The Longest Death

Praise for The Longest Death

A Globe and Mail Best Book of Summer
A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Mystery of Fall

“Jagernauth expertly combines the pulpy fun of a classic caper with the pathos of noir, paying homage to his influences while making the story all his own. Brimming with sharp prose and memorable dialogue, this contemporary remix of midcentury crime fiction heralds the arrival of a fresh new voice.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Jagernauth debuts with this fascinating neo-noir tale of a pair of small-town losers who find each other, dream big and encounter forces they have no idea how to control . . . a writer to watch.”
—Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail


“Deeply cinematic, moody, and artful . . . The result is extraordinary.”
—The Miramichi Reader

“Jagernauth’s noir debut is tense, smoky and full of ’50s pulp language that entertains as well as grounds this tale of strangers to lovers who take on a heist . . . Provocative and gritty, evocative of Highsmith and Chandler, this is a genre revival I can get behind.”
—First Clue Reviews

“For the mystery fan who likes a sprinkle of thriller.”
—The Washington Blade

“Jagernauth has captured the essence of noir in this throwback to the golden age of hardboiled fiction.”
—CrimeReads

“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 center 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, bestselling author of El Dorado Drive

“Kevin Jagernauth’s debut shows a superb command of classic noir—the heist setup that tightens like a vise, the gallery of characters who want out of their own lives, the claustrophobic mid-century American setting conjured with an eerie clarity, shot through with language that has the texture of the mean streets. But the real surprise is that a gay love story drives the engine, a move that doesn’t just echo Cain and Woolrich but challenges and updates them, queering the tradition from the inside out. The cage these lovers build for themselves is the oldest noir trap there is, and Jagernauth springs it to devastating effect.”
—John Copenhaver, award-winning author of Hall of Mirrors

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

“Kevin Jagernauth tells this story like a get-away driver who knows every alley by heart.”
—Sean Michaels, author of Us Conductors and Do You Remember Being Born?

“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 favor 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 and director of Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines