan displays
suggests he has a bright future.
*Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)*
Harry Dolan has written a wonderfully moody and atmospheric story
... a tightly plotted, sophisticated, and engrossing debut novel.
Dolan has a fine ear for good dialogue and an uncanny sense of how
people think and act, and why they do what they do. This is a
winner
*Nelson DeMille*
From the astringent first sentence - 'The shovel has to meet
certain requirements' - Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan builds
like a thunderhead into an atmosphere of darkness, dread, and
impending doom. It is a hypnotically readable novel, with richly
wrought characters, a corkscrew plot, and dialog worthy of Elmore
Leonard. What a breathtaking debut.
*Douglas Preston, author of The Monster of Florence and
Blasphemy*
tasty tale...Dolan's neatly symmetrical plot is tight, his dialogue
is crisp, and his humor wry. (Rarely have suspects been so archly
articulate.) A twisty whodunit with a thriller's pace...
*Booklist, Starred Review*
Dolan's highly praised debut has shades of Elmore Leonard in its realistic dialogue that is at once over-the-top but true to form. The story takes place in Ann Arbor, Mich., where David Loogan has just accepted a position at Gray Streets mystery magazine-and embarked on an affair with his new boss's wife. It's not long before bodies begin turning up left and right, and a young investigator is involved. Abby Erik Davies delivers a performance so raw and exposed that listening becomes less a choice and more a compulsion. It's brilliant on every level. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, May 25). (July) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Bad Things Happen is a very smart, well-written roller
coaster ride that is always threatening to hurl the reader out into
roaring empty space. Go along for the thrill ride! * James
Patterson *
Bad Things Happen is a tense read that keeps you tightly in
its grip until the very last page. Harry Dolan has written an
incredibly rich, smart read reminiscent of A Simple Plan or
Presumed Innocent - not to mention that it's just a damn
good story. Readers are in for a breathless ride * Karin Slaughter
*
Great f***ing book, man. I was totally hooked. I hope you write a
dozen more, and that's just next year * Stephen King *
Thriller-writing of the highest order * Daily Mail *
You better believe [Dolan] has a gift for storytelling...The
narrative comes with startling developments and nicely tricky
reversals. * New York Times Book Review *
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