Final Copy
Forthcoming October 2026
Gotham Express magazine founder and editor Jonathan Daly had it all. Talent, money, fame, charm, good looks, and success. But he also had a huge ego, tremendous arrogance, a volcanic temper, and the ability to alienate even those closest to him. So there is no shortage of suspects when Jonathan is brutally murdered. And no shortage of danger when Jonathan’s estranged spouse and widow, Ellen Foley, is threatened with the same fate.
It’s up to former Gotham Express star investigative reporter David Anderson to find the answers when Ellen—the ex-girlfriend and gifted editor who left him to marry Jonathan five years before—shows up asking for his help.
David’s work is cut out for him. A hitman is on the loose, David and Ellen are the cops’ chief suspects, and for every stone he unturns in Jonathan’s life, David finds more questions and contradictions than answers. The Jonathan he and Ellen thought they knew had dark secrets even they cannot believe. David must unravel this tangled web of history, corruption, and murder before time runs out for Ellen—and for him.
Reviews
"Friedman races out of the gate with a sure-footed debut centered on investigative reporter turned private eye David Anderson...Friedman’s sleek prose and knack for well-timed wisecracks carry readers through the plot’s clever reversals and red herrings, and David is a quick-witted and appealing lead. This is top-notch."
“Immediately engaging...this debut novel is a classic noir updated...both a page-turner mystery and an illuminating exploration of contemporary faces of evil.”Joyce Carol Oates
“Cynical, wry, and brimming with crackling repartee to please the most hardboiled reader.”Charles Ardai, Edgar-Award-winning author of DEATH COMES TOO LATE
“First-rate first mystery filled with sharp characterizations, wry humor, memorable scenes, and a swiftly-paced, well-developed plot. A winner from start to finish.”Bill Pronzini, 2008 Mystery Writers of America Grand Master
“Robert Friedman's FINAL COPY is the elegant mashup of Hecht's THE FRONT PAGE with Polanksi's CHINATOWN which we never knew we needed. In fashioning the character of Dave Anderson--reporter turned private eye turned reporter once more--Friedman has crafted the perfect protagonist to express a winning blend of empathy and sarcasm, wit and vulnerability, savvy and sangfroid. With a bevy of sharply sketched supporting characters--former love interest Ellen Foley, egotistical murder victim Jonathan Daly, fey Operations Manager Dorsey Woodbine, plus some cynical, canny coppers and a throng of suave businessman thugs--the plot gallops along from one vivid scene to the next. Not only does Anderson have to solve his ex-employer's murder, he has to write up the whole affair for publication in the trendy New York magazine whose pages are figuratively inked with blood and toxic chemicals. That is, if he isn't first murdered himself! This book demands a sequel, since Anderson and Company are too entertaining to be shelved and forgotten with last month's periodicals.”Paul Di Filippo, author of THE BIG GET-EVEN, THE DEADLY KISS-OFF and THE MEZCAL CRACK-UP
“The one-liners fly as fast as the bullets in Robert Douglas Friedman's fast-paced and quick-witted Final Copy. David Anderson is an investigative journalist turned PI then back again as he tries to find the killer of his ex-boss while keeping both himself and his former girlfriend from meeting the same grisly fate. As witty as it is suspenseful, Final Copy works as a hard-edged thriller with just the right amount of humor.”Rick Ollerman, author of Mad Dog Barked
“Deft, funny, polished, poignant...moves along with brisk assurance to a very satisfying conclusion.”Barry N. Malzberg, author of THE REMAKING OF SIGMUND FREUD and the LONE WOLF series
“Friedman hits it out of the park with his first novel, "Final Copy," a darkly etched mystery evoking classic noir and the hardboiled detective, fast, fun and furious.”Jonathan Santlofer, author of the international bestseller "The Lost van Gogh" and "Ten Perfect Guests"