Lost Light Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Lost Light? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Lost Light. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Lost Light ReviewFrom his first incredible book, "The Black Echo," LAPD Detective Harry Bosch has had one mission and one mission only as he sees it-to speak for the dead. To bring justice to those who have killed and some measure of comfort, no matter how small to the victims left behind as survivors. When he retired, he took his watch and his files and thought his mission was over.
Instead, while he does not have the authority of the badge any more, he realizes as time passes that the mission remains. In particular, a case from a four year old unsolved murder begins to work its way into his mind. Angella Benton, an employee of Eidon Productions, was found dead in the vestibule of her apartment building. Bosch was assigned the case and was working it days later on a movie set when the set was robbed of two million dollars during a brazen daylight robbery shootout. Bosch would wound one robber, none of whom were ever caught, and the money was never found. After the robbery and the resulting high profile glare of the media, the Benton case was pulled from Bosch and folded into the robbery investigation and given to two detectives from Robbery Homicide. Days later, while eating lunch, one of the detectives was killed and the other permanently paralyzed in a robbery at a neighborhood bar.
That was a death knell for the case as cops are a superstitious lot and there are always new cases that demand immediate attention. But Bosch without a badge is just as aggressive as he was when he carried the shield. He may be retired, but he still goes at it the only way he knows how and soon seems to have antagonized his former bosses as well as other parties. Before long, old friends are annoyed, a federal terrorism task force is involved and unhappy, as well as numerous other shadowy figures. Once again, violence comes home in more ways than one, but no matter what, Bosch won't stop.
As in the other novels of this enjoyable series, Connelly looks deep into the dark abyss that lurks within everyone where life is cheap and greed in the moment wins out over human decency. At the same time, by using an unexpected plot twist, one of several at the end, Harry is redeemed and temporarily at least, finds the peace and solace he has sought for in novel after novel.
While this book reads like it might be the final one in the Harry Bosch series, which has had one heck of a run, I hope not. If it is, Michael Connelly has fittingly ended the series by exploring and further developing his signature character. He has done so in new and unexpected ways while adding plenty of action, an intriguing core mystery as well as additional secondary storylines, and a fine plot. This is a top notch read and proof of why he is simply one of the best crime writers in the business today.Lost Light Overview

Want to learn more information about Lost Light?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Last Detective Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Last Detective? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Last Detective. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Last Detective ReviewCrais is a favorite of mine because he takes chances and seems to grow with his characters. For four years, fans have been waiting for a new Elvis Cole book -- and this tense, fast paced story will not disappoint many!
Be prepared for the darker tone we saw in L.A. Requiem; there is little for Elvis to wisecrack about; no one has brought him a case to strategically solve, instead he's vilified as the party responsible for the kidnap of Ben Chenier. Crais gives us strong dialogue and emotion, change ups in the story's point of view, some blind alleys and some down right insightful detective work.
Layers of Elvis' past evolve, and, for the first time, we see Joe Pike as vulnerable and unsure. Crais adds Carol Starkey, tough cop from "Demolition Angel" as the Juvenile cop assigned to the case. Starkey and Elvis are a potent mix.
True responsibility for the kidnapping is somewhat easy to guess, but Crais makes up for it by insuring that the story ends in a way that much of life does...everybody loses, but some lose more than most.
If there is a better writer in this genre today than Crais, please let me know who he/she is! Crais' work is outstanding...
Highly recommended, but more so if you've read previous novels in the Cole series. You can't invest as much in Elvis and Joe as characterized here, unless you've glimpsed the past.The Last Detective Overview

