- Hardcover: 367 pages
- Publisher: Delacorte Press (Sep 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385338031
- ISBN-13: 978-0385338035
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,368,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product 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.
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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
S J Rozan is fastly becoming one of my favourite authors, and this book, Absent Friends, only serves to reinforce that opinion.
Set over many decades, it tells the story of a group of friends (Jimmy, Markie, Vicky, Sally, Tom, Jack and Marian), from their childhood days at school, through their teens, their twenties and then, finally, in the aftermath of 9/11.
Jimmy dies a hero in the Twin Towers, as a firefighter with a history of well documented heroic rescues, he is included in a seemingly innocuous newspaper series that concentrates on 9/11 heroes. During some background research, newspaper hack Harry Randall, comes across information which he thinks proves Jimmy has a secret criminal past and was involved with organized crime. When he himself dies, his distraught reporter girlfriend, Laura, is convinced that he has been murdered to silence the truth and she becomes fixated on proving that Jimmy was indeed a criminal. As she digs through the past of the seven friends, (two of which died in their twenties), she sets in motion a series of events which she never could have expected. When she does finally discover the truth it is not at all what she thought, or hoped, it was.
Rozan cleverly weaves the lives of the characters together (both those of the dead and the living) and expertly grafts together fiction with actuall historical events. The devastation of the characters lives once the secrets begin to unfurl and the lasting effect it has on them are cleverly mirrored by the devastation that 9/11 caused on the inhabitants of New York. A masterful piece of work.
Set over many decades, it tells the story of a group of friends (Jimmy, Markie, Vicky, Sally, Tom, Jack and Marian), from their childhood days at school, through their teens, their twenties and then, finally, in the aftermath of 9/11.
Jimmy dies a hero in the Twin Towers, as a firefighter with a history of well documented heroic rescues, he is included in a seemingly innocuous newspaper series that concentrates on 9/11 heroes. During some background research, newspaper hack Harry Randall, comes across information which he thinks proves Jimmy has a secret criminal past and was involved with organized crime. When he himself dies, his distraught reporter girlfriend, Laura, is convinced that he has been murdered to silence the truth and she becomes fixated on proving that Jimmy was indeed a criminal. As she digs through the past of the seven friends, (two of which died in their twenties), she sets in motion a series of events which she never could have expected. When she does finally discover the truth it is not at all what she thought, or hoped, it was.
Rozan cleverly weaves the lives of the characters together (both those of the dead and the living) and expertly grafts together fiction with actuall historical events. The devastation of the characters lives once the secrets begin to unfurl and the lasting effect it has on them are cleverly mirrored by the devastation that 9/11 caused on the inhabitants of New York. A masterful piece of work.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
A novel that transcends the limitations of a genre
15 Oct 2004
Format:Hardcover
S.J. Rozan is best known as a mystery writer, having garnered just about every award possible for her traditional mystery series featuring the unlikely P.I. team of Bill Smith and Lydia Chin. ABSENT FRIENDS is not part of this series but is instead a stand-alone book, in every sense of the word. It is funny, tender, romantic, sad, hopeful and tragic, often within the same paragraph. It goes beyond the premise of great literature, that good people can do bad things and bad people can do good; rather, it explores that area where good works, no matter how nobly or well-intended, result in tragedy. It is also one of the best books from any genre that I have read this year.
James McCaffery, the protagonist of ABSENT FRIENDS, is dead as the novel commences. Jim is one of New York City's bravest, a fire captain who loses his life during a rescue mission in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks upon the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. He is initially spotlighted in a newspaper article as a hero, one whose motto was "first in, last out" and who lived that motto right up until the moment when he drew his last breath.
Harry Randall, a reporter whose best stories are years behind him, stumbles across a lead that causes him to believe that McCaffery may have been involved in a criminal enterprise with a known mobster, a man he had known since childhood. The story, implausible as it seems to the shell-shocked citizenry, is given a bizarre credence when Randall is found dead, the victim of an apparent but suspicious suicide.
The story is picked up by Laura Stone, Randall's protégé and lover, who is determined to not only unravel the mystery of Randall's sudden death, but also to finish the story he was working on. Rozan tells the story from several viewpoints, moving back and forth in time as she describes McCaffery and the circle of friends he had kept since childhood, friends whom he had loved and protected in life and who attempt in turn to protect him in death.
Rozan is perfect here, creating an atmosphere of foreboding, of doom, almost from the first sentence, even though it begins with an account of childhood joy and discovery. The atmospheric tension is sustained throughout and is so strong that one is almost afraid to turn the page, to discover what is to be revealed. That it will end badly is a foregone conclusion, if subtlety so; the only question is one of degree.
