I never thought I'd be a true crime addict, but I've lately discovered some great true crime books and authors, and I wish I hadn't, because I can't sI never thought I'd be a true crime addict, but I've lately discovered some great true crime books and authors, and I wish I hadn't, because I can't seem to stop reading them.
Ann Rule is one of those authors. The Grande Dame of the true crime genre, Rule has written dozens of best-selling and award-winning books, including one of the definitive works on serial killer Ted Bundy, "The Stranger Beside Me". Many of her books have become movies.
In 1993, Rule published the first volume in her Crime Files series, "A Rose For Her Grave And Other True Cases". It is a compilation of nonfiction stories about real-life murder.
"Riveting" does not begin to describe her writing. Rule writes in a very straightforward manner. One could say that it is almost dry, kind of what one would expect from a thoroughly-detailed police report. (She was a police officer early in her career, which helps to explain that.) And yet she manages to capture the humanity and the deep psychological underpinnings of some of the most vile crimes one human can commit against another.
This book would be un-put-downable except for the fact that it deals with some extremely awful real-life cases. I had to set the book aside several times for mental and spiritual breathers.
Rule published about a baker's dozen more in this series, and I want to read them all....more
New Iberia police officer Dave Robicheaux is on a routine transport of two convicts. His partner breaks the rules by stopping to let one of the criminNew Iberia police officer Dave Robicheaux is on a routine transport of two convicts. His partner breaks the rules by stopping to let one of the criminals---handcuffed and in leg-irons---use the bathroom at a gas station. Within seconds, Dave's partner is dead, along with a gas station attendant. The two convicts escape, leaving Dave for dead with a gunshot wound in his chest.
Thus begins James Lee Burke's novel "A Morning for Flamingos", the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series.
Jimmy Lee Boggs is a bad man, and he's now on the loose. The other convict, a young black man who may or may not be falsely accused of a crime, saved Dave's life and is also in the wind. Dave wants to find both men, one to kill and one to thank.
In the meantime, Dave reluctantly agrees to go undercover to infiltrate a drug dealer's ring. Tony C has a bad reputation, but, as Dave gets to know him, he begins to realize that the reputation may not be warranted. Sure. he sells drugs, but Tony seems to have a code of ethics and a moral center that many of his peers don't possess. He also has a special needs son that is the most important thing in his life.
Dave likes Tony C, if only because they are both Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD. Tony is more like Dave than Dave wants to admit. Now, Dave is torn. Does he continue undercover to bring Tony down? Or, with the help of his loyal albeit psychopathic friend Clete Purcel, find some way to help Tony against the even worse Houston mob?
Lots of stuff going on in this one, but Burke has a way of threading each storyline into a cohesive whole. I've said it before: Burke is an amazing writer. His prose is as beautiful as, I can only imagine, the Louisiana sunsets he is always describing. ...more
Before L.A. cop Bruno Johnson had to break numerous laws, become a fugitive from the U.S. government to save the lives of a dozen children, and flee tBefore L.A. cop Bruno Johnson had to break numerous laws, become a fugitive from the U.S. government to save the lives of a dozen children, and flee to Costa Rica with his girlfriend and elderly father, he was just a young, tough, idealistic cop in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
The fifth book in David Putnam's excellent series to feature his protagonist Johnson, "The Innocents", is actually a prequel, diving into Johnson's background, illustrating how and why he became the man he became in subsequent books.
It's the first day of his new assignment in the L.A. County Sheriff Violent Crimes Unit, and Johnson awakens to find a life-changing surprise on his doorstep. An ex-girlfriend that he hasn't seen in about a year shows up at his home with a baby girl, a daughter that Johnson didn't know he even had. She hands the infant off to Johnson and is gone, asking that he doesn't try looking for her.
As if it wasn't stressful enough to be saddled with a newborn, Johnson's new assignment is to go undercover in a narcotics unit where some of the cops are secretly being paid by drug cartels to assassinate competitors on the street. Johnson's job is to ingratiate himself with these bad cops, find hard evidence that would build a case, and report back to the select few superiors in the know. The problem? Some of the very superiors he is reporting to may actually be in on it.
