A hitman’s daughter seeks answers and revenge following the death of her father

Gerry Sass is not who he appears to be. On the surface, he is the proud owner of a local country music station outside of Mystic, Iowa. Beneath it, he’s a mob-connected hitman-for-hire who launders money through the station WIOA.

One morning in 1986, his life of crime catches up to him when two men march him out into the woods and shoot him in the back of the head. Plunged into purgatory, he’s doomed to a painful examination of his life. Unbeknownst to the assassins, Gerry’s closest friend, a Catholic priest named Father Dan, witnesses his execution yet does nothing to stop it.

Meanwhile, Gerry’s daughter, Early, jumps into his prized Mustang with a thirst for revenge. On her adrenaline-fueled hunt, she comes to realize that she’s more like Gerry than she ever chose to admit.

In Hanssen’s debut novel, readers will meet three engaging and compelling primary characters: Gerry and Early Sass, and Father Dan. The story opens with Gerry’s death, and unfolds across each of their perspectives, and dips into different timelines as well. The author’s prose quickly pulled me into the story, and I blitzed through it in just a couple of sittings.

The three main characters have distinct, well-written voices, and they develop very nicely over the course of the book. The two living characters go on interesting journeys — emotionally and physically — as they come to terms with what has happened and what they learn over the next couple of days. The supporting cast is likewise well-written and believable, as well as compelling in their own ways.

After Early Sass is informed of her somewhat-estranged father’s death, she quickly sets out on a quest for revenge, her emotions driving her momentum into not-particularly-safe places. Over the chapters, Early re-examines her father’s actions and life, and her relationship. Despite his obvious flaws as a father, she remains fiercely loyal to him. It’s nice to read a crime story from the perspective of someone who throws themselves into a situation they’re not particularly prepared for, in terms of what they’re going to have to do and also what they’re going to discover. It’s impulsive, quite reckless, but also makes sense for the character.

Despite being killed at the start of the novel, Gerry remains present throughout. The chapters from his perspective are memories, presented in a way that might evoke those final moments before death when synapses allegedly fire and one’s life “flashes before one’s eyes”. We see his youth, his military career, and how he came to work as a hitman. I enjoyed getting a gradual, broader picture of Gerry’s character and personality through these chapters, as we get to see different sides of him.

Father Dan… is not having a good couple of days. A somewhat reluctant priest (his family just steered him that way, and he went along with it), he grew close to Gerry. In fact, he may have been Gerry’s only friend, regularly meeting for drinks at a local bar, and the only person allowed to build a hunting blind on Sass’s land. (Which he doesn’t use to hunt; just to find solitude and get away from everything and everyone.) After witnessing his death, though, he finds himself reconnecting with family members and learning more about his own father and confronting (perhaps the first time honestly) what his family does. He also finds himself in a number of sticky, stressful situations that he is not prepared to handle. I really felt for him. He goes through it, in this book.

As the story progresses, the three POVs are brought together in various ways, connecting or intersecting briefly. We learn of Early’s complicated relationship with her father, how Dan and Gerry became friends, the things they are all willing to do, and the lines they are willing to cross, in order to get what they want: even if what they want is just answers or closure.

Hanssen’s prose is excellent, and I was immediately drawn into the story. The pacing throughout is excellent, too: it’s quick, but in no way rushed. A tightly-written, character-driven crime story. I’d definitely recommend this to all fans of crime/mystery fiction. I can’t wait to read whatever Hanssen writes next.

*

Tiffany Hanssen’s My Name Was Gerry Sass is due to be published by Atlantic Crime in North America, on May 12th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram
Review copy received via NetGalley