Want to learn more information about The Last Detective?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Talk Talk Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Talk Talk? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Talk Talk. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Talk Talk ReviewWith TALK TALK, his eleventh novel, T.C. Boyle has constructed another literate, thoughtful page-turner. The protagonist is Dana Halter, an independent, feisty, attractive woman in her early 30s. She teaches school, enjoys an occasional evening out at loud nightclubs, and has a younger boyfriend named Bridger Martin who adores her. In short, she's a normal, responsible young woman who also happens to be profoundly deaf. The problem is that apparently there's another Dana Halter out there, as she discovers when she's arrested after running a stop sign. This other Dana Halter passes bad checks in multiple states with her driver's license number, her social security number. And this Dana Halter has skipped bail twice. So despite Bridger's best efforts, Dana spends a humiliating, uncomfortable weekend in the San Roque county jail.
"Dana Halter" is only one of the identities that the antagonist Peck Wilson has collected in the years since he was released from prison in New York State. As the book opens, Peck lives as Dr. Dana Halter in a Marin County waterfront condo furnished with nothing but the best for his kitchen (he's a very gourmet sociopath) and his bed (a Russian beauty named Natalia.) He is an old hand at identity theft and manages them carefully, wringing them almost dry before moving on and covering his tracks.
When the real Dana is finally released from jail, she finds that the authorities aren't overly concerned with prosecuting this so-called victimless crime. It's up to her and Bridger to retrieve her impounded car and field phone calls from irate creditors. But Bridger acquires the thief's cell phone number from one such creditor and makes contact. Peck, wanting to cut his losses, informs the wary Natalia that his name is not Dana after all, and trades in her BMW Z4 on a wine-colored Mercedes S500 for their escape from town. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse, Jetta vs. Mercedes chase across the continent that culminates in a final showdown of sorts at a train station in Peck's hometown of Peterskill, New York.
The plot packs a wallop matched by Boyle's inventive language and multi-faceted, believable characters. Dana's "handicap" has made her tough and stubborn; we see the tremendous effort it takes to make herself understood, and how frustrated she gets when she can't. Bridger has learned to sign and she reads lips, but under the fatigue and uncertainty they face, sometimes communication between them breaks down. The thief, Peck, wears his sense of entitlement as naturally and easily as his Italian suits, and in the long stretches of narrative from his point of view, we are equally fascinated and repulsed by his absolute disregard for anyone but himself. Natalia, who he thinks he loves, is really just another fine possession, more complicated than a car perhaps, but manageable by charming lies or threatening fury.
T.C. Boyle is in fine fettle here. He can linger on a character's momentary interior state for a page and a half without boring us, because he can also cover a few days effectively in a single paragraph. Boyle's cleverness makes us smile. "At the impound yard --- CASH OR CREDIT ONLY NO CHECKS --- they waited in line for twenty minutes while the people in front of them put on a demonstration of the limits and varieties of hominid rage." And his incisive similes keep us firmly in a character's head. Here is Peck in an ecstatic mood: "Then it was back down what had to be one of the most scenic highways in the world, the road sliced right out of the side of the mountain like a long abdominal suture holding the two pieces together, and the view had never seemed so exotic to him, sailboats on the river like clean white napkins on a big blue tablecloth, the light portioning out the sky in pillars of fire."
TALK TALK succeeds because it ponders the mysteries of identity and communication while seducing the reader with that most primal of motives: revenge. Will Dana have it, and if she does, what will it cost her? Or will the wily Peck slip under the radar once again?
--- Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol
Talk Talk Overview

Want to learn more information about Talk Talk?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Closers Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Closers? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Closers. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Closers ReviewIn Connelly's previous novel, The Narrows, Harry Bosch was seriously considering coming out of "retirement" and returning to service with the LAPD, despite several misgivings, one of which was the entrenched corruption throughout the force. However a new police chief is on board with a mission to clean house. Harry's old enemy, Deputy Chief Irving, a self-serving political player, wants Harry to fail and will do anything to achieve this end. Bosch has been assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit, (cold cases) teamed up with his old partner, Kiz Rider, a no nonsense police woman in a predominately male domain, embark on an unsolved seventeen year old murder of a young girl, shot through the chest and taken out of her bedroom and dumped in a field. Harry attacks this unsolved murder with calculated zeal, leading to possible corruption in the force, pushing the case to it limits to find the perpetrator. The Closers begins at breakneck speed and doesn't let up until the last page is turned.
Reading The Closers was like meeting an old friend after a year of absence. Harry Bosch is one of the great characters in crime fiction, a man with an incredible sense of justice and an over bearing conscience, that pulls him into trouble from time to time. His relationship with Kiz Rider, as his partner, is a perfect match, as they know each other well, can read each other's thoughts before a word is spoken. Kiz never rides on Harry's coattails, but contributes to the motion, adding her own special skills to the investigation. Harry is older but he's a little smarter, and careful to stay within the bounds of the law. Kiz keeps Harry in line and is there to prevent him from slipping into his old, unorthodox habits.
As a piece of crime fiction, The Closers is by no means a character study, it is entirely plot driven, following Harry Bosch at work to every twist and turn of the case. Connelly knows how to write a crime novel and does not leave anything to the imagination. I have come to believe that the crime genre is an art form all its own, and Connelly has become one of its masters.
This is the real thing. Modern detective fiction doesn't get any better, and in the hands of Connelly, one can be sure the ride will be thoroughly entertaining; and The Closers delivers on all counts - a five star effort.

The Closers Overview

Want to learn more information about The Closers?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries) ReviewThis is the third Kurt Wallander book, and it regrettably marks the series' continued decline in quality since Mankell's promising debut. The first book (Faceless Killers) was a solid police procedural, while the second (The Dogs of Riga) threw the provincial detective inspector into a wildly improbable espionage tale. This next book strays even further from Mankell's strengths and the result is a rather lame and entirely too long attempt at shoehorning Wallander into an international thriller. The story starts promisingly enough-in the opening chapter the reader is shown the seemingly random murder of a real estate agent in southern Sweden. The next 100 pages are quality police procedural stuff, as Wallander leads the hunt for the missing woman. It's a good puzzle, as he pokes into her apparently spotless life and tries to reconstruct her final movements. Then the book takes a U-turn as the story moves to South Africa. It's 1992, Nelson Mandela has recently been released from jail and President de Klerk is trying to steer the country to some kind of peaceful post-apartheid political arrangement. The next 100 pages detail how a secret committee of powerful right-wing racists led by an intelligence operative seek to derail the process -- and have decided to have Mandela assassinated. Rather improbably they complicate matters by having their South African hitman smuggled into Sweden to be trained by an ex-KGB operative. The rationale for this convoluted scheme doesn't really make any sense, and its only purpose is to serve as a flimsy way to link Sweden and Wallander to the story.
Things move along back in southern Sweden, as the woman's body is found and the missing persons case turns into a murder investigation. The procedural aspects are handled as ably as ever, although three books into the series, Wallander's colleagues are still flat, unexplored characters. With the discovery of a powerful radio transmitter, a rare handgun specific to South Africa, and the severed finger of a black man, you'd expect the investigation to become a little more intensive. However, mostly Wallander muses on how odd it all is. As in the last book, once he does get on the trail of the killer (Mankell does this very clumsily, as Wallander is given the ex-KGB agent's name by a bartender who would have no logical reason to know it), he does all manner of improbable stuff. It's appears to be a trademark of the series that just when Wallander's on exactly the right track, he goes home to drink or sleep instead of calling in a raid or picking suspects for interrogation, thus allowing them just enough time to escape. One of the major failings of the series that Wallander is alternately persistent or lazy, depending on what the plot calls for. In any event, while Wallander and the ex-KGB man chase each other back and forth across the Swedish hinterland, another investigation is taking place in South Africa where two loyal government agents unravel the plot from the other end.
In the end, it's all too obvious that Mankell has read Frederick Forsyth's classic thriller The Day of the Jackal, because the similarities are striking: A secret committee plans the assassination of a world leader in order to thwart political change that will do away with their privileged status. A cold-blooded hitman is contracted with. The killing will be done via high-powered sniper rifle. Intrepid investigators will race against time to uncover the plot. Even the ending is the same, in Forsyth's book the police race up stairs just in the nick of time, here the police race up a hillside just in the nick of time. Mankell's version of all this just isn't very compelling. It doesn't help that the book is cluttered with rather insipid lengthy digressions into the psyche of various characters and cheesy expositions on Africa. For example, we learn all about the importance of the "spirit world" for the hitman. More problematically, the reader is told that apartheid is to blame for his becoming a cold-blooded killer. The entire book is overly ambitious, and whenever we leave Wallander and his investigation, it doesn't work. With this book, and to a lesser extent the previous one, it's clear that Mankell's attempts to combine contemporary world affairs with the life of a depressed provincial cop just doesn't work. Fortunately, the next in the series (Sidetracked) stays at home.The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries) Overview

