Pericles “Perry” Christo

Created by Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris, CJ Box, Mark Billingham, Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Alafair Burke, Stephen L. Carter, Marcia Clark, Max Allan Collins, James Grady, Heather Graham, Bryan Gruley, Val McDermid, SJ Rozan, Dana Stabenow, Lisa Unger, and Sarah Weinman.

Yet another of those sprawling, episodic, collaborative mystery efforts so popular of late, perpetrated by a slew of suspects, this one actually is a private eye novel, with chapters contributed by Mary Higgins Clark, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris, CJ Box, Mark Billingham, Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Alafair Burke, Stephen L. Carter, Marcia Clark, Max Allan Collins, James Grady, Heather Graham, Bryan Gruley, Val McDermid, SJ Rozan, Dana Stabenow, Lisa Unger and Sarah Weinman, plus Lee Child, who chips in an introduction. The whole thing was edited by Jonathan Santlofer.

The private eye in question is PERICLES “PERRY” CHRISTO, a one-time NYPD homicide cop who’s been running on fumes since a corruption scandal cost him his career and his marriage.

So when a loaded Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla snaps her fingers, offering what seems like a no-brainer wandering daughter job Perry jumps at the chance.

But tracking down the trouble prone teenage heiress isn’t quite the slam-dunk he expected — it turns out everyone has a different reason for finding Angelina — or making sure she’s never found.

These sort of multiple-author efforts are a mixed bag, but any rough spots or jagged inconsistencies of tone are usually forgiven, smoothed over by the fact that they’re usually done to benefit some charity or another. For this one, editor Jonathan Santlofer arranged to donate any royalties in excess of editor and contributor compensation to Safe Horizon, a provider of services to victims of violence and abuse.

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Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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