Review #272: The Ways of the Dead- Neely Tucker

Title: The Ways of the Dead
Author: Neely Tucker
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary: The electrifying first novel in a new crime series from a veteran Washington, D.C., reporter

  Sarah Reese, the teenage daughter of a powerful Washington, D.C. judge, is dead, her body discovered in a slum in the shadow of the Capitol. Though the police promptly arrest three local black kids, newspaper reporter Sully Carter suspects there’s more to the case. Reese’s slaying might be related to a string of cold cases the police barely investigated, among them the recent disappearance of a gorgeous university student.   A journalist brought home from war-torn Bosnia and hobbled by loss, rage, and alcohol, Sully encounters a city rife with its own brand of treachery and intrigue. Weaving through D.C.’s broad avenues and shady backstreets on his Ducati 916 motorcycle, Sully comes to know not just the city’s pristine monuments of power but the blighted neighborhoods beyond the reach of the Metro. With the city clamoring for a conviction, Sully pursues the truth about the murders—all against pressure from government officials, police brass, suspicious locals, and even his own bosses at the paper.    A wry, street-smart hero with a serious authority problem, Sully delves into a deeply layered mystery, revealing vivid portraits of the nation’s capital from the highest corridors of power to D.C.’s seedy underbelly, where violence and corruption reign supreme—and where Sully must confront the back-breaking line between what you think and what you know, and what you know and what you can print. Inspired by the real-life 1990s Princeton Place murders and set in the last glory days of the American newspaper, The Ways of the Dead is a wickedly entertaining story of race, crime, the law, and the power of the media. Neely Tucker delivers a flawless rendering of a fast-paced, scoop-driven newsroom—investigative journalism at its grittiest.  
Review: I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review. I signed up to win this novel on a whim because I am trying to branch out and read other things than YA. I found this one particularly interesting because it reminded me of the shows Cold Case and Criminal Minds. And it didn't disappoint, it reminded me exactly of those. I love that it was inspired be real events as well. I really enjoyed that the story was layered with "who done its" and I really had no idea who the real criminal was until the very end. I had been trying to guess the whole time to no avail. I really loved these characters but I want more of the girls stories. I am a sucker for background. I did love that we got Sully's, but I need more.
I'm excited to read more in this series. I would recommend this to crime and mystery lovers.

About this author

Neely Tucker draws heavily on his two decades reporting on crime and armed conflict from around the globe to create Sully Carter and his complicated moral realm in "The Ways of The Dead."

He was born in Lexington, Miss., one of the poorest places in America,in 1963. He started working for newspapers in Mississippi, then moved to Miami and Detroit before taking postings based in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Filing stories from more than 60 countries, he frequently covered war and violent conflict.When he returned to D.C. in 2000, he covered criminal courts and the fates of former prison inmates. Elmore Leonard, a friend in Detroit, used him as the basis and namesake for a foreign correspondent in "Cuba Libre."

Tucker, now 50, is a staff writer for The Washington Post Sunday Magazine. His memoir, "Love in the Driest Season," was named one of the Top 25 Books of 2004 by Publishers Weekly. It has been published in the U.K., Germany, Australia and Brazil. It has twice been optioned for film development in Los Angeles.

He lives just outside D.C. with his wife, Carol,their three children and one very large Rottweiler. Who is, of course, named Sully.