An Honest Living

Dwyer Murphy

A stylish update on the hardboiled noir mystery, An Honest Living features a freelance lawyer in Brooklyn who gets himself involved in what looks like a minor scam to do with rare historical pamphlets. But the surface hides a situation far more intricate, with impersonations, shell companies with false addresses, and naked greed—not what you expect when you begin looking into the rarefied world of rare books. The lawyer-narrator has the voice you hope for in a good noir mystery—world-weary, savvy about how the world works, with a bit of self-doubt thrown in. The bonus in this novel is not only the very fine writing, but the lovingly observed portrait of New York on both sides of the bridge.