Jason Palmer loved being a soldier. But after returning from Iraq with an "other than honourable" discharge, he's finding rebuilding his life the toughest battle yet.

Elena Cruz is a talented cop, the first woman to make Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit. She's ready for anything the job can throw at her.

Until Jason's brother, a prominent communityt activist, is murdered in front of his own son.

Now, stalked by brutal men with a shadowy agenda, Jason and Elena must unravel a conspiracy stretching from the darkest alleys of the ghetto to the manicured lawns of the city's power brokers. In a world where corruption and violence are simply the cost of doing business, two damaged people are all that stand between an innocent child - and the killers who will stop at nothing to find him.

From Publishers Weekly

Sakey's second crime novel doesn't quite measure up to his impressive debut, The Blade Itself (2007), but it exhibits many of the same strengths: high-tension action, intricate plotting and a Chicago setting that thrums and pulses with the feel of the city. Jason Palmer, a veteran of the current Iraq war haunted by his experiences, has yet to settle down, unlike his older brother, Michael, who runs a bar in their old South Side Chicago neighborhood and is raising an eight-year-old son, Billy. But when Michael is murdered and Billy threatened, Jason finds himself reacting in the only way he knows—as a soldier. Soldiering, however, is only part of the answer, and Jason has to come to terms with his past, weigh new responsibilities and counter the carnage that gang warfare, political corruption and corporate greed are wreaking on the neighborhood. Sakey, who draws disturbing and thought-provoking parallels between Baghdad and Chicago, provides enough narrow escapes, traps and obstacles to satisfy a Die Hard fan, but enough meat to please readers who demand more than pyrotechnics. Author tour. (Jan.)
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Review

“Nothing short of brilliant...as much a work of literary fiction as crime fiction...Sakey’s latest solidifies his position as the new reigning prince of crime fiction.” —The Chicago Tribune

“Gritty and compelling, packed with action, At the City’s Edge crackles and sears like a rip-roaring fire.”
—Tess Gerritsen, bestselling author of The Bone Garden

“[Sakey] proves a shrewd observer of cultural politics...The action is fast and furious...A hyperrealistic look at our most downtrodden communities.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“Goes from zero to sixty in a blazing rush. Sakey knows how to thrill a reader.” —David Morrell, bestselling author of First Blood and Scavenger

“Complex, multilayered, and above all, intriguing. This is one novel that you won’t soon forget.” —Book Reporter

“Sakey needn’t worry about a sophomore slump.” —Toledo Blade

“Tension-laden...[Sakey] knows how to create realistic suspense and action that puts him in league with authors such as George Pelecanos and T. Jefferson Parker.” —Florida Sun-Sentinel

“Conspiracy and corruption scenarios twist together in startling ways in this ambitious thriller. It’s fast paced from the get-go and just as good as Sakey’s stellar debut.” —Library Journal

“High-tension action, intricate plotting and a Chicago setting that thrums and pulses with the feel of the city...Sakey, who draws disturbing and thought-provoking parallels between Baghdad and Chicago, provides enough narrow escapes, traps and obstacles to satisfy a Die Hard fan, but enough meat to please readers who demand more than pyrotechnics.” —Publishers Weekly

“Intricate...relentless...Sakey’s gritty Chicago is wonderfully evoked. [A] brutally effective thriller, ready-made for film.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Will blister your fingers as it keeps you up late into the night, but unlike most quick reads, its subtleties will linger with you far longer.”—Mystery Book Spot