Rating: 
Summary: A Haunting and Compelling Work that Transcends Genres
Review: I was about a third of the way through MISSION FLATS when I put the book down and picked up the phone. I started calling friends in town, then emailed a few more scattered here and there across the country and around the world, telling them that I was in the middle of a new novel that, in my opinion, would be this year's PRESUMED INNOCENT or A SIMPLE PLAN --- one of those novels that seems to spring from out of nowhere into the national consciousness. More than one friend asked how I could know that before finishing the book; I couldn't answer them. I just knew when I reached page 100 that MISSION FLATS was going somewhere special.William Landay is a former district attorney and undoubtedly there are a couple of his former colleagues who form the template for at least one of the characters in MISSION FLATS. The main focus of the story is Ben Truman, who at the age of 24 finds himself walking unsteadily in the shoes of his father, Claude. Ben is the police chief of Versailles --- pronounced Ver-Sales, as we quickly find out, a municipality that is more than a hamlet but less than a village in rural Maine. He inherited the job from his father, a bear of a man who people still refer to as The Chief. Ben never wanted the job and never even wanted to be a policeman. He was content with his graduate studies in Boston until family circumstances called him home. He is stuck in the ennui of his surroundings, his job, and a relationship where the emphasis is on "physical fulfillment" until the discovery of a body in a summer cabin changes everything. The body belongs to Robert M. Danziger, Assistant District Attorney of Sussex County. Danziger is the victim of foul play and there is an immediate suspect: Harold Braxton, a Boston gang leader heavily involved in drug dealing. Danziger's body bears the trademark of Braxton's execution. Given that Danziger was in the middle of prosecuting one of Braxton's underlings and that Braxton was seen in the area prior to the discovery of Danziger's body, Braxton's culpability is a foregone conclusion. Ben Truman finds the investigation slipping away from him, his territorial jurisdiction being usurped by Maine state law enforcement and the long arm of big city Boston jurisdiction. Truman, in an apparent face-saving gesture, goes to Boston with John Kelly, a crusty, retired Boston homicide detective whose daughter happens to be a co-worker of Danziger's. Truman appears to be a fish out of water, a barely wet behind-the-ears rural policeman thrust into the big city. Truman however is anything but a yokel. He demonstrates in strange, unexpected ways that there is an unanticipated depth to him that makes it unwise to underestimate him. As the hunt for Braxton proceeds, the trail begins to lead into the past, into the murder of a Boston policeman some 15 years previously and the suicide of a cop-killer a quarter-century before. The link between those incidents, Danziger's killing, Braxton, and the Boston police department form a complex web that becomes more fascinating and intriguing with every page --- with every word --- of MISSION FLATS. Landay is a marvel; he imbibes into MISSION FLATS and its characters a life missing from so many novels and does it all with nary a misstep. Ah, one comment on that. Landay drops hints along the way that point to where he is going. I mistook a couple of those to be minor, first-time author errors. They weren't. They were guideposts, disguised as bushes. No matter how carefully you read MISSION FLATS, however, to guess the ending is nigh impossible. And the ending resonates with dilemmas, moral and practical, that will keep you thinking long into the night. MISSION FLATS is a haunting and compelling work that transcends genres and will make William Landay a household name in homes where great literature of any stripe is valued and treasured. This is a novel to be read, studied, discussed and enjoyed repeatedly. Highest possible recommendation. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub from Bookreporter.com
Rating: 
Summary: An Engaging Police Procedural
Review: Landay's debut novel is an easy-to-read, mildly suspenseful, and well-written tale of guilt, family, and murder. Ben, our hero, is a small-town police chief in a Maine village. He's young and intelligent, and he's never realized his full potential in a town so quiet that a broken pool cue is the biggest crime of the year. So when Boston ADA Robert Danziger's body is found several days after a gunshot wound to the head on his patch, Ben takes the opportunity to get swept up in a big-city gangster killing.
He learns much about himself in the process--by his actions during the case, his relationship to the victim and other members of the investigating team, and from a retired police officer who sees Ben's potential as a thoughtful enforcer of the law.
