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Overview
When John Sanders, Jr., learns that his father has been murdered, his only regret is that he didn't pull the trigger himself. Yet despite his rage at his father for a lifetime of abuse, he becomes obsessed with finding the killer.
But as a string of dead ends and violent encounters leave Junior no closer to any answers, his relationship with his beloved sister crumbles, while his affair with an old high school sweetheart wreaks havoc on his fracturing psyche. Only when a chance for revenge finally arrives must Junior decide whether he will continue the chain of violence or accept the challenge of a new beginning.
Synopsis
When John Sanders, Jr., learns that his father has been murdered, his only regret is that he didn't pull the trigger himself. Yet despite his rage at his father for a lifetime of abuse, he becomes obsessed with finding the killer.
But as a string of dead ends and violent encounters leave Junior no closer to any answers, his relationship with his beloved sister crumbles, while his affair with an old high school sweetheart wreaks havoc on his fracturing psyche. Only when a chance for revenge finally arrives must Junior decide whether he will continue the chain of violence or accept the challenge of a new beginning.
Publishers Weekly
Superb prose and psychological insights distinguish Loehfelm's debut. Because Staten Island bartender John Sanders Jr. was regularly physically abused as a child by his father, he reacts at first with indifference to the news that John Senior has been killed, execution style, by an unknown assailant. The death has a greater impact on Sanders's sister, Julia, who returns from Boston to make the necessary arrangements and to attempt to reconnect with her brother to create some sense of family from their mutual childhood trauma. While Sanders channels some of his frustration and anger into a search for answers, the emphasis is on family relationships rather than mystery solving. Loehfelm excels in making Staten Island itself a palpable presence, brilliantly evoking the reek of the world's largest landfill that gives the novel its name, as well as the despair of the local residents. (Aug. 21) Note: Loehfelm is the winner of Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award, a contest in which PW reviewed manuscript submissions.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Superb prose and psychological insights distinguish Loehfelm's debut. Because Staten Island bartender John Sanders Jr. was regularly physically abused as a child by his father, he reacts at first with indifference to the news that John Senior has been killed, execution style, by an unknown assailant. The death has a greater impact on Sanders's sister, Julia, who returns from Boston to make the necessary arrangements and to attempt to reconnect with her brother to create some sense of family from their mutual childhood trauma. While Sanders channels some of his frustration and anger into a search for answers, the emphasis is on family relationships rather than mystery solving. Loehfelm excels in making Staten Island itself a palpable presence, brilliantly evoking the reek of the world's largest landfill that gives the novel its name, as well as the despair of the local residents. (Aug. 21) Note: Loehfelm is the winner of Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award, a contest in which PW reviewed manuscript submissions.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
The setting of Loehfelm's debut novel is Staten Island, NY, where the author himself, an ex-pizza joint manager, grew up. Thirtysomething bartender Junior Sanders answers a knock at the door and learns from the police that his father's been shot dead on the street. Conflicted because his father was abusive toward him, Junior sets off, reeling, on a search for the killer. Already dreadfully slow as an audio title, this production is further deadened by Obie® Award-winning actor/narrator Gary Wilmes's monotone presentation. Recommended only for public libraries on Staten Island. [Audio clip available through
—Douglas C. Lord