Media Reviews
Praise for DOWN THE DARKEST STREET So many writers have tried to reinvent the PI novel in recent years that it's refreshing to be reminded it was never broken. DOWN THE DARKEST STREET is classic PI fiction in the best sense, with a vibrant setting and a character who's so much more than the sum of his flaws. Larger-than-life has its charms, but Alex Segura shows us how riveting a human-scale story can be. --Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of WILDE LAKE With a damaged-yet-resilient hero, the meanest of streets and the twistiest of crimes, Down the Darkest Street is tense and taut. A series not to be missed. --Megan Abbott, bestselling author of THE FEVER Segura (has) an edgy storytelling style, snappy dialogue, and a cast of salty characters. A really fine crime story. --Booklist (Segura) has created the next great hard-boiled protagonist in Pete Fernandez...DOWN THE DARKEST STREET marks the emergence not just of the next great crime fiction series, but of a writer on the rise. --Bookreporter This compelling sequel to SILENT CITY is a brooding, melancholy tale with a somber ending, Pete's sadness echoes the darkest corners of Miami's roughest streets. --Library Journal DOWN THE DARKEST STREET is strongest when it focuses on Pete trying to rebuild his life, and sometimes failing...Segura makes us care about Pete, whose struggles with alcohol are realistic...Pete and his journey through Miami are appealing. --Sun-Sentinel (Pete Fernandez's) flaws are refreshing after the growing popularity of coming book-type heroes who, whatever happens, emerge from their brawls with nary a scratch. In contrast, the flawed Fernandez comes across as very, very human. --Mystery Scene At once a harrowing crime novel and a deeply human tale of struggle and redemption, DOWN THE DARKEST STREET latest will keep you guessing--and gasping--until you've turned the final page. --Chris Holm, bestselling author of THE KILLING KIND Segura's DOWN THE DARKEST STREET is pitch perfect in the key of hard-boiled. A sublime blend of flawed protagonist, hot house setting, and gritty narrative. --Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times Bestselling author of WHERE IT HURTS and ROBERT B. PARKER'S BLIND SPOT Cool, compelling, and completely believable--Alex Segura nails Miami noir. His Pete Fernandez is terrific, and readers will fly through the pages as this reluctant PI faces broken promises, terrifying loyalties and inevitable heartbreak. Loved this book! --Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark award winning author Down the Darkest Street is a compelling page turner. It's a smartly written book that offers an insider's view of Miami and weaves a fascinating mystery that we only hope Pete can get to the bottom of. --The Huffington Post Alex Segura has crafted a protagonist you want to cheer for...shows the reader a side of the city that most tourists would miss. He takes the reader from the bars and restaurants near the University of Miami to the Cuban neighborhoods to the strip-mall and chain restaurant filled suburbs. There's more to Miami than the pastel-colored beachfront hotels. There's a seedier, darker side to the city. --CrimeSpree Magazine Anyone who enjoys solid PI novels will find a lot to love here and will be happy they grabbed this book. --Out of the Gutter Outstanding praise for SILENT CITY, the first Pete Fernandez novel by Alex Segura Murder, mayhem, Miami...and every character has their own great taste in music. Silent City knows that every city has its own dark and twisted personality. And so do its inhabitants. Take a chance and step inside. --Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE INNER CIRCLE, as well as the bestsellers THE TENTH JUSTICE, DEAD EVEN, THE FIRST COUNSEL, THE MILLIONAIRES, THE ZERO GAME, THE BOOK OF FATE and THE BOOK OF LIES Segura's command of tight plotting and realistic characters keeps this energetic debut on track. --The Miami Herald In Silent City, Segura shines a light on a Miami not often seen, one in which neon and glitz are supplanted by the hardscrabble grit of folks just trying to get by. Silent City is a coiled snake, twist after twist bringing you ever closer to its final, stinging bite. --Chris F. Holm, bestselling author of DEAD HARVEST, THE WRONG GOODBYE and THE BIG REAP Miami glows hot in this debut - Alex Segura is a name to watch. --Jeff Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of DOWNFALL Silent City screams off the page! Someone lock Alex Segura in a room until he churns out more tales of Pete Fernandez's Miami! As someone once wrote, 'Please sir, I want more.' --Kevin