Two lovers plot a daring heist in this atmospheric noir about fate and fortune on the fringes of the American dream.
Post-war Riverton has little to offer Richard, a mild-mannered loner working a dead-end job at Eddy & Dowd Safe Deposit Company. When he meets Marlon, a smooth-talking confidence man, Richard finds his partner in crime. Passions ignite between the men, and together, they hatch a plan to rob the vault at Eddy & Dowd—a once-in-a-lifetime score that will fund their escape to the Big City, where they can live and love as they desire.
Their plans are complicated by Gloria, a recent divorcée scheming her own route to wealth; Frank Todd, a disgraced ex-cop desperate to restore his reputation; and the paranoid Mr. Dowd, a tycoon scrambling to hold onto his crumbling empire. As Richard and Marlon race towards their destiny, reckless violence threatens both their plans and their devotion to each other.
Inspired by the iconic lexicon and unsparing storytelling of Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith, The Longest Death weaves a twisted morality tale about what it means to love someone at any cost.
Two lovers plot a daring heist in this atmospheric noir about fate and fortune on the fringes of the American dream.
Post-war Riverton has little to offer Richard, a mild-mannered loner working a dead-end job at Eddy & Dowd Safe Deposit Company. When he meets Marlon, a smooth-talking confidence man, Richard finds his partner in crime. Passions ignite between the men, and together, they hatch a plan to rob the vault at Eddy & Dowd—a once-in-a-lifetime score that will fund their escape to the Big City, where they can live and love as they desire.
Their plans are complicated by Gloria, a recent divorcée scheming her own route to wealth; Frank Todd, a disgraced ex-cop desperate to restore his reputation; and the paranoid Mr. Dowd, a tycoon scrambling to hold onto his crumbling empire. As Richard and Marlon race towards their destiny, reckless violence threatens both their plans and their devotion to each other.
Inspired by the iconic lexicon and unsparing storytelling of Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith, The Longest Death weaves a twisted morality tale about what it means to love someone at any cost.
| Published By | House of Anansi Press Inc — Jun 16, 2026 |
| Specifications | 320 pages | 5.25 in x 8 in |
| Keywords | CanLit; Canadian Author; Neo Noir; Historical Fiction; Debut Novel; Heist Books; Queer Noir; Queer Books; Gay Main Characters; Gay Books; Who Killed Roger Rabbit; Drive (2011); Strangers on a Train; Money Heist; Oceans 11; Oceans 8; Lupin; Bath Haus; Bound (1996); r/noir; |
| Written By |
KEVIN JAGERNAUTH is a pop culture critic who has written about cinema, music, and literature for over twenty years. Born in Ottawa, he currently resides in Montreal. The Longest Death is his first novel. |
| Written By |
|
KEVIN JAGERNAUTH is a pop culture critic who has written about cinema, music, and literature for over twenty years. Born in Ottawa, he currently resides in Montreal. The Longest Death is his first novel. |
"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 getaway driver who knows every alley by heart." —Sean Michaels, Giller Prize–winning author of Us Conductors and Do You Remember Being Born?
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