Johnson's life is fucked, and the prospect of enjoying his role as a new dad may be short-lived if he can't figure out how to get out of this mess.
People underestimate Johnson, though. Sure, he's big, tough, and a hothead, but he's also a lot smarter than people give him credit for.
Another excellent action thriller from Putnam, a former cop himself who uses his own experiences on the streets to create authentic and ultra-suspenseful cop stories....more
Patricia Cornwell is on fire! Well, not really, but some of the victims in her ninth Kay Scarpetta thriller "Point of Origin" are on fire, and---basedPatricia Cornwell is on fire! Well, not really, but some of the victims in her ninth Kay Scarpetta thriller "Point of Origin" are on fire, and---based on Cornwell's gift for clinically graphic descriptions of murder, torture, and mutilation of human bodies---fire seems like the worst possible way to die.
The book literally starts with a bang, as Chief Medical Officer Kay Scarpetta is called to examine the aftermath of a housefire of one of the wealthiest men in America. The house and the neighboring horse stables---along with dozens of prize horses---were wiped out in seconds by a powerful conflagration, source unknown. All evidence points to arson, though. The charred body of a young woman is found on the property, making it murder, too.
When another intense housefire happens shortly afterwards, Scarpetta and the FBI are now on the manhunt for a serial killer, one who happens to be a pyromaniac.
On top of that, Lucy's former lover (and the late serial killer Temple Gault's protege), Carrie, has escaped from prison, with clear designs of revenge against Scarpetta and her niece.
Another exciting, and fiery, thriller from Cornwell. ...more
Ten years have elapsed since journalist Jack McEvoy uncovered---and, with the help of FBI Agent Rachel Walling, captured---the serial killer known as Ten years have elapsed since journalist Jack McEvoy uncovered---and, with the help of FBI Agent Rachel Walling, captured---the serial killer known as the Poet. That was 1996.
2006. Jack is one of the best reporters on staff of the Los Angeles Times, but, like most newspapers across the country, budget cuts and restructuring has made his job obsolete. He's been given the pink slip. He has two weeks to put his ducks in a row and prepare for the next chapter of his life.
On the same day he's laid off, he receives a call from an angry woman claiming that he lied in a story. One thing Jack takes pride in is his honesty in his stories. Digging deeper into the story in question, though, he realizes that his story was one-sided and failed to ask pertinent questions.
What he uncovers is the fascinating premise of Michael Connelly's novel "The Scarecrow", the brilliant follow-up to his first McEvoy novel "The Poet".
Connelly's novels invariably address significant current events that have major social repercussions, and "The Scarecrow" is no different. In this novel, he tackles the rise of the Internet, a technology that has transformed the social landscape, and not always in a beneficial way: the death of the newspaper industry, the loss of privacy, the threats of identity theft and other cybercrimes that were, just 10 years prior, unthinkable and relatively nonexistent.
Like "The Poet", "The Scarecrow" is a frightening and edge-of-the-seat serial killer thriller, but also like "The Poet", the entertainment value of "The Scarecrow" is diminished somewhat by its disturbing and depressing implications for reality in the 21st century. ...more
Being pulled over by the cops after a night out at the bar is a bummer. But being pulled over after a night out at the bar and having the cop find a dBeing pulled over by the cops after a night out at the bar is a bummer. But being pulled over after a night out at the bar and having the cop find a dead body in your trunk can really put a crimp in your life-plans.
Michael Connelly's sixth novel to feature his lovable ambulance chaser, Mickey "The Lincoln Lawyer" Haller, "The Law of Innocence", finds Haller on the other side of the defense table. Or, rather, both sides of the table, as he is both defendant and his own attorney.
Clearly being framed for murder, Haller has to convince a jury of his peers, as well as a stubborn prosecutor, that he is not only "not guilty" but that he's also innocent. (In the legal world, there is a distinction.) In order to exonerate him, Haller and his legal team (which includes his daughter, two ex-wives, his partner, his trusted detective, Cisco, and his half-brother, retired LAPD Harry Bosch) are working overtime to find the real killer (s).
