Authors: John Connolly
Tags: #Mystery & Detective - General, #Mystery And Suspense Fiction, #Private investigators, #Irish Novel And Short Story, #Disappeared persons, #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction - Espionage, #Revenge, #General, #Swindlers and swindling, #Private investigators - Maine, #Suspense, #Parker; Charlie "Bird" (Fictitious character), #Thrillers, #Mystery fiction, #Fiction, #Maine, #Thriller
On a personal note, I remain immensely fortunate in my editors, Sue Fletcher at Hodder and Stoughton, and Emily Bestler at Atria Books, who have the patience of saints and the skills of literary surgeons. Thanks also to Jamie Hodder-Williams, Martin Neild, Lucy Hale, Kerry Hood, Swati Gamble, Auriol Bishop, Toni Lance, and all at Hodder and Stoughton; and to Judith Curr, Louise Burke, David Brown, Sarah Branham, Laura Stern, and everyone at Atria. My agent, Darley Anderson, remains a rock of common sense and friendship, and to him and to Emma, Lucie, Elizabeth, Julia, Rosi, Ella, Emma, and Zoe, I am indebted for my career. Finally, to Jennie, Cam, and Alistair, thanks for putting up with me.
Finally, a word on Dave “the Guesser” Glovsky. Dave really did exist, and he did ply his trade at Old Orchard Beach, although it is my fervent hope that he never encountered a man like Frank Merrick. At one point, I had considered including a thinly disguised version of the Guesser in this novel, but that seemed unfair on this most unusual of men, so he appears as himself, and should any of his relatives encounter him in these pages, I hope that they will recognize it as the tribute to him that it is meant to be.
John Connolly, January 2007