TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE

by Michael Koryta

For a first novel, written when Michael Koryta was only 21, many members of the group felt the book showed the author's immaturity as a writer and were surprised the novel was a nominee for the Edgar Award. Others felt he did a decent job for a first novel and looked forward to his growth.

Comments:

• No characters you could hang onto; characters were one-dimensional.
• Consistently boring.
• Not good enough for a movie of the week.
• Entertaining, fast read — not literature.
• Elements of noir reflecting the author's stated influence by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Robert Crais.
• A "plus" that the female character was not a victim.
• Overall the book was not bad, just not very good.
  
  2-1/2 STARS