The Longest Death

“An impressive debut.” —Toronto Star

“A sly love-letter to the Golden Age of hardboiled fiction—and a recognition of some of what it left out. Kevin Jagernauth tells this story like a get-away driver who knows every alley by heart.” —Sean Michaels, Giller Prize–winning author of Us Conductors and Do You Remember Being Born?  

“Deftly plotted and more confident than a debut novel has any right to be, The Longest Death follows a trio of small-time criminals brimming with big dreams and a mid-century swagger in their steps.” —Dimitri Nasrallah, Canada Reads–shortlisted author of Hotline   

“The Longest Death, Kevin Jagernauth’s intoxicating debut novel, is both an expert homage to—and a vital expansion of—the great noir tradition. At its gleaming centre is a risky plan conjured by a trio of desperate characters, each nursing their own secrets and desires. A dreamy, captivating dance through juke joints and diners, Jagernauth effortlessly conjures a lost noir world of petty grifts, the faint scent of violet cigarettes.” —Megan Abbott, author of The Fever and El Dorado Drive

“Crime stories are at their best when they ache. In Kevin Jagernauth’s debut novel, The Longest Death, that ache comes from a defiant refusal to belong, a rejection of the ‘normal’ world in favour of something riskier and more intimate, full of human longing. There’s restraint, precision in his writing, with tension and secrets lurking beneath every gesture, every word, every facade. If Jean-Pierre Melville had written a novel, it might feel like this: cinematic, spare, and quietly devastating.” —Derek Cianfrance, writer/director of Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines