{"product_id":"my-name-was-gerry-sass","title":"My Name Was Gerry Sass","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTiffany Hanssen \u003c\/b\u003eis an on-air host at public radio station WNYC in New York City. During her decades-long career in broadcasting, she has produced award-winning national programs and worked at stations from Las Vegas to Washington D.C. She is also a screenwriter and mom to two boys. And although she was born in Iowa and spent many years in Minnesota, she currently lives in Manhattan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eMy Name Was Gerry Sass\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"From its opening pages, public radio host Hanssen's knockout debut, which orbits around the death of a genteel hit man in the 1980s Midwest, hums with suppressed menace. Fast, funny, and emotionally complex, Hanssen's thriller suggests that guilt and family trauma will catch up to even the craftiest evaders. It's an auspicious first outing.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A tough and terse crime novel that bears no trace of sentimentality even as it explores the bonds of family and friendship . . . Gerry is a memorable character, but Father Dan and Early are the ones who will stay with me the longest.\"\u003cb\u003e--Sarah Weinman, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[A] delightfully audacious debut. Gerry Sass is a genteel hit man who launders money through his Iowa radio station. When he's killed, it ignites a moral dilemma for his Catholic priest friend and makes his adult daughter thirsty for revenge. All that, and it's funny! Hanssen proves remarkably adept at blending influences, from the Coen brothers to \u003ci\u003eA Prairie Home Companion\u003c\/i\u003e.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \"Summer Reads 2026\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[A] crafty debut novel . . . \u003ci\u003eMy Name Was Gerry Sass\u003c\/i\u003e brims with humor-laden action as Gerry, Early, and Dan learn about themselves and one another.\"\u003cb\u003e--Oline Cogdill, Shelf Awareness (starred)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Set in the 1980s, the story has a grittiness, and it is easy to draw comparisons between Gerry and Tony Soprano . . . There is a dark humor to the book, as Hanssen weaves complicated family dynamics with a complex relationship with God, and this engrossing crime novel hints at more possibilities ahead.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Concise and to the point, the story unfolds in a swift and satisfying manner, and the protagonists never wear out their welcome. . . The kind of book that can be read in one sitting, it offers a cinematic plot and fast pace that seem destined for the screen.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Debut novelist Hanssen's title character, a hitman laundering money by way of a country radio station, is murdered -- but he still has something to say. Written from the perspectives of the deceased Sass, his revenge-seeking daughter, and a priest reckoning with his faith, this thriller harkens back to '80s mafia movies and hardboiled Tarantino-esque comedies.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eOrange County Register\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Tiffany Hanssen's noir tale of the afterlife features the titular Gerry struggling through purgatory and trying to keep his daughter from repeating his mistakes . . . This book hit just the right balance between pacy and contemplative, for a novel with plenty of attitude and even more heart.\"\u003cb\u003e--CrimeReads\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alternating the high-speed narrative among her three well-drawn protagonists, WNYC on-air host Hanssen makes a kickass debut with this darkly funny, beautifully written, and highly original tale of murder, revenge, and family ties. Most importantly, she has written a moving story about the love between a father and a daughter that abides even after death.\"\u003cb\u003e--Willy Williams, \u003ci\u003efirstClue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Tiffany Hanssen's debut novel, \u003ci\u003eMy Name was Gerry Sass\u003c\/i\u003e, packs a wallop and pulls no punches. We have a faithless priest, a determined daughter, and a protagonist who is haunted--but not all that bothered--by the decisions he has made in his life. \u003ci\u003eMy Name was Gerry Sass\u003c\/i\u003e is fueled by a rare mixture of momentum, wit, and depth, and charges like a Mustang.\"\u003cb\u003e--Henry Wise, Edgar Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eHoly City\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The aftermath of a mob hit evolves into a meditation on life and death in Hanssen's incredible debut. I was fascinated by this interpretation of purgatory that collapses time into a construct and leaves only the connections we forge and the choices that either save or doom us. Hypnotic, gritty, and unflinching, Gerry Sass will stay with you long after he's buried.\"\u003cb\u003e--Mindy Mejia, \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eTo Catch a Storm \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Whisper Place\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"My Name Was Gerry Sass \u003c\/i\u003eis a gripping midwestern noir in the tradition of \u003ci\u003eFargo \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e A Simple Plan\u003c\/i\u003e--fast, blisteringly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt. Highly recommended!\"\u003cb\u003e--Dan Chaon, author of\u003ci\u003e Ill Will\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eSix Feet Under\u003c\/i\u003e in this thrilling debut crime novel about the killing of a hitman-for-hire, his daughter who wants revenge, and a priest who accidentally witnessed everything\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGerry 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlternating between the voices of a grieving and adrenaline-fueled daughter, a guilt-ridden priest with no one he can trust, and the voice of a dead killer not quite yet gone, \u003ci\u003eMy Name Was Gerry Sass\u003c\/i\u003e exposes the complicated natures of family, grief, and God in this propulsive and darkly funny novel. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780802167057, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 02\/23\/2026 (EAN 9780802167057, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/01\/2026 pg. 44 (EAN 9780802167057, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/30\/0001 (EAN 9780802167057, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eHanssen, Tiffany\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTiffany Hanssen \u003c\/b\u003eis an on-air host at public radio station WNYC in New York City. During her decades-long career in broadcasting, she has produced award-winning national programs and worked at stations from Las Vegas to Washington D.C. She is also a screenwriter and mom to two boys. And although she was born in Iowa and spent many years in Minnesota, she currently lives in Manhattan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Atlantic Crime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496152138006,"sku":"9780802167057","price":32.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780802167057.jpg?v=1783054156","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/my-name-was-gerry-sass","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}