Mullane Literary Associates
The Accidental Pallbearer by Frank Lentricchia
The debut novel in the Eliot Conte crime series
Praise for The Accidental Pallbearer by Frank Lentricchia
“Frank Lentricchia’s new novel ranks as entertainment of a high order—funny, fast-moving and hot-blooded—the kind of novel that will appeal to readers who like their fiction to carry depth and range.”
Don DeLillo
“More than a thriller...Lentricchia’s prose soars.”
The Raleigh-Durham Herald-Sun
“If you like your crime very noir, very hard-boiled and very American, then this is the novel for you.”
The Telegraph
“Vivid and unnerving...Eliot Conte is an instant original.”
The Washington Post
“The terrific writing, clever plots, bleak humor, and colorful characters recommend this to fans of gritty noir crime fiction.”
Library Journal, starred review
“There’s a Quentin Tarantino masculinity to this story of a private investigator known for solving knotty problems in not-quite-lawful ways.”
The Charlotte Observer
“Gripping, complex...an excellent start for these Eliot Conte books. Can’t wait for the next one—and the cable-TV series.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer
“A brilliant piece of fiction, and a page turner to boot, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best writing in America today.”
Jay Parini
“Lentricchia’s latest work [is] in my opinion his finest....a detective-crime-Mafioso novel full of bits and pieces of authentic Utica history.... fast-paced and thrilling, scene after scene. It has the hard-bitten diction and action of ‘Film Noir’ (and I do believe it is destined to be made into a film). Central to the novel is the conflict of family loyalty versus family disintegration that makes the best of Italian-American fiction so riveting.”
The Union Observer Dispatch
“Captures the feel of upstate New York (Richard Russo territory) and of Italian American culture...with predictable grit and wit. We hope to see more of Conte and perhaps of his promising romantic interest, a Troy policewoman.”
Booklist
“Deserves to be read alongside the best literary detective fiction of our time. Lentricchia's protagonist is the anti-hero par excellence—you can't put him down, either physically or emotionally—whose only equal is Fabio Montale from the great Marseilles trilogy by Jean-Claude Izzo.”
John R. MacArthur, publisher, Harper's
“Utica, N.Y, the downtrodden upstate city in which The Accidental Pallbearer is set, is as much the main character of literary critic Frank Lentricchia’s gripping, complex detective story as the depressive shamus Eliot Conte.”
The Ledger
“Until the sequel arrives, this will continue to be the best contemporary crime novel money can buy.”
Liam Buell, bookseller, the Harvard Coop
“Bravissimo!”
Lisa Scottoline
About the Author
Frank Lentricchia was raised in Utica, New York, to working class, first generation Italian-American parents. A chaired professor of literature at Duke University and recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the author of numerous highly acclaimed and often controversial critical studies; several novels, including Johnny Critelli and The Knifemen; and a memoir, The Edge of Night.