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Thursday, October 9, 2014

A Penny for the Hangman by Tom Savage

Author: Tom Svage
Publisher: Random House Alibi
Date of publication: October 2014

In Tom Savage’s chilling novel of suspense, an ambitious reporter is beckoned to an island paradise for the story of a lifetime. But this scoop might just be the death of her.

Fifty years ago, on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, two teenagers born to privilege were convicted of slaughtering their parents in cold blood. Today the men are free and a Hollywood movie has been made about the murders. For Karen Tyler, an eager New York journalist, the case is irresistible. She has been invited to the Virgin Islands for an interview that’s too good to pass up . . . and sounds too good to be true.

Karen packs her bikini and her digital recorder and follows an ingeniously designed trail that leads her to a wealthy, mysterious figure. The man claims to be one of the notorious boys, but Karen soon learns that all is not as it seems. On this isolated utopia of sun and surf, a young reporter far from home fights for the truth—and for her life. Because the shocking secret behind the infamous atrocities has remained hidden all these years. And the killing isn’t over yet.

A Penny for a Hangman was a pleasant surprise read for me.  I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book.  So, I was happy when the book sucked me in.  The story has all the elements of a great murder mystery.  False identities, mysterious tails, and enough twists to make your head spin. It's also one of those books that saying too much about the plot will spoil it for readers.

What I will say is I liked how the story was told.  The story is told by Karen's boyfriend.  Karen is missing and he uses articles, interviews and diary entries to tell what the boys did then and what happened when Karen went to the island.  I really enjoyed this style of story telling.  I just made the book more interesting.  I also loved the descriptions of St. Thomas.  It sounds like it is a truly beautiful place.  You can tell the author grew up there.

This is the first book by this author that I have read.  I'm definitely going to have to check out his other books.



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About the author:


Tom Savage is the author of six previous novels and numerous short stories. His books have been published in fifteen countries, and his bestselling novel Valentine was made into a Warner Bros. film. Raised in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, he now lives in New York City, where he worked for many years at Murder Ink®, the world’s first mystery bookstore.

Connect with Tom at his website,TomSavageBooks.com.

Purchase Links

Tom Savage’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, September 29th: Vox Libris
Monday, September 29th: Back Porchervations
Tuesday, September 30th: Booksie’s Blog
Wednesday, October 1st: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Thursday, October 2nd: Helen’s Book Blog
Friday, October 3rd: Dwell in Possibility
Monday, October 6th: Luxury Reading
Tuesday, October 7th: Mystery Playground
Wednesday, October 8th: FictionZeal
Thursday, October 9th: From the TBR Pile
Friday, October 10th: Booked on a Feeling
Monday, October 13th: Bell, Book & Candle
Monday, October 13th: Omnimystery News - author guest post
Tuesday, October 14th: 2 Kids and Tired Books
Wednesday, October 15th: Sammy the Bookworm
Thursday, October 16th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Friday, October 17th: Benni’s Bookbiters
Friday, October 17th: My Shelf Confessions – Wonderfully Wicked Read-A-Thon Giveaway


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think I'd also enjoy the way the story is told - it adds to the suspense I'd imagine!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.