But I’d never seen an erect penis that wasn’t my own, I’d never seen a pale pink circumcision scar, I’d never seen, piece by piece, how a man’s body joins up, how the landscape of skin and hair changes in texture and tone, from the folds of the lips to the folds of the testicles, the tufts of black on his toes to the perfect triangle of hair above his buttocks on his otherwise hairless back.

It's ground that has been trod by so many authors before, and Koryta definitely doesn't go anywhere new.Even more specific, it might be hard to digest since the rest of the community know that his victim was his own father. As I say, this was an unexpected wonder of a book, providing so much more than a simple synopsis can provide.

That fact is certainly not lost on his Uncles Sterling, brother to his late father, who wants nothing more than to put Israel back behind bars and out of his sight at any cost necessary. At the same time, he becomes aware of a green Mercedes Benz (see the cover) that is regularly acting suspiciously in his neighbourhood.

The subject matter of corruption on the island didn't interest me and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. The historical perspective is handled really well, and you truly get a sense of the teenagers in the story and their lives. Whether or not Israel’s claims to be an honest man end up being confirmed will be found in the jaw-dropping conclusion to AN HONEST MAN. This will seem like a knock, but it isn't at all: I feel like AHM could be taught as a textbook example of how to build a strong literary thriller, using place, character, dialogue, action. So if you want to read a historical mystery set in the mid twentieth century with a very interesting and detailed legal basis

Michael's previous work ranges from a trio of supernatural novels--So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and The Ridge, which were all named New York Times notable books of the year and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly--to stand-alone crime novels such as The Prophet (A New York Times bestseller) and Envy the Night (selected as a Reader's Digest condensed book), to a series of award-winning novels featuring private investigator Lincoln Perry--Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour. In a way, Fergusson's prose is a reminder that just 32 years ago, in the summer of 1989, the Cold War was still at its hottest.

As the conclusion came, I was still in the grasp of the gritty ending even as I realized what was coming.

The character of Ralf and his relationships with both his family and friends (particularly Oz) are beautifully drawn. Although we might not like or forgive Ralf's parents, Fergusson does give these characters some nuance.

As Ralf struggles to reconcile himself with his growing attraction, and feelings, towards Oz, he also learns that Oz is keeping tabs on one of his neighbours, Tobias Rose.