Samaritan

By: Richard Price

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

After a lucrative television writing career comes to an abrupt end, ex–high school teacher Ray Mitchell returns to the New Jersey city of his birth—to rethink his life, reconnect with his teenage daughter and to spread the wealth on the housing project that reared him. He begins teaching again, embarks on an affair with a married woman from the old neighborhood and becomes a mentor to a former student recently released from jail.

Then, disaster: he is found beaten nearly to death in his own apartment. He knows who did it, but he’s not talking, and he refuses to press charges.It is up to Detective Nerese Ammons—a childhood acquaintance from the projects—to get Ray to tell her what happened.

Alternating between investigations of the people in Ray’s life most likely to do him harm and listening to his fevered ramblings about their shared past as he slips in and out of consciousness, Nerese is charged not only with uncovering the perpetrator of this assault but with understanding what kind of victim is more afraid of the truth than of his potential murderer.

The Washington Post Book World has hailed Richard Price as having “the best equipment a novelist can have—that combination of muscularity, insight and compassion we might call heart.” Samaritan is an electrifying story of crime and punishment, of character and place, of children and their keepers—a novel of literary suspense that explores what happens when, caught up in the drama of one’s own generosity, too little is given, too little is understood and the results threaten to prove both tragic and deadly.

Listen to Terry Gross's Fresh Air interview with Richard Price.

©2003 Richard Price (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A whodunit with substance and suspense…Price is known for terrific dialogue, and there are moments when you feel as if you are listening to [his characters] speak, not just reading words on a page…It’s the most interesting kind of mystery–one in which the villain is not so easy to spot even when we know who committed the crime.”–Anne Stephenson, USA Today

“Engaging…provocative…Price has a fine ear for the subtle tension between sentimentality and real devotion, and he understands the way that chronic black poverty plays into the needs of ‘the selflessly selfish.’ If this is a novel that raps the knuckles of a helping hand, it’s nonetheless one to grab on to.”–Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor

“It’s a tribute to Price’s originality that [his] characters become as distinct and real as they do…Well-intentioned Ray [is] enigmatic and fresh…Price has a great way with dialogue, [and] a better-developed-than-usual sense of structure. Samaritan unfolds on twin time tracks, [and the] carpentry works…Price’s revelation of the culprit is absolutely consistent with his characters and thematically right on the money…Anyone who thinks fiction or literature too small a shelf to include the other stands to learn a lot from Richard Price.”–David Kipen, San Francisco Chronicle

More than a crime story

There are many kinds of addictions. While Ray has experienced a drug addiction in the past, his current addiction is helping others. Like most addicts, Ray either doesn't think about the consequences of his actions or doesn't care. This is a surprising mystery with a message for all of us in its answer. It explores not only the mystery of the crime that has been committed but as we watch Ray make one bad choice after another, we also explore the mystery of the human psyche and why we do the things we do.

While the message behind the story is quite memorable, and the author's playing out of the story is interesting, I didn't get a real feel for any of the characters -- particularly Danielle. I didn't develop a sense of who she was and could not even form a mental picture of her. Also, his relationship with her was ambiguous and seemed unbelievable to me.

Overall, however, I felt this was a thought-provoking book and well worth the listen.

Good read with a twist

The way the story was laid out keept me interested to the end. The ending was revealed in the beginning and I had to keep listening to find out how he got into that situation in the first place. I was very surprised to find out what really happened.

Excellent read

Enjoyed the author's refreshing style of character and scene portrayal. The reader's unhurried delivery lets everything sink in just right while moving story along and results in a realistic and thought provoking story.

Hmmmm

Great "who dun it" book.