It's dangerous enough when an ordinary college girl turns confidential informant. Even more dangerous when she's smarter than the killer, kingpins, and cops who think they control her.
Honors student Sarie Holland is busted by the local police while doing a favor for her boyfriend. Unwilling to betray him but desperate to avoid destroying her future, Sarie has no choice but to become a "CI" -- a confidential informant.
Philly narcotics cop Ben Wildey is hungry for a career-making bust. The detective thinks he's found the key in Sarie: her boyfriend scores from a mid-level dealer with alleged ties to the major drug gangs.
Sarie turns out to be the perfect CI: a quick study with a shockingly keen understanding of the criminal mind. But Wildey, desperate for results, pushes too hard and inadvertently sends the nineteen-year-old into a death trap, leaving Sarie hunted by crooked cops and killers alike with nothing to save her -- except what she's learned during her harrowing weeks as an informant.
Which is bad news for the police and the underworld. Because when it comes to payback, CI #1373 turns out to be a very quick study...
Download and start listening now!
"A cunning, zippy, plot-twister... both entertaining and dark... Swierczynski keeps the action pulsating along [with] an array of compelling characters, crisp dialogue, and pop culture references... It's those touches [that] make Canary sing."
— Daneet Steffens, Boston Globe
“Riveting…Sarie is a luminous character…Memorable characters, suspense, a native’s portrait of a fascinating city, eruptions of spectacular violence-fans of hard-edged crime will love this one.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Inventive…Breathes fresh life into a familiar plot with shifting perspectives, sly humor [and] a crackerjack pace.”
— Kirkus ReviewsDuane Swierczynski writes the 'new noir,' full of bad choices, courage, and sudden disaster, all delivered at a break-neck pace.
— Charlaine Harris, author of the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels, including Dead Ever AfterThis guy is a great storyteller. I never know what he is going to come up with or where he is going to take me.
— Michael ConnellyCompulsive, written with wry humanity and a deft and thrilling touch for the unexpected.
— Geoffrey Wansell, Daily MailSwierczynski can set a constant, wicked pace.
— Al Lubrano, Philadelphia InquirerSwierczynski's dialogue pops and drives the story through the landscape of Philly, a city he clearly knows, and loves.
— Naben Ruthnum, National PostRiveting . . . Sarie is a luminous character . . . Memorable characters, suspense, a native's portrait of a fascinating city, eruptions of spectacular violence--fans of hard-edged crime will love this one.
— Booklist (starred review)Swierczynski has Philly down cold: his characters prowl the bivouacs and dens of its suburbs and the needle-strewn drug corners and grimy alleyways of the inner city....I can barely tear myself away from this book."
—Liz French, Library Journal
Inventive . . . Breathes fresh life into a familiar plot with shifting perspectives, sly humor [and] a crackerjack pace.
— Kirkus ReviewsSwierczynski knows how to write people. They could be life-long mobsters, crazy drug lords, or college freshmen women, Duane makes each one unique and each character has their own voice.
— Crimespree magazineSwierczynski's writing is sharp, and his plotting is topnotch, but it's his feel for his characters, and Sarie in particular, that sets Canary apart from other thrillers.
— Mystery Scene MagazineBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Duane Swierczynski is the author of the Edgar-nominated and Anthony Award–winning Expiration Date. Prior entries in the Charlie Hardie series have won the Shamus Award and been nominated for Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards; the series is now being developed by Sony Pictures Television. He currently writes the monthly comics series Judge Dredd for IDW and Bloodshot for Valiant and has written various bestselling comics series for Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse.
Casey Holloway is an actor and voice-over artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. After earning her BFA in theater performance from Columbus State University, she signed on as a company member and tour actor with the Lexington Children’s Theater. She is now a company member with the Sketchworks comedy troupe and is working in film, television, and voice-over. Her audiobook credits include How to Rock Braces and Glasses and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.
George Bryant is an actor who has appeared in Law & Order, The Sopranos, The Devil Wears Prada, and many other films and television shows. He Lives in New York.