Flynn, author of NOTES ON A KILLING, LEGALLY DEAD and OUR LITTLE SECRET Silent City is a top-notch thriller. The action is non-stop, the tension is relentless, and in Pete Fernandez, Alex Segura has created the most compelling, original, and complex multi-layered hero I've encountered in years. --Andrew Grant, bestselling author of EVEN, DIE TWICE and RUN Silent City is a noir page-turner I couldn't put down, a race through the Miami tourists don't see. I loved the book, and can't wait for the next one. Alex Segura is a writer to watch. --Sara Gran, bestselling author of DOPE and CLAIRE DEWITT AND THE CITY OF THE DEAD Silent City is a page-turner right from the get-go, fast and furious and with plenty of bite. --Adam Christopher, bestselling author of EMPIRE STATE and THE BURNING DARK A thrilling read that picks up speed with each page. This book was a fantastic debut in the mystery genre, and I m ecstatic that Pete Fernandez has his own series. Looking forward to more from Segura. --Steve Weddle, acclaimed author of COUNTRY HARDBALL A gritty murder mystery/detective story set in Miami among the ruins of the old guard media. --The Huffington Post Segura is off to a good start with Silent City. --The Sun-Sentinel One of Crimespree Magazine s Favorite Reads of 2013 Alex Segura nails the mood his first time out with his debut novel, SILENT CITY. He takes the reader on a rough and tumble tour of his hometown of Miami, Florida. But hold on. this isn't the Miami of USA Network's Burn Notice. No one is cracking wise with a drink by the ocean; Segura's Miami is haunted by a silent killer while our hero is haunted by his failures. --Crimespree Magazine Both a classic and unique detective novel...a pretty powerful and exciting tale. --CriminalElement.com Segura pulls off an evolution of character I can t recall having seen in recent crime fiction. He also uses the dark corners and alleyways of Miami, untouched by the neon of South Beach, to create a criminal's playground that leaves in the reader's mouth a cheap beer aftertaste that blends well with the scent of stale smoke permeating the room. If trench-coat-and-Stetson-hat fiction were a genre, Silent City would be right at home in it. --The Florida Book Review Instead of a down-on-his-luck PI who somehow manages to be a step ahead of everything, Pete stumbles to try and keep up. Surprisingly charming and doggedly determined, he's a little bit Harry Dresden and a lot Clint Barton from Matt Fraction s Hawkeye. Segura writes some fantastic action sequences and keeps the suspense humming throughout the story. It's book you find yourself needing to finish, just so you can see if Pete manages to survive the mess he s pulled himself into. --BookRiot.com Forget the neon lights. Forget the glitz. Forget the bikinis and mojitos. And get ready for the other side of Miami. --CrimeFictionLover.com The new George Pelecanos is here...I was really impressed with this debut. --Son of Spade Silent City feels refreshing in large part because the characters ring true. They re motivated by recognizable emotions, and behave in believable ways when thrust into desperate situations. The story is set around a newspaper. And as a former longtime newspaper reporter myself, I can verify that Segura nailed the different personality types who haunt newsrooms. - Tom Joyce's Chamber of the Bizarre Silent City was a quick read. I finished it in just a few days, and by the time I was reaching the climax, I was turning off the television and flying through the last twenty pages just to know what happened to Pete and his friends. --Bookoisseur.com Set in Miami, the city comes to life in the author s hands rich and vivid with a definite dark underbelly, it put me in mind of Miami Vice a show I used to love which visually had the same feel to it bright lights and warm nights hiding a less salubrious reality where danger lurks around every corner. --Liz Loves Books Segura has a way with characterization and exhibits serious promise in his debut novel. --13th Dimension Tightly plotted, Silent City is a fast, compelling read, one set to an impeccable soundtrack. Segura clearly knows his way around a vinyl collection, deftly using music to set moods as well for characterization. Pete is a likeable protagonist-the fact that he's an amateur detective gives him a kind of scrappy credibility as he bumbles along in the early stages of his investigation. --Black Heart Magazine Alex Segura details Pete's struggles and captures his downward spiral perfectly. You really feel for him but also at the same time Alex makes you feel like most of it is his own doing. --Crime Book Club