American By Day
Books | Fiction / Thrillers / Crime
Derek B. Miller
'A superb novel on all levels . . . Miller is a classy satirist of American mores.' The Times'Not to be missed . . . A subtle crime story peopled with beautifully drawn characters.' Daily MailShortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2019She knew it was a weird place. She'd heard the stories, seen the movies, read the books. But now police Chief Inspector Sigrid Ødegård has to leave her native Norway and actually go there; to that land across the Atlantic where her missing brother is implicated in the mysterious death of a prominent African-American academic.America.And not someplace interesting, either: upstate New York.Plunged into a United States where race and identity, politics and promise, reverberate in every aspect of daily life. To find her older brother, she needs the help of the local police who appear to have already made up their minds about the case. Working with - or, if necessary, against - someone actually named Sheriff Irving 'Irv' Wylie, she must negotiate the local political minefields and navigate the back woods of the Adirondacks to uncover the truth before it's too late...What readers are saying:***** 'American by Day is a treat - intelligent, melancholy, a fast-moving crime thriller with a witty look at small-town USA through Scandinavian eyes.'***** 'The writing is intelligent and assured and the characterisation a delight. It is both serious and consistently wry.' ***** 'Witty, sharp and on point . . . both delights and captivates.'
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More Details:
Author
Derek B. Miller
Pages
416
Publisher
Transworld
Published Date
2018-04-19
ISBN
1473552613 9781473552616
Community ReviewsSee all
"“American by Day” begins a few months after the events of “Norwegian by Night”. Sigrid Ødegård, whom we met in the first book, is dealing with the results of the internal investigation of those events. Taking some time off work, she plans to spend that time with her father. Instead, he sends her on a mission to the US – her brother, who lives in upstate New York, has disappeared and Sigrid should locate him. <br/>A big theme of the novel is how a foreigner sees the US when being in that country for the first time. I was such a foreigner myself at one point, 20 years ago in my late twenties, and found many of Sigrid’s observations very relatable and also amusing. She does, however, have at times an air of arrogance about her (something I noticed to be somewhat typical about Europeans), feeling that “her” way is superior to the “US” way.<br/>One point of annoyance for me: the poor job of the editor/proofreader. I can overlook a few typos and a couple of grammatical errors, but there were too many of them, as well as a lack of proper punctuation. <br/>Other than that, it was a great book – I could have easily finished it within one day, if not for life’s obligations. I enjoyed reading it and learning more about Sigrid’s family history."
Michaela Baker