The Big Goodbye
Publisher Description
THE BIG GOODBYE
A Jimmy "Soldier" Riley Noir Novel
She thinks someone is following her.
The last man she expects to save her is the one whose heart she already broke.
Panama City, Florida. 1943.
The war has transformed the sleepy Gulf Coast into a booming military town overflowing with soldiers, spies, profiteers, and criminals. Jimmy "Soldier" Riley knows all about shattered dreams. A former police detective turned private investigator, he lost his right arm before he ever had the chance to fight overseas—and then lost the only woman he ever loved.
When Lauren Lewis unexpectedly walks back into his office claiming someone is following her, Jimmy wants nothing to do with her.
He lies.
Soon he's trailing her through the shadows of wartime Florida, uncovering blackmail, political corruption, murder, missing persons, and secrets powerful people are willing to kill to protect. Every answer pulls him deeper into a conspiracy—and closer to the woman he's spent the last year trying to forget.
In a city where everyone has something to hide, Jimmy must decide whether love is worth dying for... again.
Rich with unforgettable characters, authentic World War II history, razor-sharp dialogue, romance, action, and classic hard-boiled suspense, THE BIG GOODBYE introduces one of modern noir's most compelling detectives.
History. Mystery. Romance. Action. Thrills. Suspense. Noir.
Perfect for readers who love:
•Raymond Chandler
•Dashiell Hammett
•Ross Macdonald
•Michael Connelly
•Dennis Lehane
•James Lee Burke
•Classic film noir
•Historical detective fiction
Praise for Michael Lister
"Michael Lister writes some of the best hard-boiled prose going. Nothing short of amazing!" — Booklist (Starred Review)
"Lister's hard-edged prose ranks with the best of contemporary noir fiction." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Peppered with snappy dialog, this hard-boiled mystery by award winner Lister is a swell read." — Library Journal
"Tight, taut, terrific PI noir with a classic and fully-realized 1940s setting. Michael Lister is one of those rare, gifted writers who can immerse you with his first sentence. The "Soldier" series is a treasure--don't miss it!" Kelli Stanley
Meet Jimmy "Soldier" Riley.
His toughest case is the woman he never stopped loving.
Read all 5 of the Jimmy "Soldier" Riley Noir Novels
•The Big Goodbye — Can love survive betrayal?
•The Big Beyond — Can hope survive grief?
•The Big Hello — Can love be found again?
•The Big Bout — Can happiness survive the past?
•The Big Blast — Can the family they've built survive a threat larger than either of them?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lister (The Body and the Blood) kicks off a promising private detective series set in 1940s Florida with a tantalizing opening line "I had not yet recovered from shooting Stanley Somerset when I saw her" and rapidly establishes the intriguing persona of narrator Jimmy Riley. Riley, who lost an arm while on the police force, now works as a PI partnered with a former Pinkerton agent. Obsessed with ex-lover Lauren Lewis, he's taken aback when she re-enters his life. Lewis, whose husband is running for mayor of Panama City, appears at his office to ask whether Riley is the person who's been tailing her. While she believes his denial, she declines his offer to help. Unsurprisingly, Riley decides to look into the matter anyway, and soon finds himself squarely in the crosshairs of the police when bodies start piling up. Lister's hard-edged prose ranks with the best of contemporary noir fiction.
