Manhattan Nocturne

by: Colin Harrison

Published by: Picador

Reviewed by C. L. Rossman

Porter Wren lives off the grime and guts of the city: he sells violence, pathos and vicarious thrills through his newspaper column, and he searches for the human side of Manhattan’s underworld–the story of a girl shot while holding her wedding dress, the story of a man who jumps out of a building holding a baby… or

But when Wren runs into a beautiful woman, Caroline Crowley, at a billionaire’s party, he is led off on a trail of sexual obsession and blackmail. Caroline’s husband, brilliant young playwright Simon Crowley, was found dead under a demolished building, murdered under mysterious circumstances. But before he died, he hid an incriminating tape of his wife and the billionaire Hobbs, which Hobbs wants back, no matter what the cost. And so in helping Caroline, and being seduced by her, Wren leads us into a twisted tale of unsolved murder and bizarre acts.

Harrison does a masterful job blending characters and storyline. He tells us about Porter Wren in Wren’s own words–normally a loving husband and devoted father, he falls easily under Caroline’s spell–and tells us why, in a way that explains why normal men stray. We also meet the playwright Simon Crowley, post-mortem, with his penchant for filming everything about the city, from the conversations of ordinary people to extraordinary things–include his own murder. Caroline has set a bloodhound loose on the trail of more than one missing film, and despite his obsession with her, Wren will not stop until he unearths every last clue.

Harrison has written other thriller like The Finder and Afterburn, and his style is so intense, his works so well-plotted, that he deserves his international bestselling status. He’s a new author for me, and all I can say is that I want to get hold of more of his books and dive in for the sheer pleasure of losing myself in the story.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are not familiar with this author, then get started reading him. He ’s worth your attention.

Author’s Web site under construction: www.ColinHarrison.com