Redlined: A Novel of Boston

Review "Redlined is a fascinating and gripping journey through the underbelly of an American city falling into decay.Wise clearly knows the world of which he writes, and he renders it with bothbrio and skill. A fine novel." - Scott Anderson, author of Lawrence in Arabia, short-listed for 2014 National Book Award. "Wise highlights a predatory housing practice--redlining--in this taut thriller set in 1974 Boston...combines an accessible explanation of the nature and impact of redlining with a page-turning narrative. Fans of suspense fiction with a social conscience will be pleased." PublishersWeekly"An original and simply riveting novel by an author with an impressive narrative storytelling style, "Redlined" by Richard W. Wise will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. The kind of novel that movies are made out of. At first, Redlined reads with the setup and motivation of a murder mystery. Readers are in for a bigger treat, however, because Richard W. Wise incorporates real, contemporary social issues and tensions into this story, along with a special dynamic between the investigators, which elevates his read beyond a typical whodunit. While investigative mystery readers will be the likely audience of Redlined, the story will especially appeal to women who like their characters strong and purposeful. Another audience will be readers familiar with Boston's cultural milieu, who will find Redlined an absorbing series of conundrums that lead ever deeper into the heart of a community's manipulations, politics, and social interactions. Highly recommended." Midwest Book Review"Idealism meets harsh reality on the streets of Boston in Richard Wise's well observed novel Redlined. Activists, crooked developers and politicians clash in a battle for the face of a city...an evocative and provocative read." Edward J. Delaney; Author: Broken IrishRedlined by Richard W. Wise is a gripping suspense thriller that approaches its subject on many levels, city politics, big money power brokers, banks, cultural institutions such as the Catholic Church in an old Boston neighborhood, and most importantly, what happens on the human level of family, friends and neighbors trying to protect their dreams...Redlinedmaintains an edge of realism that will keep you guessing until the very end..." Colin Harrington, The Berkshire Eagle "Redlined: A Novel of Boston would be a great addition to the summer reading list...It is an informative but exciting whodunit thriller that tells a compelling story of how a small group of Jamaica Plain residents...pioneered anti-redlining policies that stabilized their neighborhood, and...transformed Jamaica Plain into one of Boston' premier, and increasingly exclusive, neighborhoods." Kenneth Reardon--Shelterforce Magazine. Product Description "Fans of suspense fiction with a social conscience will be pleased." -Publishers WeeklyBoston: 1974. Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood under siege. Someone is systematically torching abandoned buildings and the horribly disfigured body of Sandy Morgan, a dedicated young neighborhood organizer, has been dug from the ashes. Why? Who stands to gain? Sandy’s boss, lead organizer and Vietnam combat veteran, Jedidiah Flynt, has sworn to bring the arsonists responsible to justice and will use whatever means are required.This Boston neighborhood has become a jungle. The banks have REDLINED Jamaica Plain, crashing the housing market, opening the neighborhood to blockbusters and slumlords. Flynt was hired to halt it. His quest to stop the banks and find justice for Sandy Morgan will lead him through a dangerous labyrinth of corrupt politicians, bent churchmen and a gang of vicious Chinese mafiosi who will stop at nothing to thwart him.Two interwoven plots work their way through this heart-stopping narrative. One is absolutely true. It tells the story of how a local community, skating along the razor’s edge of d