Another great legal thriller from Connelly. Looking forward to this book turned into a later season of Netflix's "The Lincoln Lawyer". ...more
In Patricia Cornwell's eighth novel to feature Kay Scarpetta, "Unnatural Exposure", Virginia's chief medical examiner confronts a more terrifiying foeIn Patricia Cornwell's eighth novel to feature Kay Scarpetta, "Unnatural Exposure", Virginia's chief medical examiner confronts a more terrifiying foe than the serial killers she has fought in previous books.
There's still a serial killer in this, but the real threat comes from the killer's weapon of choice: a deadly lab-grown mutant virus, which has potentially global repercussions as the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) aid Scarpetta in hunting down the killer and simultaneously keeping a localized outbreak from becoming a worldwide epidemic.
This book was written in 1997, nearly 20 years before the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of its publication, the events and threats in the book were purely theoretical in this country. It was akin to science fiction.
Sadly, it's not anymore.
In terms of verisimilitude, Cornwell was frighteningly accurate, which makes this one of her more horrific novels. Edge-of-the-seat does not begin to describe its intensity......more
Michael Robotham’s novel “When You Are Mine” is a thriller that starts out being about one thing and gradually becomes about something else. It is hanMichael Robotham’s novel “When You Are Mine” is a thriller that starts out being about one thing and gradually becomes about something else. It is handled so adroitly that the transition is seamless and the suspense never lets up.
Philomena McCarthy is a cop. She’s a good one, too. Unfortunately, during a domestic disturbance call, she arrests a man named Darren Goodall for assaulting his mistress, a woman named Tempe Brown. This encounter, with both people, will unalterably ruin her life.
There are really two stories going on at once. One is a “bad cop” story. There is nothing more dangerous than a bad cop, and Robotham deftly illustrates how a corrupt, patriarchal brotherhood like the police can create, sustain, and protect loose cannons with deadly consequences. It is true: when good men do nothing, evil wins.
The other story is more complicated. It is about female friendship but an unnatural, unhealthy, and toxic relationship. It is a relationship built on deception, unhealthy obsession, extreme possessiveness, and psychological control.
This is an excellent suspense thriller in the vein of Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben, and Patricia Cornwell....more
Former New Orleans police detective Dave Robicheaux has been arrested for murder, and he’s not even completely sure he’s not guilty.
In James Lee BurkeFormer New Orleans police detective Dave Robicheaux has been arrested for murder, and he’s not even completely sure he’s not guilty.
In James Lee Burke’s third Robicheaux novel, “Black Cherry Blues”, published in 1989, Burke continues his sadistic mistreatment of his tortured protagonist. The guy just lost his wife, Annie, after two Colombian drug cartel henchmen blew her away in her bed. Now, struggling to stay sober despite every fiber of his body telling him to take one sip of alcohol, Dave is raising his adopted daughter, Alafair, alone. When a Vegas mobster ends up dead in a hotel room, Dave is thrown in jail for the murder. He’s released on bail with the help of his old partner, Clete Purcel, who was supposed to be fleeing corruption charges in South America but is now working for the head of afore-mentioned mobsters. What the actual—-?
Needless to say, Dave’s life is a mess right now. Facing a trial date in a few months in which his own lawyer is telling him he doesn’t stand a chance, Dave and Alafair hop in his pick-up and drive to Montana, to help an old classmate of Dave’s, Dixie Lee, a has-been rockabilly star whose life has been ruined by drugs and bad career choices—-he does odd shit jobs for the mob. He’s also there to help himself, as he’s tracking the guy who framed Dave for the murder in Louisiana. Kill two birds with one stone. Maybe three or four. Maybe a dozen. Whatever it takes to clear his name of murder. (Wait, that doesn’t make any… Whatever…)
Burke’s series is one of the best detective series ever written. I’ve read most, if not all, of the Robicheaux novels. I’m just going back and re-reading them in chronological order. My second time reading this, and it’s still great....more
Late on a cold winter’s night, Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a mysterious phone call. Hours later, she is scuba-diving in the murky waters of the ElizabeLate on a cold winter’s night, Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a mysterious phone call. Hours later, she is scuba-diving in the murky waters of the Elizabeth River in a Naval shipyard in Virginia, where she discovers the body of a man she knew fairly well.
