Last Dance
by Jeffrey Fleishman
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Pub Date Nov 10 2020 | Archive Date Jan 27 2021
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Description
The US election has been hacked, and a Russian prima ballerina is found dead in her downtown loft. LA detective Sam Carver pieces together evidence in a cold war that never really thawed.
A famous Russian ballerina is found dead in a downtown LA loft. No marks, no bruises. The suspects are many: spies, hit men, a gunrunner, and one of Hollywood’s most powerful and mysterious film producers. Detective Sam Carver becomes entangled in a perilous reignited Cold War between Moscow and Washington. He chases leads from Europe to Africa.
But Carver faces other demons, too. He is haunted by Dylan Cross, a killer who got away a year earlier. She knows his secrets, whispers to him in his dreams. His obsession with Dylan threatens his new case and his relationship with Lily Hernandez, a uniform cop who wants to work as his partner.
Last Dance explores dangers within and without, and how we reconcile the damage, love, and things lost, in a Los Angeles that is as tempting and alluring as it is cruel and sinister.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“Carver is a complex, laconic, melancholy figure, and Fleishman…paints him in nuanced detail and lovely prose. Equally well evoked is the city itself. We’re deep in Raymond Chandler territory here, a land of mean streets and tarnished heroes.”
-Seattle Times
“[An] ambitious novel…Carver’s investigation offers flashes of noir-movie intrigue…[Readers] will find plenty to enjoy in the engaging plot.”
-Booklist
“[An] impressive sequel…A hard-boiled, world-weary hero in the classic tradition of Philip Marlowe and Lew Archer, Carver will also appeal to fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch. Fleishman is on his way to becoming a master of contemporary LA noir.”
-Publishers Weekly
“The detective on the case, the LAPD’s Sam Carver, talks a great game, alternating between laconic dialogue and appealingly quotable reflections as he fights off his memories of Dylan Cross.”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Last Dance is a perfect mystery novel—you don’t know who is good and who is bad and maybe you never find out, just like in real life—and Fleishman’s Los Angeles is dark, brutal, and somehow still filled with moments of profound beauty: a song, a ballerina’s perfect line, a memory of better days. You’ll be taken away. And If something bad happens to me, I want Sam Carver on the case.”
-Tod Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of Gangster Nation and Living Dead Girl
“Inside a story of murder, longing, and discovery, Jeffrey Fleishman has gracefully woven a story about American dreams, Cold War fears and the changing nature of noir’s most hallowed ground—Los Angeles.”
-Tom Rosenstiel, author of Oppo and Shining City
“Last Dance pulled me in and wouldn’t let go. The writing shines like broken glass. The story is fresh, sharp, and haunting.”
-Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award–winning author of The Dark Corners of the Night
“In this page-turning follow-up to My Detective, Jeffrey Fleishman again brings us his acute journalist’s eye, lyrical turn of phrase, and talent for creating vivid and believable characters. From the international world of ballet to the grit and gorgeousness of Los Angeles, the plot twists keep surprising to the very end.”
-Lindsay Marcott, author of The Producer’s Daughter and Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost
Marketing Plan
National and regional reviews and features
Social media and book trailer campaign
Mystery-fiction buzz mailing
Mystery-fiction digital and print advertising
Bookseller and library show marketing
Also available from Blackstone Publishing: My Detective, the introduction of Detective Sam Carver
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781982517328 |
| PRICE | $25.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Andrew T, Reviewer
Great follow up sophomore novel in this series. Sam Carver is (sort of) recovered from his experiences with an obsessive serial killer and is ready to take on new cases. A murdered Russian ballerina leads him down all sorts of paths to solving the case with connections to Hollywood, the mob, and presidential election fraud.
I enjoyed this one just as much as the first book. I loved the hints of Dylan Cross from the first book and looking forward to more in the series!
Kate C, Reviewer
I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I enjoyed Sam Carver's character. This book mentions Berlin and it is set Los Angeles. The way they described Berlin makes you want to visit there. It had my attention from the very first page. The pacing of this thriller is great. TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ mentioning of RAPE, ALCOHOL, AND DRUG ABUSE. With every twist and every turn it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I never would have thought that character did it. You guys need to get this book to figure out who did it. This book will be in stores on November 10, 2020 for $25.99.
Kaye W, Reviewer
This book is many things. It is a love ballad sung to Los Angeles. One of author Jeffrey Fleishman's characters makes films, all of which "are about loss," according to another character. So, too, this book -- it's about loss.
But above all else, Last Dance is a cracking good story. Sam Carver is not your typical detective. Indeed, none of his characters are typical. They are a complex, intelligent group of iconoclasts, including a ballerina, a choreographer, a fashion designer and a couple of spies.
The pace of the book is tense but not artificially so, as Carver unpicks the convoluted, international connections between his characters. There are two apparent-yet-suspicious suicides, a body stolen from a morgue, and a good bit of cross-jurisdictional competition and cooperation.
It is the writing, though, that sets this book apart -- sometimes almost metaphysical, as in: "We were raised in the church. We drifted from it, but we know the narrow space between the sacred and the profane."
Last Dance is as good as any noir out there, but so much more. Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance readers copy.
Julie B, Reviewer
Wow, NetGalley, thanks for that!
So very Los Angeles, in a good way! The first-person writing is intense and immediate, the characters and dialogue nearly perfect. Extra points for The Last Bookstore in downtown LA, all the wonderfully specific (accurate!) references!
I should've seen that it's a second book and I'm not sure how I feel about Sam Carver but I love the writing and will likely read more Fleishman.
Katie B, Reviewer
4.5 stars
Last Dance is a tautly written homage to film noir, a hardboiled detective story that will grip you by the throat and refuse to let go.
The detail to which Fleishman goes in describing the world of the book is absolutely engrossing and completely pulls you in to the underbelly of Los Angeles. Even the way that he structures sentences gives breath to his protagonist Sam Carver. I had not read the first book in this series when I picked this up, but it did not take long at all for me to get swept up in the action.
The only disappointment for me was that I guessed one of the pretty major twists pretty early on, but the main case had me guessing until the last minute. I tend more towards thrillers than crime fiction in my normal reading, but I might have to pick up some more detective stories in the New Year!
Thank you to NetGalley and to Blackstone Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest reivew!
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