Too Close to Home: A Novel

Andrew Grant

Jan 2020 · Paul McGrath Book 2 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

His cover: courthouse janitor. His cause: justice. But when Paul McGrath uncovers a shocking connection to a file of missing evidence, he finds the truth sometimes hits a little too close to home.
 
An intelligence agent-turned-courthouse janitor, Paul McGrath notices everything and everyone—but no one notices him. It’s the perfect cover for the justice he seeks for both his father and the people who’ve been wronged by a corrupt system. Now he’s discovered a missing file on Alex Pardew—the man who defrauded and likely murdered McGrath’s father but avoided conviction, thanks in large part to the loss of this very file. And what lies behind its disappearance is even worse than McGrath had feared. 
 
Meanwhile, at the courthouse, he stumbles on the case of Len Hendrie, a small businessman who’s been accused of torching a venture capitalist’s mansion. Though Hendrie admits starting the fire, McGrath learns how the VC has preyed on average Joes to benefit himself—and his extensive wine collection. McGrath can’t resist looking deeper into this financial predator and soon finds himself in a gray area between his avenging moral compass and the limits of the law. 
 
Then, just as the Hendrie case is heating up, McGrath receives word of the death of his father’s former housekeeper, sending him back to his family home to confront unfinished business from his past. And he’s about to find some unwelcome truths about the mother he lost as a child—and the father who hid even more secrets than he realized.

Ratings and reviews

I received a free electronic copy of this ARC from Netgalley, Andrew Grant, and Random House Publishing - Ballantine. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I enjoyed the chase in Too Close to Home and the style of Andrew Grant. This is an author I will watch for. This is a novel set in New York City present time and several other time periods, seen through the eyes of one protagonist - Paul McGrath. Paul is recently retired ex-military, serving in the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade for many years, and is currently a janitor at the New York County Courthouse. Where he cleans up several kinds of messes... Paul's father recently died and left him the house in Westchester that he grew up in, and a complete surprise, a big old place, long empty, a classic brownstone in Hell's Kitchen. This was the second in a series but completely stand alone. I will be looking for more from Grant. He writes a tight mystery with personable protagonists and a clean trail of clues. Especially I enjoyed the fact that the majority of the story is told in the present, and the back story is told chronically at the end of the book. Much less confusing than some of the back and forth stories I have read lately. Also, it has about 300 pages with only 25 chapters - I don't think I realized how much these two factors have disappeared into a more muddled storyline. Paul McGrath appears a simple man with few needs, a lifestyle he enjoyed in the service and has patterned his retirement around, as well. He has few acquaintances left from the old days and doesn't have much time to make new friends. Hopefully, that will all change - when he sorts out this latest series of clues to fill in the blanks of his father's history. And though his mother died when he was very young, there may be blanks that need filling there, as well......

About the author

Andrew Grant is the author of RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, and Invisible. He was born in Birmingham, England, and attended the University of Sheffield, where he studied English literature and drama. He ran a small independent theater company, and subsequently worked in the telecommunications industry for fifteen years. Grant and his wife, the novelist Tasha Alexander, live on a wildlife preserve in Wyoming.