Tonight I Said Goodbye

By: Michael Koryta

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the remarkable debut mystery from the winner of the 2003 St. Martin’s Press/Private Eye Writers of America Prize for Best First Private Eye Novel.

Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his home in an upscale Cleveland suburb, and his wife and six-year-old daughter are missing. Weston’s father insists that private investigators Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard take the case to exonerate his son and find his granddaughter and daughter-in-law. As they begin to work, they discover there is much more to the situation than has been described in the prevalent media reports. There are rumors of gambling debts and extortion, and a group of Russians with ties to organized crime who don’t appreciate being investigated—a point they make clear with baseball bats.

With some assistance from newspaper reporter Amy Ambrose, Perry and Pritchard believe they are making swift progress. But then they are warned off the investigation by a millionaire real estate tycoon and the FBI. Just when they feel they are closing in on a possible source of answers, another murder forces them to change direction in the case.

©2004 Michael Koryta (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A terrific, first-class debut full of suspense, tension, tricks, and charm. If you like Spenser and Hawk, or Elvis and Joe, or Myron and Win, you’re going to love this.” (Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author)

“An incredibly fresh private-investigator novel...Koryta...emerges fully formed in his first effort.” ( Chicago Tribune)

“This riveting detective novel should delight fans looking for new talent.” ( Publishers Weekly)

A by-the-numbers crime novel

A fun listen. The main characters have a great partnership which is central to the book. There were some funny lines in it that made me laugh out loud. I would listen to more books by Koryta and think that this series has very good potential.

don't want to say goodbye

to this author. solid mystery...interesting characters...plain good writing. looking forward to the next book in the series.

Great debut - Looking forward to next in series

First off, I like Scott Brick. Yes, he is deliberate in his speech and perhaps a little slow. But I generally listed at 1.5 or 1.25 speed and I think it works well for Mr. Brick. I like how well he delineates the characters -- especially Lincoln and Joe. And I like his subtlety.

As far as the author -- I think he is really quite good. At times he overwrites in this book, but that may be a symptom of his youth. Having said that he develops the plot, offers many twists, builds tension and offers a satisfying ending. What more could one ask of a mystery? For me the answer is character development. It is good, but not great. Good enough to leave me wanting more, though, and isn't that enough? I have read many novels and never went on to read more in the series or even other novels by the author involving other characters. There are many that do not leave me wanting more, and Michael Koryta does. I am writing this long after I read the book -- and I have now completed the second and third in the series. Mr Koryta did enough in book one to keep me reading. That makes it a pretty good first effort in my opinion.

Little slow to develop but worth the credit

Enjoy Michael Koryta and love Scott Brick! Little slow in parts but worth the credit.

Another Good Book By Kortya!

This is the second book I've read by Kortya, and it was another great one!

The author has an ability to craft interesting, fairly complex plotlines. There are a lot of moving parts, though this story was somewhat predictable. That said, still a great story.

One thing I've noticed about Kortya's books is that the storyline takes precedence over deep character development. As in all things, to create a book of manageable size, sacrifices need to be made. Characters seem to be what Kortya chose. This is not bad since the plots are solid, but something to keep in mind. If you like deep character development (think Stephen King as an extreme example), these books may not be your favorite.

Also, some may not like some of the plot "twists" and think they happen too much. I'm not in that camp, but this book got 4 stars because much of what happened was foreseeable.

Scott Brick, as always, was great.

-NOTE: I take the ratings literally: "Love it", "It's Great", "Pretty Good", "It's OK", and "Not for me". So even books I like may get a three or four star rating.-

The relationship between the two partners 

I really liked the performer. The voice was right, and he did enough subtle changes that you could tell which character was speaking without him, doing an out and out character change. There were a few times when I rolled my eyes for lapses of logic in the story. But it was all well enough done that it was worthwhile to suspend belief a little bit. 

Confusing

The first two chapters were OK then it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo until the 14th chapter, I think then it got interesting....in between those first 12 chapters, there were just too many names to keep up with....the narration was great, and the ending was just good. I would recommend this book for someone who has the patients and pencil and paper to write down all the names and characters, all in all it was worth it..

Narrator disappointing

Would you try another book from Michael Koryta and/or Scott Brick?

The narrator sounded tired and old. It was somewhat depressing. The story was good however but I felt the "twist" at the end came out of nowhere and left me thinking "what did I miss"

What didn’t you like about Scott Brick’s performance?

Boring voice, sounded tired and old.

Great ending though I suspected it.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yeah it was a fun read. It was not as good as some but the ending was great.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The end.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene in the resort with the Russians when LP jumped from the balcony.

Was Tonight I Said Goodbye worth the listening time?

Yes

Avid Audible listener - Excellent book!

I listen to a lot of mysteries and thrillers and legal books and action books and this book was excellent from beginning to end and I highly recommend it! Entertaining from beginning to end. Spend a credit or the cash if you get the deal; this was the last day (4.95) for Scott Brick narrations. Either way it's a really good mystery thriller!