The victim was a local journalist. The subsequent autopsy reveals that he was killed by cyanide gas, which makes his death a murder. Investigation into his murder takes Scarpetta into some dark territories, involving a death cult with links to Libyan terrorists, a corrupt cop with a personal vendetta against Scarpetta, and illegal arms trading potentially via corrupt naval officers.
Patricia Cornwell’s seventh book in her Scarpetta series, “Cause of Death” is another non-stop thriller.
Like some of the best action/adventure heroes, Scarpetta is incapable of staying out of trouble, and it seems that every misadventure she finds herself in outdoes the last one. Jeez, if she and Jack Reacher ever got together, it would probably precipitate some impending global catastrophe. ...more
The brutal murder of a homeless Jane Doe in the middle of Central Park has all the signs of the serial killer Temple Gault. This starts a chain of eveThe brutal murder of a homeless Jane Doe in the middle of Central Park has all the signs of the serial killer Temple Gault. This starts a chain of events that inevitably pulls in Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Officer of Virginia, who has personal experience and knowledge of Gault, as he has escaped her attempts at capture twice now.
Thus begins the sixth book in Patricia Cornwell’s phenomenal series of thrillers to feature her intrepid coroner, “From Potter’s Field”.
Gault is toying with Scarpetta, being so brash as to leave one of his fresh victim’s body in her own morgue, making her job site a crime scene. He has also found a way to hack into the FBI’s latest criminal profiling program, which was designed by Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy.
Scarpetta also knows that Gault is de-compensating—-an FBI term that simply means that he’s getting sloppier in his excitement to up the ante. Sloppy killers get caught easier, but they can also wreak a lot of deadly havoc before they do.
Of course, Scarpetta can wreak her own brand of havoc, too.
Cornwell’s series just gets better and better with each book. I can’t read them fast enough....more
When unrealistic ideals of beauty, social media, and teenagers collide, the results are never good. When you throw in supernatural evil entities and rWhen unrealistic ideals of beauty, social media, and teenagers collide, the results are never good. When you throw in supernatural evil entities and rogue quantum physics, the aftermath could be worse than Thanos’s finger-snap.
This is the problem that Jessica Jones faces in her first novel (targeted for adults), “Breaking the Dark”, written by best-selling author Lisa Jewell. It is the first of a proposed series of Marvel Crime novels, written by well-known mystery/crime writers. The second book, due out next year, is a Luke Cage novel written by S.A. Cosby.
Former superhero and current private investigator Jessica Jones reluctantly takes on a case of two teenaged twins who have returned from a trip from England. Their mother thinks something happened to them over there, but she can’t exactly articulate what. For all intents and purposes, the kids are fine. Perfect, really. And that’s the problem.
Before they went, they were normal teenagers. Since returning, they are more well-behaved, stronger academically, and they are performing better in sports and activities that they were merely decent in before. Oh, and they are also beautiful, with perfect skin. But they are also acting slightly weird. All of their friends say so, and even their mom notices. Something’s not right.
Jessica takes the case, and she’s soon off to the English countryside, in an idyllic little village called Barton Wallop. (Don’t ask.) The case may get her mind off some things she’s dealing with, like nightmares of the Purple Man and the fact that she’s pregnant with her on-again off-again boyfriend Luke Cage. (He doesn’t know yet.)
But her investigation soon uncovers something dark and evil lurking within the town, and her case is definitely linked somehow to a several-year-old case involving the abduction of three teenaged girls as well as a 30-year-old case of a New York serial killer called the Harlem Vampire.
Jewell, a British crime writer, tells a riveting yarn. She keeps one guessing as to what the hell is happening until the very end, and trust me: you’ll be guessing. And it’s clear that she’s a Jessica Jones fan, not just some writer assigned to write a novel featuring a comic book character. Fans would be able to see right through that shit anyway.