ABSENT FRIENDS is one of those rare novels that transcends the limitations of a genre and stands on its own as a novel for the ages. This is a story that, once read, will not be forgotten. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
James McCaffery, the protagonist of ABSENT FRIENDS, is dead as the novel commences. Jim is one of New York City's bravest, a fire captain who loses his life during a rescue mission in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks upon the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. He is initially spotlighted in a newspaper article as a hero, one whose motto was "first in, last out" and who lived that motto right up until the moment when he drew his last breath.
Harry Randall, a reporter whose best stories are years behind him, stumbles across a lead that causes him to believe that McCaffery may have been involved in a criminal enterprise with a known mobster, a man he had known since childhood. The story, implausible as it seems to the shell-shocked citizenry, is given a bizarre credence when Randall is found dead, the victim of an apparent but suspicious suicide.
The story is picked up by Laura Stone, Randall's protégé and lover, who is determined to not only unravel the mystery of Randall's sudden death, but also to finish the story he was working on. Rozan tells the story from several viewpoints, moving back and forth in time as she describes McCaffery and the circle of friends he had kept since childhood, friends whom he had loved and protected in life and who attempt in turn to protect him in death.
Rozan is perfect here, creating an atmosphere of foreboding, of doom, almost from the first sentence, even though it begins with an account of childhood joy and discovery. The atmospheric tension is sustained throughout and is so strong that one is almost afraid to turn the page, to discover what is to be revealed. That it will end badly is a foregone conclusion, if subtlety so; the only question is one of degree.
ABSENT FRIENDS is one of those rare novels that transcends the limitations of a genre and stands on its own as a novel for the ages. This is a story that, once read, will not be forgotten. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
The Truth
25 Mar 2005
Format:Hardcover
This book what a wonderul look at friendship, mistakes and truth. In the beginning of the book, I wanted to find out the truth just as much as reporter Laura. In the end, I felt the same as she did : empty & sad. The truth does not always set you free.
I loved the setting of this book, a few weeks after September 11, in New York City. Although the events of that day have nothing to do per se with the events, it does set them in motion. It's my first book by this author and I was left marvelling at the beautiful prose, the wordly expressions and the images it all brought up for me.
This book deserves a lot more press then it has had so far. Pick it up, you won't regret it.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
strong look at the immediate post 9/11 Manhattan
29 Sep 2004
Format:Hardcover
NYC firefighter Captain James McCaffrey is one of the fallen heroes who died trying to save lives during the tragic collapse of the Twin Towers. James had a heroic history with the department before his death; however reporter Harry Randall paints a darker side of the fallen hero. He insists that two decades ago 9/11, James and his six Staten Island compatriots were involved and probably killed a stepson of a mob kingpin; one of them Mark went to prison.
The four survivors of the magnificent seven, two including Mark having died years ago, rally to protect their deceased childhood leader's reputation. The final foursome look back at what happened, but soon begin to wonder why James consistently and anonymously gave money to the family of Mark. Could James be paying off blackmail, guilt or could he be simply taking care of a friend?
The multiple perspectives, which include flashbacks and the thoughts when alive of individuals now dead, adds complexity, but makes it difficult to keep track of who thinks what of James. Still the backdrop of the aftermath of 9/11 on the City provides a fantastic thriller as the James-Mark relationship is shown up as a minor nothingness in comparison to the humongous tragedy. S.J. Rozan keeps the two outlooks apart so that the audience admires a heroic fallen first responder in a city reeling but already beginning to recover by 9/12. His allegedly dark past seems minuscule with his actions when people needed him. This is a strong look at the immediate post 9/11 Manhattan.
Harriet Klausner
The four survivors of the magnificent seven, two including Mark having died years ago, rally to protect their deceased childhood leader's reputation. The final foursome look back at what happened, but soon begin to wonder why James consistently and anonymously gave money to the family of Mark. Could James be paying off blackmail, guilt or could he be simply taking care of a friend?
The multiple perspectives, which include flashbacks and the thoughts when alive of individuals now dead, adds complexity, but makes it difficult to keep track of who thinks what of James. Still the backdrop of the aftermath of 9/11 on the City provides a fantastic thriller as the James-Mark relationship is shown up as a minor nothingness in comparison to the humongous tragedy. S.J. Rozan keeps the two outlooks apart so that the audience admires a heroic fallen first responder in a city reeling but already beginning to recover by 9/12. His allegedly dark past seems minuscule with his actions when people needed him. This is a strong look at the immediate post 9/11 Manhattan.
Harriet Klausner
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