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Cover of Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry)
Book details

Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry)

by Michael Koryta

Published 2005320 pagesISBN 978-0-3129-3209-1

In this haunting, cleverly constructed, brilliantly plotted debut novel, private investigators Lincoln Perry and his partner Joe Pritchard are hired to find the wife and child of a man found dead in an upscale Cleveland suburb-was it suicide, or was it murder?Crusty old John Weston hires partners Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard to investigate both the death of his son, Wayne, and the disappearance of Wayne's wife and young daughter. Perry and Pritchard soon determine that Wayne-a PI like themselves-was doing surveillance jobs for Jeremiah Hubbard-'Cleveland's answer to Donald Trump'-that brought him into contact with Russian mobsters.The case heats up considerably when the detectives locate a Marine buddy of Wayne's, only for him to be shot by a sniper, dying in front of them. The action quickly shifts to South Carolina, as Perry follows a lead in his search for Wayne's daughter and wife.When Lincoln finds Julie Weston, she shows him a videotape her husband made of the Russian mobsters committing a murder, and soon they're both in danger when the very same mobsters come looking for the tape...

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Fiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm, suicide or self-harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Balanced tone · Urgent pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneBalanced
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry)Michael Koryta
Heightened4.2/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read320 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2005
Primary categoryFictionExplore similar books below
ISBN-13
978-0-3129-3209-1
Language
English
Edition record
OL9376305M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Fiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What does the central character want, and what do they misunderstand about that desire?
  2. Which detail or relationship changes how you interpret the story?
  3. What feeling or question does the book leave with you after the plot moves on?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.