January 1998As the title might suggest, Martin Amis's new novel, Night Train, is swift and sometimes dark and mysterious as it surges forward with incredible speed. A captivating mystery of betrayal and deception, Night Train is somewhat of a departure for Amis, one of the world's most acclaimed novelists. This latest offering fuses all of his stylistic brilliance with the elements of a classic film noir mystery. Amis, an Englishman, has long been fascinated by American culture and dialogue, and Night Train benefits from this keen interest -- the language is dead-on and the landscape eerily familiar.

Set in "Anytown, USA," Night Train perfectly captures the anxiety, paranoia, and entanglements that fuel a big-city police investigation. A 15-year veteran of the force, Detective Mike Hoolihan has risen from walking a beat to solving robberies to investigating homicides. She's seen it all, but one case -- this case -- has gotten under her skin.

When Jennifer Rockwell, darling of the community and daughter of a respected career cop -- now top brass -- takes her own life, no one is prepared to believe it. Especially her father, Colonel Tom. Hoolihan, longtime colleague and friend of Colonel Tom, is ready to "put the case down": suicide, case closed. But Colonel Tom asks Hoolihan to do the one thing any grieving father would ask -- take a second look.

Not since his celebrated novel Money has Amis turned his focus on America to such remarkable effect. Combining brilliant wordplay and the elements of a classic whodunit, Amis exposes a world where surfaces are suspect (no matter how perfect), paranoia is justified (no matter how pervasive), and power and pride are brought low by the hidden recesses of our humanity.