Sweet Sunday - by John Lawton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A standalone from one of England's best-loved literary thriller writers, regularly compared to John Le Carréeacute; and Philip Kerr, Sweet Sunday takes the reader back to the hot, sweaty summer of 1969, the American summer in the American year in the American century.

Turner Raines isn't a typical New York private eye. He's a has-been--among the things he has been are a broken Civil Rights worker, a second-rate lawyer, and a tenth-rate journalist. But in 1969, as the USA is about to land a man on the moon, and the Vietnam War is set to continue to rip the country to pieces, Raines is working as a private detective helping draft-dodgers make it to Canada. As Norman Mailer finalizes his campaign for Mayor of New York, Raines leaves for Toronto, and by the time Raines gets back, his oldest friend is dead, the city has changed forever, and with it, his life. As Raines follows the trail of his friend's death, he finds himself blasted back to the Texas of his childhood, confronted anew with his divided family, and blown into the path of certain people who know about secret goings-on in Vietnam, stories they may now be willing to tell.

Review Quotes

"Sweet Sunday is set in the tumultuous '60s. Lawton has done historical crime before, in his excellent (if slightly creepy) series about Inspector Troy, a WWII-era London police detective. This time we're in the U.S., where private eye Turner Raines has a specialty: tracking down draft dodgers. . . . Lawton convincingly nails the essence of those chaotic years."--Adam Woog, Seattle Times

"A sprawling heartbreaker of a novel."--Literary Review

"A terrific job . . . excellent at catching the mood of that hot summer of 1969 when the Vietnam War had divided families."--Observer (London)

"More than enough verve and wit to ensure page-turning wakefulness."--Sunday Times (UK)

"Has all the virtues that have made his work so interesting: a powerfully drawn, conflicted central character, scene-setting of a rate order and (most of all) the kind of characterization that has invoked comparisons with such luminaries as Graham Greene."--Crime Time

"Atmospheric . . . absorbingly intelligent."--Financial Times

"The structure of the book is complex, with frequent changes of place and time, and the author handles it with skill . . . an absorbing read."--Sunday Telegraph

"Beautifully written, in an adventurous, episodic, elegiac style, entirely suitable to its subject matter, this is a marvelously entertaining read and a delightful piece of history viewed from the perspective of its victims."--Morning Star

About the Author

John Lawton has written seven Inspector Troy thrillers, two standalone novels, and a volume of history. His Inspector Troy novels have been named best books of the year by the "New York Times," "Los Angeles Times," and the "New York Times Book Review." He lives in Derbyshire, England.