The Strangler

The electrifying and epic story of one Irish-American family, a city under siege, and the long shadow cast by the most infamous killer of his day...

A gripping, grown-up tale, punctuated by shocks, that leads to a shattering conclusion.

Landay's depiction of a turbulent period makes compulsive reading.

A dense and satisfying novel of crime and retribution.

(A) marvellous novel ... a delicate portrayal of fatally compromised lives in a compromised city.

A meaty, ambitious book, made all the more powerful by an author unafraid to tackle the complexities of moral ambiguity.

A complex mystery that builds to an unpredictable climax where a shocking truth is revealed.

A gripping grown-up tale, punctuated by shocks that leads to a shattering conclusion.

William Landay is the author of the highly acclaimed Mission Flats, which was awarded the John Creasey Memorial Dagger for best debut crime novel of 2003. A graduate of Yale University and Boston College Law School, he was an assistant district attorney before turning to writing. He lives in Boston, where he is at work on his next novel.

Boston, 1963. A city on the edge. The Boston Strangler has already claimed a dozen victims. 
 
For the three Daley brothers, crime is very much the family business but the Strangler's murderous spree is about to bring violent death a lot closer to home: 
 
Joe - tough-talking cop whose gambling habits - fast women, slow horses - drag him down into the city's gangland. 
 
Michael - Harvard-educated lawyer, tasked to bring the Strangler to justice. 
 
Ricky - expert burglar and the devil-may-care youngest son who is used to leading a charmed life. 
 
When the Strangler strikes, they will all be forced to look into their family's own lethal secrets and the one death in the past that has changed them forever...

William Landay

'A most assured début, cleverly plotted with an unguessable ending'

'A compelling début...Juicy characterisation and a strong affinity for moral ambiguity. It marks the blooding of a major new talent with shades of George Higgins and Scott Turow'

An impressive and constantly surprising début...The main plot twist knocks you sideways and there's more to come. A marvellous, unexpected novel.

'A mixture of poignant, literary Americana and dialogue driven suspense, this impressive debut novel delivers a well-judged final shock and left me looking forward to more from Mr Landay'

'A gripping and thrilling read which has you completely hooked from its rather violent and shocking opening and he has created a police chief as memorable as James Lee Burke's Dave Robineaux'

'A first-time novelist has to bring something new to the table - something like the trumps that Landay throws down in his high stakes police procedural'

'A crackling debut that answer the question: who will be the next Grisham...Stylish writing, wickedly convoluted plotting and insider's view of inner city jurisprudence. You'll barely finish this many tentacled tale before you start clamouring for Landay's next'

'Excruciatingly suspenseful...Landay gives us an original detective creation and he also delivers an action-packed plot with a skilfully detonated final surprise'

'An inventive gripping debut...A rich, harrowing and delightful read'

Nothing much happens in Versailles, Maine. Until a body is found in a cabin up by the lake. The dead man turns out to be from the Boston DA's office, a prosecutor who had been investigating a series of gang-related murders in that city. Ben Truman, Chief of Police, heads down to Boston to follow the few fragile leads he has in the case. Not welcomed by the police there, he knows he really should get the message and disappear back to the sticks. Big city crime is way beyond anything he's ever dealt with before. 
 
But still Truman refuses to let it go. With the help of a retired cop who knows all the angles, he becomes embroiled in an investigation which has its roots in a sequence of deaths which began twenty years previously...

William Landay

Praise for Mission Flats

'A most assured début, cleverly plotted with an unguessable ending'

'A compelling début...Juicy characterisation and a strong affinity for moral ambiguity. It marks the blooding of a major new talent with shades of George Higgins and Scott Turow'

An impressive and constantly surprising début...The main plot twist knocks you sideways and there's more to come. A marvellous, unexpected novel.

'A most assured début, cleverly plotted with an unguessable ending'

'A compelling début...Juicy characterisation and a strong affinity for moral ambiguity. It marks the blooding of a major new talent with shades of George Higgins and Scott Turow'

An impressive and constantly surprising début...The main plot twist knocks you sideways and there's more to come. A marvellous, unexpected novel.

'A most assured début, cleverly plotted with an unguessable ending'

'A compelling début...Juicy characterisation and a strong affinity for moral ambiguity. It marks the blooding of a major new talent with shades of George Higgins and Scott Turow'

An impressive and constantly surprising début...The main plot twist knocks you sideways and there's more to come. A marvellous, unexpected novel.

Books by William Landay

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