A Time Gone By: A Novel

by William Heffernan

Unable to forget the murder of a 1940s gubernatorial candidate thirty years earlier, a crime for which an innocent man was put to death, detective chief Jake Downing, on the brink of retirement, sets out in hopes of finding the true killer. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 12, 2003

About the author

William Heffernan, a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, is the author of eighteen novels, including such bestsellers as The Corsincan, The Dinosaur Club (a New York Times bestseller), The Dead Detective, and Tarnished Blue (winner of an Edgar Award). Heffernan lives outside of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One look at the dingy, barely lit street corner on the cover of William Hefferman’s novel, A Time Gone By, and you’ll know this isn’t a book about cuddly cats and amateur sleuths. The bleak ambience continues on the novel’s first page with a gloomy rainy night and a dead body. But here’s the thing: Hefferman’s writing is so elegant that I want to call the novel beautiful. From page one, I was drawn into the story by the style and protagonist’s voice as much as the plot and 1945 time period. And then there’s the intriguing twist in chapter two. The story leaps forward thirty years, when Chief of Detectives, Jake Downing, is still haunted by events of that night. In 1945, he was a twenty-five-year-old rookie detective, and about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

At first, the plot seems straight forward. Jake and his more experienced partner, Jimmy Finn, are assigned to find out who murdered a prominent judge. But they soon realize that powerful higher-ups have already decided how this case will turn out. Things become complicated both professionally and personally for Jake as he begins to fall for the judge’s gorgeous young widow, while Jake’s pregnant wife waits for him at home.

Hefferman does an excellent job of switching back and forth in time while moving the story forward at a carefully measured pace. Like most noir novels, this book depicts people trapped in tough-to-hopeless situations. People motivated by hidden agendas, betrayal, revenge, lust, love, and pure survival. But what really captured me was the emotion driving this novel. Not just violent rage, but guilt, regret, sadness, resignation, and varying degrees of love. Perhaps the best noir crime novels are all about strong emotions and what happens when those emotions override common sense. A Time Gone By demonstrates this in a terrific story with captivating prose.

[Ann Littlewood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Police procedural with strong psychological themes of sexual attraction, loyalty, and honor. Excellent setting--New York with a 30 year gap. Two cops revisit an old crime, driven by the guilt one of them still holds for sleeping with a female suspect while his wife was delivering their baby. Atmospheric, psychological, historic.

Writing is good, but felt rushed in parts, with repeated sentences. For example, "He gave a weak smile" several times.

Point of view shifts were unannounced but not hard to follow. The shifts from third person (present) to first person (past) were a little tougher. Still, an interesting way to go.

The ending and its improbable twist satisfied only partially. A final chapter resolving the love interests is missing.

[Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give this 5 stars, but the ending wasn't what I thought it could be. It was too simplistic. Other than that, I felt he fleshed out his characters very well. I could even hear Jimmy in my head complete with an Irish brogue every time he said "fookin". The plot developed nicely and kept me interested. I thought he did a fine job of mixing the past and present, which gives you an opportunity to see how people and their life's had been changed and affected by the case in the intervening thirty years. Even though the ending disappointed me, I still think it was a worthwhile book to read.

[trickgnosis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For sheer pleasure of reading I'll give it four. Reading a really good genre novel is like eating a great steak. There aren't any surprises--insofar as you know where the surprises are likely to be before you even start--and it doesn't do anything you haven't seen done before, for which you are grateful because it's just really damn satisfying as it is. So if you like a novel with a good dose of noir that's full of crooked power brokers, gangsters, Irish cops and beautiful dames with secrets, this will make you happy.

[ABC Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery writer, not your typical crime swill.