Publisher Review

"An impressive debut noir from the CrimeReads website's editor in chief . . . Murphy's writing is smart, ruminative, and referential . . . [A] lovingly rendered snapshot of an already-bygone city, with details reeking of authenticity, down to the last barstool." -Library Journal "A bittersweet love letter to New York and times gone by . . . fans of noir fiction will feel right at home." -Kirkus Reviews "Murphy, the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, writes with authority about the New York book world and literary references abound, from Edith Wharton to Cormac McCarthy . . ." -Publishers Weekly "Dwyer Murphy's debut novel, An Honest Living, is a noir love letter to New York City. It is a sublime trip through a city teeming with professional idlers, hustlers, poets, politicians, insurance scammers, and real estate developers, all vying for their share of New York's divinity." -Walter Mosley, author of Blood Grove "An Honest Living is an electrically good time meted out in fine, sharp, crackling prose that somehow manages to be an homage, a send-up, and a reinvention all at once." -Tea Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife and Inland "A witty, observant debut that's as much a love letter to New York as it is a slick noir." -Andrea Bartz, author of We Were Never Here "Dwyer Murphy's An Honest Living is a deliciously smart PI novel set in New York's antiquarian book world that channels Chandler and Chinatown to take us into a recent past that already feels like a bygone era. A brisk, funny, and fabulous debut." -Adrian McKinty, author of The Island "Dwyer Murphy's An Honest Living is the lawyer-book-collector noir you never knew you craved. Evocative and suspenseful, the book hums along in an unusual space somewhere in the constellation of Roberto Bolano, Julio Cortazar, and the Coen Brothers-an ontological puzzle nested inside a shaggy dog story, or the reverse." -Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn "A terrific book." -Don Winslow, author of City on Fire "Dwyer Murphy beautifully intertwines a noir mystery with the lore of New York. A captivating, beguiling novel right up to its shocking conclusion." -Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife "An Honest Living feels like an instant classic-a polished gem of a PI novel that's wonderfully atmospheric and full of wit. Fast-paced as this book is, it's also a smart read you'll want to savor." -Alison Gaylin, author of The Collective "An Honest Living is a sublimely literate, literary, and crafty novel-an homage to PI fiction that transcends the genre with style and inspiration to spare. Lovers of crime fiction and lovers of books of all types (as well as those of us who miss the old Brooklyn) will be equally transported." -Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women "A many-layered, fascinating novel about the collisions that come with city living, of people devoted to old books and those determined to construct new buildings. In this swift-moving noir debut, Dwyer Murphy has conjured a fantastically vivid homage to New York." -Idra Novey, author of Those Who Knew "An Honest Living is a superb debut novel by a supremely gifted writer. It's as if Roberto Bolano and Lawrence Osborne got together to reimagine Chinatown. I was as gripped by the mystery at the heart of this book as I was by Dwyer Murphy's perfect prose." -Jonathan Lee, author of The Great Mistake "The best kind of private eye novel-one that feels wholly modern but timeless. Dwyer Murphy evokes the greats like Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins without losing his own sharp voice. A stylish, memorable debut." -Alex Segura, author of Secret Identity