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Dead Anyway Audiobook
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(3.07) - 193 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Imagine this: You have a nice life. You love your beautiful, successful wife. You’re an easygoing guy working out of your comfortable Connecticut home. The world is an interesting, pleasant place. Then in seconds, it’s all gone. You’re still alive, but the world thinks you’re dead. And now you have to decide: make it official, or go after the evil that took it all away from you.
Arthur Cathcart, market researcher and occasional finder of missing persons, decides to live on and fight by doing what he knows best—figuring things out without revealing his status as a living, breathing human being. Much easier said than done in the post-9/11 world, where everything about yourself and all the tools you need to live a modern life are an open book. How do you become a different person? How do you finance an elaborate scheme without revealing yourself? How, as a dead man, do you force a reckoning with the worst people on earth?
Mystery writer Chris Knopf, who has examined complex what-ifs in eight other novels, tackles these intriguing questions in a tale of mindless venality, phantom identity, impossible obstacles, and the triumph of intellect and imagination over brute force.
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"Dead Anyway by Chris Knopf is a fun read. It is quick and easy and always interesting. It is no doubt a page turner in the true sense and will make a great series. The main character is a professional researcher. One day he comes home to find his wife and a stranger. The stranger makes his wife sign some papers and then shoots them both in the head. The main protagonist,Arthur Cathcart, lives and decides to fake his death. He then goes into pursuit of the person who killed his wife. It is very interesting to see how he goes about finding the killer though it does seem kind of too easy for him to track the culprit down. In fact, that is my only complaint. I hope any other books would find him being tested a bit more. Other than that, the book is a fun and quick read."
— Jeff (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Knopf…reaches a new imaginative peak with market researcher Arthur Cathcart in this outstanding revenge novel.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Dead Anyway is a perfectly rendered murder mystery with enough unpredictable twists and turns to satisfy even the most hardened aficionado of the genre. Dry humor is scattered throughout. This offbeat story told in the first-person is executed with faultless page-turner pacing and panache.”
— New York Journal of Books -
“Knopf’s tale is suspenseful from the get-go, with an intellectual, yet visceral, vigilantism coursing through the pages. In a major change in direction, the author of the Sam Acquillo Hamptons mysteries never misses an angle and manages to weave a bit of humor into a storyline that could have been purely dark. This bodes well for a really good series and is reminiscent of Richard Stark’s (a.k.a. Donald Westlake) Parker novels with a dose of Grosse Pointe Blank.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Knopf, whose Hamptons-based series featuring Sam Aquillo and Jackie Swaitkowski effectively mixes comedy and mystery, goes a different way here, with a high-energy, very savvy thriller…The novel generates enormous tension, and the mild-mannered number-cruncher is definitely an appealing hero. It’s unclear if the novel is intended to be a stand-alone, or if it will launch a new series, but we’d very much like to see more of the engaging Catchart.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Nothing in Knopf’s reflective, quietly loopy Hamptons mysteries starring Sam Acquillo and Jackie Swaitkowski will have prepared his fans for this taut, streamlined tale of a man investigating his own murder…An absorbing update of the classic film, D.O.A., that finds its author so completely in the zone that not a word is wasted, and the story seems to unfold itself without human assistance.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Should be on your reading list…Expect a literate, witty murder mystery and some sly comments along the way about the social and criminal scene in Connecticut. You probably won’t expect the hero, a change for Knopf from the sexy, cynical, hard-drinking protagonist who drives his earlier books, which are set in the Hamptons, but you’ll admire Arthur Cathcart…Fun book.”
— NPR
Awards
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A Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Book in Fiction, September 2012
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A 2012 Publishers Weekly Best Book: Mystery / Thriller
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One of the 2012 Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books: Mysteries
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A 2013 Nero Award Finalist
Dead Anyway Listener Reviews
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" Interesting premise (survivor of an assassination which left his wife dead) but the main character just not that interesting. Also - LOTS of details, not enough action. "
— Pamela, 2/3/2014 -
" I enjoyed reading this book because The author Keeps it moving. There is always something happening. It's one of those books you do not want to put down. I'm getting ready to read some of the other books by him so I recommend reading this book if you just want to Sit back and have some quick moving entertainment. "
— Csrabb, 1/24/2014 -
" Awesome. Perfect beginning and lead in to the next book in the series. Totally captivated the whole way through. One of the best this year! "
— Brandon, 1/18/2014 -
" First time I have read this author. Very good, lots of unexpected developments. "
— Mary, 12/26/2013 -
" Knopf kept it interesting enough to want to read the sequel. "
— Matt, 12/17/2013 -
" I'm always glad to find a new author whose writing style I like, so I will be reading additional titles by Chris Knopf. "
— Tracy, 12/15/2013 -
" A book that is intriguing and grabs one pretty much from the start. Then, all drawn into the story one just can't put the book down. A good read. "
— Any, 12/6/2013 -
" I loved this book. It had lots of fascinating detail along with suspense. I hope his next one is as good. "
— Sue, 8/9/2013 -
" A very creative book by Chris Knopf. I have enjoyed his previous work and this is no exception. "
— J.J., 6/22/2013 -
" Great book! Combines vintage Dick Francis' way of making you interested in jobs you know nothing about, heist yarns and a strong dash of The Count of Monte Cristo. I was very pleasantly surprised by this non-descript book. "
— Michael, 2/16/2013 -
" So good! At first I thought I wouldn't like it because it seemed a bit matter-of-fact. Eventually I grew to like this though. Somehow Arthur Cathcart reminded me of Batman and Liam Neeson in Taken mixed together. I can't wait for the sequel. There was such a good cliffhanger at the end of this one! "
— Sarah, 1/17/2013 -
" A solid modern noir. "
— Andrew, 12/21/2012 -
" Had a great beginning...got me hooked. But slowed down midway through. "
— Eileen, 11/26/2012 -
" Had a hard time getting through this book. Just not interesting enough. A little tedious and implausible. "
— Patricia, 9/26/2012
About Chris Knopf
Chris Knopf’s mystery novels have received exceptional awards and accolades, with critics likening his character Sam Aquillo to Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, and Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, while repeatedly comparing Knopf’s work to that of Elmore Leonard, John D. MacDonald, and Ross Macdonald. Two Time was one of thirteen mysteries listed as recommended summer reading in the New York Times Book Review, and Publishers Weekly chose it as one of the “Best 100 Books for 2006.” Head Wounds won the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Mystery. Dead Anyway was listed on the 2012 Best Fiction lists of both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. Knopf is a sailor, cabinetmaker, and advertising executive in Connecticut. He and his wife Mary also spend considerable time at their Long Island home in Southampton.
About Donald Corren
Donald Corren is an audiobook narrator and a New York actor with leading credits on and Off-Broadway, as well as numerous television appearances. On Broadway, he costarred with Judy Kaye in the critically acclaimed production of Souvenir, and replaced Harvey Fierstein in the seminal production of Torch Song Trilogy. His Off-Broadway appearances include The Soap Myth, Dietrich & Chevalier, The Last Sunday in June, Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, and the original New York production of Tomfoolery. His television credits include eight seasons as forensic tech Medill on NBC’s Law & Order, as well as his current role as Dr. Kurian on Syfy’s Z Nation.