UNDERKILLUNDERKILL
Underkill.
New York, NY: St. Martin's Minotaur/Thomas Dunne (Summer 2003).
Also appearing in Japan (Artist's
House)
and France (Editions du Seuil).
Allen Choice returns with Linda Maldonado to find the truth behind Linda's brother's suspicious death, only to be mired in deception and shattering violence.
Allen's career in executive protection is foundering. The Silicon Valley economy has been ravaged. His two-year courtship with Linda, once bursting with promise, now languishes. The optimism of the past has been replaced by the reality of the present, and it's during this difficult period that Linda is called back home in the aftermath of her brother's unexpected and inexplicable death. Allen follows her with the hope of repairing their relationship and aiding her as she once aided him. He finds, though, that the complications of her family and the shock of the circumstances only accelerates this descent. Amidst this tense and uneasy alliance, Allen and Linda are drawn deeper into the family's secrets, shaking Linda's beliefs about her brother, and thrusting them into the unfamiliar world of illegal raves and small-time drug dealers. When Allen finds that everything--even Linda's life--could be lost, he must shake free his fears and doubts and find the strength to save those closest to him.
The second installment of this highly-anticipated
series, Underkill explores the mysteries of families and
relationships through Allen Choice, whose search for connections
and stability are thwarted at every turn, forcing him to face
a deeper and more profound understanding of his friends, his family,
and himself.
Check out the print-ready Reader's Guide.
Sample a short excerpt of Underkill.
Here's an essay Leonard wrote about his love of crime fiction, and here's a profile of him in Korean Quarterly.
Check here for Leonard's bookstore Reading Schedule.
Praise for Underkill:
"Underkill is a very fine novel and Leonard Chang grows more impressive with each book. I thought Over the Shoulder was a stand out and now Allen Choice is back in a story even more stirring and absorbing. The key is character. Chang works like a painter, carefully brushing strokes of truth and depth on all of his characters. This portrait is a winner."
-- Michael Connelly, author of City of Bones
"Leonard Chang writes beautifully about the wounds of his characters and the wounds of society as a whole. Putting one in mind of Steve Hamilton, S.J. Rozan and Dennis Lehane, he may well be the next big name in crime fiction."
-- James Sallis, author of Ghost of a Flea
"Since his first fine book, The Fruit 'N Food, which showed him to be a fully accomplished writer, Leonard Chang has been developing his range and has given the reader, in the character on Allen Choice, a fully-developed yet fallible hero. Once encountered, Choice, his girlfriend Linda Maldonado, and their complex adventures will absorb the reader and - one hopes ensure yet another tale of this calibre in the future, and another, and another."
-- Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List
Reviews for Underkill:
"There is much to praise about this novel: the gripping action scenes, the swift and sure prose, the precise details of Chang's descriptions. But in the end, it is Allen Choice who makes Underkill such an enjoyable read. Drawing sympathetic, engaging characters without shying away from the weighty realism of relationships, Chang introduces another dimension to Allen by probing his faltering love life and his desperate attempts to rescue it..."
-- Charse Yun, KoreAm
"Underkill is a solid, well-told mystery story. Leonard Chang is a promising new talent embarking on what looks likely to be an excellent new series."
-- David Montgomery, Mystery Ink
"Chang certainly knows how to engage the reader with fast-paced action scenes and realistic characters. However, Underkill is more than a crime story. It is really a novel about relationships. And this is where Chang excels. Underkill is certainly an impressive work. Chang expands the boundaries of the crime genre and creates real characters who we care about."
-- AsianWeek
"I didn't anticipate...just how refreshing Chang's take on the genre would be....[Allen Choice] is an engaging character who grows on you, who's smarter and tougher than he gives himself credit for, and when push comes to shove, he does the right thing -- eventually. A quiet and thoughtful exploration of honor, bravery and alienation, Underkill ends on a promising note, with a budding relationship between Allen Choice and a young computer geek that bodes well not only for Chang's protagonist, but for this series' future."
"...it's a fascinating and frightening world that we enter with Allen..Chang does a good job of keeping us guessing and also caring about his characters...Underkill is a romance as well as crime fiction. It's a good read...a murder mystery with a deft touch."
"Chang weaves a multi-layered yarn, energized by Choice's wrestling with his own uncertainties and self-doubts."
-- Providence Journal-Bulletin
"Chang's characters are all living, breathing people. With sparse, agile prose that reminds one of Dashiell Hammett (though a nicer Hammett, to be sure) or maybe even Andrew Vachss, Chang deftly creates a portrait of each and every character...To put it plainly, Underkill is a good story told well. Chang deserves high praise."
"To get the truth, Allen pushes hard, harder, then too hard...setting the stage for a startling surprise and a high-caliber climax. A gripping story laced with action..."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Allen's...entry into this world proves most entertaining yet indicative of the cautiously adventurous nature of the protagonist. A stimulating addition to Chang's neonoir crime series..."
-- Library Journal
"...the latest entry in the Allen Choice series...[is] a treat, with a protagonist who really grows on you. It's impossible not to root for Choice..."
-- Booklist
Available at your local bookstore. Find it at Booksense
Also available at BN.com or Amazon.com