Silent City: A Claire Codella Mystery

by Carrie Smith Narrated by Nicol Zanzarella

Overview

The world of New York City school politics takes a deadly turn when Hector Sanchez, the popular principal of an up-and-coming public school, is murdered. Detective Claire Codella catches the high-profile case while she's still struggling to get back up to speed. This is her first case since taking leave to battle cancer.

Still recovering and still fighting to fit back in at the precinct, Codella must contend with a new partner and an old disease to find out who killed Hector Sanchez. As she investigates, she turns up question after question-and finding the answers may cost Codella her life.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/17/2015
This well-crafted series launch from Smith (Forget Harry) introduces Claire Codella, a New York City detective back on the job after battling lymphoma for several months. Codella, who may look well but is still adjusting to her harrowingly close encounter with death, welcomes the distraction of a bizarre murder case. Someone posed the body of Hector Sanchez, the popular principal of PS 777, a public elementary school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, on his apartment floor to resemble Christ on the cross. With little evidence and plenty of suspects—including certain PS 777 parents, teachers, and fellow administrators—the detective and her team find that every clue brings new revelations about the public and private life of the man touted as the savior of PS 777, which was a failing school until he took over. Codella’s ruminations on death and dying are thought-provoking and never maudlin, providing readers with an insightful glimpse into the emotions and consequences of being a cancer survivor. Agent: Kathy Green, Kathryn Green Literary Agency. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

Winner of three Hopwood awards at University of Michigan
Winner of a Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown Fellowship
Winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction

"Smith’s debut in the genre features snappy prose, a skillfully constructed plot, and a nicely detailed rendering of police work...Fans of procedurals should add Smith to their must-read lists."
—Booklist starred review

"Well-crafted...an insightful glimpse into the emotions and consequences of being a cancer survivor."
—Publishers Weekly

"Smith’s debut grabs you on the first page and makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of the action. The tension increases as the drama unfolds. It is well paced and will leave you anticipating her next book."
—RT Book Reviews

"Claire is a smart protagonist. [Silent City is] tight, well-written and tracked beautifully. I think that readers of Linda Fairstein will enjoy Carrie’s work. She, like Linda, does a great job of describing the city."
—Bookreporter

"The story flows well, the mix of people is amazing, and greed and lust walk among them. Ms. Smith makes the story believable."
—Long and Short Reviews

"This compelling debut kept me up all night. Crime fiction fans, take note: newcomer Carrie Smith belongs at the top of your to-be-read pile!"
—New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub

"Silent City grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go. With a cast of characters whose conflicting interests come together in a seamless tapestry of dishonesty and deception, you’ll be guessing until the tense conclusion of this incredibly taut tale. I can’t wait to see what author Carrie Smith does next. She’s got a new fan."
—Maggie Barbieri, author of the Murder 101 mysteries

"Smith’s New York is a real place and her story’s a good one, but her true superpower is her ability to unravel the messy intricacies of peoples’ interior lives. In Smith’s work — as in life — there are no minor characters.
—S. J. Rozan, Edgar-winning author of Skin of the Wolf

MARCH 2016 - AudioFile

This explosive debut in crime fiction needs no help to win over the listener with its details of gritty New York streets. NYPD Detective Claire Codella’s perspective is made stronger by narrator Nicol Zanzarella. This is demonstrated best when Codella scrolls through the comments on a message board that the victim was reading right before his death and Zanzarella seamlessly transitions between different New York accents. The victim was Hector Sanchez, a public school principal, who wasn’t quite the hero he was believed to be. Can the detective fight for justice after having just fought for her life in a battle with cancer? Zanzarella expertly voices Codella’s doubts as she faces media hungry for answers and defeated faculty members tangled in unsavory business. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169865370
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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