Cityside

"Highly recommended . . . Heffernan is masterly in examining the scruples of corporate downsizing with a discerning eye and levity in his cauldron of good and evil.” —Library Journal

“An enormously entertaining yarn that puts the concept of human resources in an arresting new perspective.” —Kirkus Reviews

In his highly acclaimed and bestselling novel The Dinosaur Club, William Heffernan turned the world of corporate greed and downsizing on its head in what USA Today called a “page turner” and a “funny and witty tale.” Now, Pulitzer Prize nominee Heffernan takes readers behind the scenes at a major New York newspaper. Set against the backdrop of the ’70s, when a bankrupt town danced its nights away to a disco beat and attack journalism as we know it today was born, Cityside brings to life the ever-eccentric, sometimes endearing, and always devious cast of characters who populate a big-city newsroom.

New York Globe reporter Billy Burke is down on his luck—an unfortunate “misunderstanding” with New York’s Finest has landed him in jail overnight, the wife and daughter he loves are no longer part of his life, and his mercurial city editor wants his head on a platter. But things start to look up when Billy is handed the story of his career: A dying child has been denied life-sustaining heart surgery because his impoverished mother lacks the money and the insurance to pay for it. It is a classic tale of human indifference, the kind of story that wins circulation wars and Pulitzer prizes. But in the world of post-Watergate journalism, telling the story of a needy child is no longer enough. Billy Burke must also find villains to pillory if his newspaper is to win the prizes it covets. And he must do it quickly, before his editors lose sight of the innocent child whose life hangs in the balance.

With the crisp pace and sharp characters that are hallmarks of his writing, Heffernan again tackles issues as real as today’s headlines in this tale of ruthlessness and power. Once one of New York’s most respected investigative reporters, Heffernan is the perfect writer to tell this story, and in his hands Cityside becomes a compelling novel that readers won’t soon forget.