Landay's writing flows easily and is uncomplicated. However, just when you're breezing along with Ben through the bullet-ridden streets of Mission Flats or walking along the shores of a Maine lake in autumn, you'll run across a passage that is truly sublime. I'd quote it here, but I can't do it justice--you'll just have to run across it when you read the book--it's a description of a family's suffering as the mother slowly deteriorates from Alzheimer's disease. The story is written in a narrative style that is engrossing and engaging. Landay's just getting warmed up as a suspense writer, and I sincerely look forward to his next effort.
Rating:
Summary: Dark and demanding thriller
Review: Small-town police chief Ben Truman discovers the body of a Boston prosecutor in a deserted cabin. Ben teams up with Boston police to investigate the murder. It leads him to the seedy Mission Flats district where the now-dead prosecutor was investigating several gang-style murders. Before the investigation ends, death and betrayal spanning over twenty years are revealed. This is a very complex and emotionally involving debut novel from William Landay. The first third of the book was a little slow going because there were three deaths taking place approximately ten years apart. It got a little confusing about which characters belonged to which time period. Once you get all the characters straight you are in for a flawless plot that questions more than just right versus wrong. The characters are colored in shades of gray, rich in dimension, and possess all the frailties of humanity. You never know if they are speaking the truth as they see it or the truth as it really is. Here you have a novel with a plot within a plot and secrets within secrets. Excellent debut novel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Audio version read by Ron Livingston--OUTSTANDING!
Review: This is the only audio book that I've listened to twice, but it was so good the first time that I couldn't resist. Author Landay is an excellent writer who has a knack for describing things in such a way that the reader (or listener in my case) feels like a fly on the wall of a reality. Ron Livingston (he has starred in several movings including my personal favorite, "Office Space") reads the book and is one of the best narrators I've ever heard. He develops a different voice and accent (most of the characters in the book are from Boston so accents are an important part of the dialog) for each of the many characters and does a fabulous job of acting the scenes. The combination of Landay's writing and Livingston's reading puts this book on the very top of my favorites list. Worth every penny I spent and more!
Rating:
Summary: Audio version read by Ron Livingston--OUTSTANDING!
Review: This is the only audio book that I've listened to twice, but it was so good the first time that I couldn't resist. Author Landay is an excellent writer who has a knack for describing things in such a way that the reader (or listener in my case) feels like a fly on the wall of a reality. Ron Livingston (he has starred in several movings including my personal favorite, "Office Space") reads the book and is one of the best narrators I've ever heard. He develops a different voice and accent (most of the characters in the book are from Boston so accents are an important part of the dialog) for each of the many characters and does a fabulous job of acting the scenes. The combination of Landay's writing and Livingston's reading puts this book on the very top of my favorites list. Worth every penny I spent and more!
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: This novel is as close to crime fiction perfection as you could want. It has the feeling of Dennis Lehane at his very best but is so very unique and special. I finished the last page ten minutes ago and I am haunted and affected by the characters and the story. This is the mark of a genuine literary experience.
The story is wrapped around a murder of a DA but this central plotline is wrapped in the wonderful family tale of Ben Trueman and his father. The sadness and ultimate unwritten tragedy of their story is deeply affecting. As Ben recounted his mothers last moments I felt as close to him as if he were tangible and real.
There is wit, pathos and suspense in solid measures and the various strands are brought together in a satisfying and credible finish. I am a serving police officer and the feel and tone of Bill Landay's observations about police work are masterly and real. As the truth behind the murder is revealed I was shocked at the facts. This is a contemporary masterpiece and I read a lot of crime fiction. Perfection.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Debut Novel
Review: This superb debut novel of suspense is set in Boston and the small town of Versailles, (pronounces Ver-sales) Maine. Police Chief Ben Truman inherited his job when he left Boston University to help his retired police chief father care for his ailing mother, who eventually died from Alzheimer's disease. Nothing much happens in this small town, so when during a routine inspection, Ben finds the body of a Boston D.A. in a cabin by the lake, the big city cops come visiting. Retired Boston cop John Kelly gets involved, and Ben gets involved with both Kelly and his D.A. daughter. Inner city drug lord Harold Braxton is the chief suspect and the cops seem determined to prove his guilt. Landay deftly manages to keep the suspense high through the final shocker of an ending in this terrific new chiller.
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