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A coming-of-age story about one troubling summer in 1978, Myer's thriller is set in North Philly and framed against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. His tale centers on two teens, Marc and Michael, and begins in 1993. Marc is on a new health kick after his father's recent heart attack scare. He runs (literally) into his former friend, Michael, whom he doesn't recognize at first. This chance encounter brings back a flood of memories of one particular summer that has never left Marc.
The narrative shifts back to 1978, where a fifteen-year-old Marc is engaged in a neighborhood game of softball. His best friend, Michael, is strangely absent but later reveals where he's been when he suddenly reappears to aid Marc in a sticky situation. The good-natured Marc is a writer who loves reading adventure stories. His grandparents fondly refer to him by his Jewish name, Moshe. On the other hand, Michael is Catholic and a risk-taker who's a bit of a daredevil. He's also tormented by the loss of his brother, Tony, killed in Vietnam. Both boys deal with the usual trappings of teenage life: home, school, bullies, and adolescent love. But nothing really prepares them for what happens during the course of that fateful summer.
The edgier Michael, who tempts fate and breaks the law, is a bad influence. Soon enough, he ensnares Marc into one of his exploits as an unwitting accomplice. Strangely, this doesn't seem to turn Marc away. Instead, he's energized by it and attracted to this other side of Michael. This pull toward danger might appeal to Marc because it is such a departure from his otherwise ordinary life. Marc also has a love interest with the alluring but complex Shiona. As Michael and Marc's exploits increase, so do the perils that come with these crimes. Then tragedy separates them until 1993, when Marc and Michael reconnect as adults. Together, they take on one last opportunity to redeem themselves and right the wrongs of their youth.
This cinematic story is a well-executed, satisfying read richly layered with healthy balances of drama, romance, and action. Myers employs all the right elements of a crime thriller, and his work compares nicely with the likes of heavyweights in the genre, such as David Baldacci or Harlan Coben. Where Myers is particularly skilled in and shines is with his novel's crime and action scenes. He builds a steady tension that keeps the reader engaged. Additionally, there are intriguing and reverent highlights of the Jewish religion that deepen his narrative on a different level that is captivating and has subtle hints to something like Chaim Potok's The Chosen.
As for characterizations, Myers hits the right marks with dialects and accents with characters of different ethnicities. Marc and Michael are, of course, a perfect foil for one another, and Myers develops them equally and fittingly. He explores the bonds of friendship through the lens of these two teens and how actions and consequences shape our paths in life. Marc and Michael are appropriately haunted and changed by their past sins, and Myers gives them a chance to exorcise them. But as Myers reminds readers throughout, the past always shapes one's future, and it never really leaves a person. With his engaging novel, Myers delivers an absorbing and dramatic tale of friendship and forgiveness.