If the subsequent Marvel Crime novels in the series can maintain the quality started in this first one, I’m looking forward to reading them all. ...more
A little boy goes missing. A blood-drenched blanket is the only evidence of possible foul play. The boy’s mother is arrested for murder. Her husband, A little boy goes missing. A blood-drenched blanket is the only evidence of possible foul play. The boy’s mother is arrested for murder. Her husband, the town, the police: they have already decided she’s guilty. Her attorney, Moxie Castin, hires private detective Charlie Parker to investigate. Their hope? Find the kid, alive. Their realistic goal? Find out what really happened to the boy, bring his body back to be buried, and put the perpetrator in prison or the ground.
Thus begins John Connolly’s 21st book to feature Parker, “The Instruments of Darkness”.
Parker’s search for the real killer gradually leads him to unimagined horrors, the least of which is the father who may have a secret in his past, a commune of white supremacists preparing for a civil war in the woods of Maine, and a 100+-year-old house deep in the woods that is more than just a house.
This is Connolly at the top of his game, and this novel is his most edge-of-the-seat suspenseful supernatural thriller to date....more
The list of Great Black American Crime writers is a long and honored one, and it’s getting longer, especially with a growing number of female black crThe list of Great Black American Crime writers is a long and honored one, and it’s getting longer, especially with a growing number of female black crime writers. Chester Himes, Robert Beck, Walter Mosley, SA Cosby, and Rachel Howzell Hall are just a few of the well-known black authors you will find on bestseller lists.
If the name Robert Beck doesn’t ring a bell, it may be because he is known by his more popular “street” name, Iceberg Slim.
Slim, who died in 1992, was best known for his autobiography “Pimp”, first published in 1967. Slim served hard time for his criminal life of pimping, but he swore off the life after getting out of prison. He also got married and had kids, and it was his wife that suggested he write about his experiences.
He took to writing with as much gusto as he allegedly took to pimping, and his crime novels became underground classics. They are still published today.
In 2015, one of several unpublished manuscripts by Slim was discovered. “Shetani’s Sister” was published 23 years after he died.
Slim told a whopper of a good crime story, full of gratuitous blood, guts, and sex. He also spoke the language of the street, a lingo so full of specific regional jargon and slang that previous white publishers asked him to include a glossary at the end of each book.
“Shetani’s Sister” tells the story of two men on different sides of the law: Russell Rucker, a white L.A. detective with a lot of baggage; Albert “Shetani” Spires, a notorious New York City pimp with an extremely violent reputation. The two men are runaway trains on a collision course. Between their mutual destruction, a body count of corrupt cops, hookers, and innocent bystanders ticks upward.
Slim wasn’t a masterful writer: his dialogue could be stilted at times and he was prone to over-the-top scenes of violence that sometimes defied physical laws along with good taste. But what he lacked in eloquence, he certainly made up for in sheer enthusiasm.
Slim also had a pretty innate sense of human emotion and what makes humans tick. He was fascinated by human psychology, and his years of amateur research both in and out of prison paid off.
I’m looking forward to this novel being adapted as Season 5 of “True Detective”. (HBO, if you’re listening…)...more
Mickey “The Lincoln Lawyer” Haller has, despite his better judgment, joined the Dark Side. In other words, he is now working for the prosecution.
In MMickey “The Lincoln Lawyer” Haller has, despite his better judgment, joined the Dark Side. In other words, he is now working for the prosecution.
In Michael Connelly’s third Haller novel, “The Reversal”, everybody’s favorite ambulance-chaser is picked to be lead prosecutor in another headline-making trial—-or, rather, retrial—-of Jason Jessup, who has sat in prison for 24 years until recently, when new DNA evidence is discovered that calls into question his culpability in the murder of a young girl.
Haller picks his half-brother, LAPD detective Harry Bosch, to be his lead investigator, and his ex-wife Maggie McPherson to be his co-chair.
Almost immediately, Bosch finds out things about Jessup that may alter the trajectory of the entire trial, in a good way, but it may also put more people in danger.
