First published 2002
Roscoe Conway sits in his Albany office, surveying the political empire he constructed over decades. The chief architect of the city's powerful machine wants out. He plans his exit from the game that made him, but Albany won't let him go quietly. Between the world wars, the city seethes with fresh political battles that demand his expertise. A death raises troubling questions. His own party tears itself apart through bitter internal feuds. Worse still, someone targets his beloved woman and her family with dangerous threats. Each crisis pulls Roscoe deeper back into the world he desperately wants to leave behind. Conway must navigate treacherous waters where loyalty shifts like sand and old allies become new enemies. His attempts to walk away from power only reveal how completely power has claimed him.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, political-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Albany
Period: Between the World Wars
291 pages · Hardcover · Viking Penguin