Canary, Duane Swierczynski
Canary, Duane Swierczynski
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Canary

Author: Duane Swierczynski

Narrator: George Bryant, Casey Holloway

Unabridged: 11 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/24/2015

Synopsis

It's dangerous enough when an ordinary college girl turns confidential informant. Even more dangerous when she's smarter than the killer, kingpins, and cops who think they control her.

Honors student Sarie Holland is busted by the local police while doing a favor for her boyfriend. Unwilling to betray him but desperate to avoid destroying her future, Sarie has no choice but to become a "CI" -- a confidential informant.

Philly narcotics cop Ben Wildey is hungry for a career-making bust. The detective thinks he's found the key in Sarie: her boyfriend scores from a mid-level dealer with alleged ties to the major drug gangs.

Sarie turns out to be the perfect CI: a quick study with a shockingly keen understanding of the criminal mind. But Wildey, desperate for results, pushes too hard and inadvertently sends the nineteen-year-old into a death trap, leaving Sarie hunted by crooked cops and killers alike with nothing to save her -- except what she's learned during her harrowing weeks as an informant.

Which is bad news for the police and the underworld. Because when it comes to payback, CI #1373 turns out to be a very quick study...

About Duane Swierczynski

Duane Swierczynski is the Edgar-nominated author of nine novels including Canary, Severance Package, and the Shamus Award-winning Charlie Hardie series (Fun and Games, Hell and Gone, Point and Shoot). He's written over 250 comics for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Valiant and IDW, including The Black Hood, the first comic for Archie's Dark Circle imprint. Swierczynski has also collaborated with CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker on the bestselling Level 26 series. He lives in Burbank with his wife and children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kemper on July 26, 2016

Usually the only thing I don’t like about a new Duane Swierczynski novel is that it’s a pain in the ass typing out his last name in a review. However, this time out Duane S. stepped into a rather large pothole of bad character motivation and snapped an ankle of the plot so that this book was limping......more

Goodreads review by Brandon on August 17, 2015

In a classic case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’, college student Sarie Holland is pulled over and busted by the cops while doing a favour for a drug-dealing friend, D. Looking at a possible five years minimum in prison for possession, she’s offered an alternative – become a C.I. (confidential informa......more

Goodreads review by Richard on January 11, 2016

*3.5 Stars* I haven't read much Young Adult fiction, (or is it called New Adult fiction?), but I would definitely read more of those books if they were written by Duane Swierczynski, who seems to always try something new every time he writes a novel! Here, the author tackles a YA story and puts his o......more

Goodreads review by Ellis on April 17, 2015

Duane Swierczynski has succeeded in writing a totally preposterous book that I wanted to finish even as I shook my head in disbelief at its very preposterousness. He stays entirely true to the voice of seventeen-year-old college student-turned reluctant criminal informant Sarie Holland; she writes,......more

Goodreads review by Josh on March 19, 2015

CANARY is one of those books I struggled to put down. The characters are engaging, the narrative is fresh, and the plot is fast paced. Using multiple points of view makes Sarie's soiree into the drug underworld that much more entertaining. Not only does author Duane Swierczynski provide a mechanism......more

Quotes

"A cunning, zippy, plot-twister... both entertaining and dark... Swierczynski keeps the action pulsating along [with] an array of compelling characters, crisp dialogue, and pop culture references... It's those touches [that] make Canary sing."—Daneet Steffens, Boston Globe

"Duane Swierczynski writes the 'new noir,' full of bad choices, courage, and sudden disaster, all delivered at a break-neck pace." —Charlaine Harris, author of the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels, including Dead Ever After

"This guy is a great storyteller. I never know what he is going to come up with or where he is going to take me."—Michael Connelly

"Compulsive, written with wry humanity and a deft and thrilling touch for the unexpected."—Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail

"Swierczynski can set a constant, wicked pace."—Al Lubrano, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Swierczynski's dialogue pops and drives the story through the landscape of Philly, a city he clearly knows, and loves."—Naben Ruthnum, National Post

"Riveting . . . Sarie is a luminous character . . . Memorable characters, suspense, a native's portrait of a fascinating city, eruptions of spectacular violence--fans of hard-edged crime will love this one."—Booklist (starred review)

"Swierczynski has Philly down cold: his characters prowl the bivouacs and dens of its suburbs and the needle-strewn drug corners and grimy alleyways of the inner city....I can barely tear myself away from this book."

—Liz French, Library Journal

"Inventive . . . Breathes fresh life into a familiar plot with shifting perspectives, sly humor [and] a crackerjack pace."—Kirkus Reviews

"Swierczynski knows how to write people. They could be life-long mobsters, crazy drug lords, or college freshmen women, Duane makes each one unique and each character has their own voice."—Crimespree magazine

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