Bosch and Maggie hoof it in the real world to gather facts and find witnesses, many of whom have either disappeared or died in the 24 years since the last trial. Meanwhile, Haller works his lawyerly magic in the courtroom.
Another exciting courtroom thriller from Connelly. I find Haller to be as charismatic and fun as Bosch is brooding and tough. They work well together, and I look forward to more team-ups. ...more
Nine years ago, Ronnie Joe Waddell brutally tortured and murdered Robyn Naismith, a young news anchorwoman, in her own home in Virginia. He was arrestNine years ago, Ronnie Joe Waddell brutally tortured and murdered Robyn Naismith, a young news anchorwoman, in her own home in Virginia. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to Death Row, where he sat until last night, when he was electrocuted in the electric chair. Waddell was dead.
Or was he?
On the night of his execution, a 13-year-old kid named Eddie Heath is found murdered by a dumpster. The body was mutilated and situated almost identically to Naismith’s body nine years ago. It’s either a copy-cat or Waddell was murdering people from beyond the grave.
Then, a few days later, a woman named Jennifer Deighton is murdered, and a clear set of fingerprints are found on a piece of furniture near her body. They belong to Waddell.
This is the puzzler presented to Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta in Patricia Cornwell’s novel “Cruel & Unusual”, the fourth novel to feature her protagonist.
Something really weird is going on, and, as always, Scarpetta seems to be right in the middle of it. Someone has been hacking her servers. One of her examiners has been acting strangely lately and is later found murdered. The warden of the prison where Waddell was serving is also found murdered. What the hell is going on?
Cornwell masterfully weaves a convoluted plot that you won’t be able to unravel until the very end. If you’re like me, you’ll immediately want to go back and re-read certain sections, just to gather clues. Read the book carefully, because Cornwell is one of those writers where every detail is significant in some way, even the red herrings....more
The third book in Patricia Cornwell’s mystery series featuring her character Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for Virginia, “All That Remains”, iThe third book in Patricia Cornwell’s mystery series featuring her character Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for Virginia, “All That Remains”, is a terrific thriller and more compelling evidence proving that Cornwell is one of the best thriller-writers out there.
Someone is targeting young couples, usually at rest stops. Eight murders in two years. Cause of death is unknown due to the fact that the bodies are usually found many months later in the woods, after the bodies have atrophied from exposure to the elements and wild animals.
The latest case may be the break the police need. Fred Cheyney and Deborah Harvey never arrive at the beach house that their family has rented. The car is found abandoned, and the couple is missing. Same m.o. as the previous murders.
There’s a difference: Deborah is the daughter of Pat Harvey, the “drug czar” who has been shaking Washington, D.C. up with her attack on “fake charities”, organizations that are secretly money-making fronts for Mexican drug cartels. She’s pissing a lot of people off, including people in her own government.
Scarpetta is gathering lot of intel and rumors that she doesn’t know whether to believe or consider as conspiracy theories. She does know that a lot of weird things aren’t adding up in this case. She also knows that she and her detective friend Marino aren’t being told everything, and this stonewalling is coming from on high.
Plot twists abound, and Scarpetta finds herself in another life-threatening situation. Honestly, she does for the job of medical examiner what Indiana Jones did for archaeologists. ...more
In cop-speak, a “brass verdict” refers to justice handed down with a bullet. It’s a way to bypass the law, the courts, judges, and juries. It’s vigilaIn cop-speak, a “brass verdict” refers to justice handed down with a bullet. It’s a way to bypass the law, the courts, judges, and juries. It’s vigilante justice.
One of Mickey Haller’s fellow defense attorneys, Jerry Vincent, is murdered in the parking garage of his law practice one night. It could have been any one of a hundred suspects, as a lot of people didn’t like Vincent. Any one of those suspects probably felt that what happened to Vincent was justice.
The next day, Haller is called downtown and told that he has inherited Vincent’s entire backlog of clients and ongoing cases, roughly thirty of them. Apparently, Vincent left a will, bequeathing his entire caseload to Haller upon his death.
One day, Haller woke up with no clients, and by lunchtime, he had thirty new ones.
