First published 1999
Eddie lies bleeding on the church steps where he once served as an altar boy. The teenager has been savagely attacked by a group from a rival neighborhood, his body broken and abandoned in the place that should have offered sanctuary. Around him, the city continues its rhythm while emergency calls flood the 911 system, each one ignored or delayed. His family waits inside their nearby home, unaware that their son fights for his life just blocks away. The community that raised Eddie now faces the consequences of violence that has torn through their streets and claimed one of their own. Knoedelseder reconstructs the final hours of a young life cut short, examining how a senseless act of brutality can destroy not just a victim, but everyone who loved him. This is the story of Eddie's death and the failures that made it possible.
Genres: fiction, drama, crime, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: tragedy
Setting: Church, Neighborhood
Period: Contemporary
224 pages · Hardcover · Faber & Faber
Content warnings: violence