The Second Girl, David Swinson
The Second Girl, David Swinson
1 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Second Girl

Author: David Swinson

Narrator: Christopher Ryan Grant

Unabridged: 8 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/07/2016

Synopsis

In this dark and thrilling novel, detective Frank Marr’s secret double life drags him into the center of two mysterious kidnappings—but solving the case might come at the risk of him losing everything. Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret. A high-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his usage from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of an Adams Morgan drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl—possibly connected to the first—but the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light, too. Frank is as slippery and charming an antihero as you've ever met, but he's also achingly vulnerable. The result is a mystery of startling intensity, a tightly coiled thriller where every scene may turn disastrous. The Second Girl is the crime novel of the season, and marks the start of a refreshing series from an author who knows the criminal underworld inside and out. Called One of the Year's Best Crime Novels by The New York Times Book Review and Booklist

Reviews

Goodreads review by James on July 03, 2016

Frank Marr is a retired Washington D.C. detective with two excellent skill sets: he's a great investigator and he's also very good at managing and concealing his long-time drug addiction. After leaving the force early, Frank is now a P.I. who works most often for a defense attorney. To support his a......more

Goodreads review by Truman32 on August 05, 2016

I was almost unable to write a review of David Swinson’s detective novel, The Second Girl, as I was overwhelmed in the agony and hopelessness of being denied yet again another Goodreads Giveaway. This makes 96 rejections in a row—going back over a year. Do the folks at Goodreads simply hate me and w......more

Goodreads review by Toby on November 16, 2015

A gritty detective story with authentic dialogue and a plot like a cold, fast-moving river where bodies are dumped I had the pleasure of an advance read of this authentically-told tale of finding a missing girl on the mean streets of DC. I loved seeing the evolution in David's writing from his first......more

Goodreads review by Linda on May 06, 2016

Frank Marr is an ex-cop, now working as a Private Investigator, sometimes for a Defense Attorney. Frank is a functioning drug addict ... but no one seems to know. He's very good at hiding things. He's also very good at breaking into drug houses to keep his supply of drugs and money. It's during one o......more

Goodreads review by Ellis on July 22, 2016

Frank Marr is a retired detective who was forced out of his job for reasons his former colleagues know nothing about. Since he's no longer a cop he's no longer constrained to the rules that police (ostensibly) have to follow, so he's constantly abducting "suspects" who end up being murdered in the n......more

Quotes

"The Second Girl is a terrific DC crime novel."—@shoedog11 (George Pelecanos)

"Within the first couple of pages, David Swinson pulls off a masterly piece of characterization: he creates a damaged, damned protagonist who no sane person would want to get close to, and then he grabs you by the collar and hauls you into Frank Marr's mind so fast and so thoroughly that none of that matters. The writing throws sparks, and the ferocious plot peels back layer after layer of Frank's character as we - and he - find out how much of his humanity is still left."—Tana French, author of The Secret Place

"Once you're drawn into Frankie Marr's world (in, oh, the first few pages of this fine novel), you won't want to leave. Marr is one of the most compelling and complex protagonists to come along in years. And, not content with just creating a memorable hero, author Swinson also offers up a breakneck plot, which he recounts in muscular prose and with a commanding knowledge of cops, bad guys and the streets of Washington, D.C. Reminiscent of The Wire and the writing of George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane, The Second Girl is a winner."—Jeffrey Deaver, author of The Kill Room

"It's actually refreshing to pick up The Second Girl."—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"This is the DC crime novel you should be reading this summer . . . The delight of The Second Girl is how smoothly its engine runs . . . [Marr's] character just works. He's damaged enough to prove interesting, and self-aware enough not to drive a reader batty."—Hillary Kelly, Washingtonian

"Frank Marr turns the PI mold on its head; he's an addict with a self-serving vigilante streak. But he's also a pretty decent guy deep down who works the streets with expertise, and readers will be fascinated by the day-in-the-life perspective of an unrepentant cocaine addict. A gritty knockout debut that screams for a series."—Booklist (starred)

"An auspicious, and gleefully amoral, series debut . . . Swinson, himself a former D.C. police detective, brings the neighborhood and its criminal underworld to gritty life. . . . Marr may be a disaster on legs, but he gets inside a reader's head with ease. . . . It's good news that this is merely an introduction to a character who plans to return."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"The book's action is forever on the boil."—Jack Batten, Toronto Star

"[A] sweaty, suspenseful saga . . . This book will sell like crazy."—Long Beach Press Telegram

"Like Dennis Lehane and Richard Price, David Swinson gives us a gritty urban crime novel populated with morally complex, utterly believable characters. Swinson knows how to build suspense, and he has a great ear for the patois of the streets, but it is detective Frank Marr's tightrope walk between his noble and darker impulses that makes The Second Girl such a rewarding read from start to finish."—Ron Rash, author of Serena

Awards

  • Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel
  • Barry Award for Best Novel
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