Thus begins Michael Connelly’s novel “The Brass Verdict”, the second in the series featuring The Lincoln Lawyer.
Among his cases is the Walter Elliott case. Elliott, a wealthy Hollywood executive, is being accused of murdering his ex-wife and her lover.
Meanwhile, Detective Harry Bosch is working the Vincent murder. He’s asking Haller for help, but Haller’s hands are tied. He has attorney-client privilege, which prevents him from talking about anything to the police about ongoing or upcoming cases. But Haller wants to see Vincent’s murderer brought to justice, too, as Vincent was also a friend. There’s always loopholes, as Haller knows only too well.
“The Brass Verdict” is definitely one of my favorite Connelly novels thus far. It’s also a pretty important one in the series, as it’s the first time Haller and Bosch are teamed up. There are also some very important life-changing events for both characters in this one, but I won’t spoil it....more
Detective Renee Ballard works the night shift, a.k.a. “the late show”. Not necessarily by choice, but she doesn’t mind it. Interesting cases often popDetective Renee Ballard works the night shift, a.k.a. “the late show”. Not necessarily by choice, but she doesn’t mind it. Interesting cases often pop up during the midnight hour. She also meets a lot of interesting people.
Case in point: one night, Renee hears noises coming from an area of the station that is normally closed off after day shift. She comes across a strange older man rifling through filing cabinets. His name is Harry Bosch, a former detective with the LAPD. He is looking into a cold case: a young girl that was murdered years ago named Daisy.
Something intrigues her about this guy. She decides to offer her assistance on the case, carrying on the investigation at night after Bosch’s early shift ends. Thus begins an exciting new relationship in Michael Connelly’s novel “Dark Sacred Night”.
Connelly creates a whole new dynamic in this novel with this partnership between two detectives who are notoriously not good with partners.
Fortune or fate has brought Ballard and Bosch together, and woe to any criminals who get in the way of them meting their brand of justice.
I really dig Ballard, who is a young, fresh, fun foil to the set-in-his-ways old-school Bosch. I hope Connelly keeps going with this series for a long time....more
Harlan Coben used to be the King of what I called Suburban Crime Thrill-Dramas, a genre that he pretty much, if not invented, certainly perfected. TheHarlan Coben used to be the King of what I called Suburban Crime Thrill-Dramas, a genre that he pretty much, if not invented, certainly perfected. They were invariably set in a suburban setting, with a large cast of characters (it goes without saying that the characters were predominantly white middle- to upper-class) in a convoluted plot that had a strong soap opera vibe. They were, surprisingly, extremely suspenseful.
Alex Finlay may be on the path to usurping Coben’s crown.
In “The Night Shift”, a small suburban town in New Jersey that suffered a horrific tragedy on New Year’s Eve 1999 is forced to relive the horror when another similar tragedy happens fifteen years later.
In 1999, four teenagers were brutally attacked at a Blockbuster Video. Three of them were murdered. A fourth—-a young girl named Ella—-survived. She grew up to become a therapist, specializing in troubled teens and children suffering from major trauma. Ironically, Ella hasn’t really dealt with her own traumatic past.
One day in 2015, she receives a call from someone she never expected to hear from again. He tells her that a similar mass murder has happened, with another surviving teenager. The girl’s name is Jesse, and she tells an eerily similar story to Ella’s, down to the exact same final words spoken by the killer to her. The killer appears to be still out there.
Everyone was convinced that a local hoodlum named Vince was the killer of the Blockbuster murders, but Vince disappeared shortly after he was acquitted. The only one who ever truly believed in his innocence—-and still does—-is Chris, Vince’s younger brother.
An intrepid (and pregnant) FBI agent named Sarah, partnered with a rookie agent named Atticus, is called in to help the investigation. The two agents quickly uncover conspiracies and town secrets that shed new light on both murders.
Finlay’s pacing is break-neck, and there are enough plot twists to give one whiplash. It’s one of those thrillers that never lets up, nor gives up any of its secrets, until the very end.
This is the first novel by Finlay I have read, but it definitely won’t be my last. ...more
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