Want to learn more information about The White Lioness: A Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery ReviewOn Midsummer night (a big celebration in Sweden) 3 young adults are shot to death in cold blood in a nature reserve in South Sweden. The killer is extremely careful: he removes all traces, including the bodies, and makes the parents belief that their children have gone on an extended summer holiday to Europe. But something is not right and this feeling becomes very urgent when one of Inspector Kurt Wallander's colleagues is found in his apartment with his face blown to pieces. Time for Wallander and his team to start an investigation for a killer that always seems to be one step ahead of the team. Four more people die before the team has an idea who the killer might be, and even when the investigation turns into a manhunt, they need all their considerable skills to bring this case to a good end. And in all this mess Wallander also finds out that he is a diabetic and has to change his lifestyle: not an easy option when you are trying to catch one of the most gruesome serial killers that Sweden has ever seen...
Once you are reading this book you cannot stop. The book seems to be slow-paced, but that is only at the surface, below that there are numerous developments that keep the reader interested. A real page turner.One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery Overview

Want to learn more information about One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel ReviewIan Rankin has written his 19th book. This is the 16th novel in the Inspector Rebus series. Inspector John Rebus is a man with a rakish sense of humour and a dry wit. He is a loner. He has a past, and we are given a glimpse every now and then. He is as finely wrought a character as I have seen. He is a man after my own heart. I have always wanted to be a spy in the CIA and this comes close enough.
Rebus is in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. It appears that Rebus has scalded both hands and infection has set in. Did this happen as he says by putting his hands in scalding water for too long a period of time? It would appear that this might be too coincidental since Fairstone, a man who was stalking Detective Sargeant Siobhan Clarke, has just died in a fire. Siobhan is also wondering if Rebus came to her defense and killed the man.
Detective Clarke is here in hospital to relate to Rebus the horrible events that have just happened in South Queensbury. An ex-SAS or army man had walked into a private school, turned his gun on three young men and then killed himself. What was this slaughter all about? What was the motive, was it revenge?
Rebus is called upon by Detective Inspector Bobby Hogan to come to Queensbury to assist him in the investigation. Rebus is an ex-army man himself and may have insight into the why's and where's.
Siobhan must accompany him since he cannot drive. His hands are bandaged and he is taking medication with his whiskey to stave off the pain.
There is no mystery about whodunit. A creep, a loner, an army veteran who got his kicks out of terrifying the local teenagers in his speedboat. A man gone mad? Were the killings random? Why did this man bypass other rooms and go directly to the student lounge? With his superiors breathing down his neck, Rebus immerses himself into the investigation. He finds a family link and is drawn into the questions, "why does a man kill, is it a matter of revenge or a question of blood?"
This is about as good as it gets in a Rebus novel. The characters are finely drawn, dark and gritty. The storyline is carefully detailed. We get a closer and more intimate look at Rebus the man. Bring 'em on Ian Rankin, you have only just begun! prisrobA Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel Overview

Want to learn more information about A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

City of Bones Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy City of Bones? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on City of Bones. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

City of Bones ReviewI have heard lots of good comments about the Harry Bosch novels and I was not disappointed with this seventh book of the series. Bosch is a hard boiled homocide detective in the Hollywood division of the LAPD who gets a call that a dog has discovered a human bone. The investigation uncovers a 20 year old murder of a 12 year-old boy who was the victim of child abuse. As the case proceeds, Bosch meets and becomes involved with a rookie cop named Julia Brasher, who has an idealistic view of police work.
Some information leaks and false clues initially sidetrack the investigation but slowly the victim is identified and his short and tortured life revealed. Connelly draws his characters with fine strokes and his development of the details of the police procedures which are key to solving cases was really fascinating to me. Understanding the murder book, how warrants were drawn up and served, and details behind the forensic investigation added to my enjoyment of the story.
False directions provide intrigue but I was a little disappointed with the unsatisfying way the murderer was revealed and dealt with.
All in all though, a fast paced (I read it in one 24 hour period), and very enjoyable read.City of Bones Overview

Want to learn more information about City of Bones?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Victims of Dead Man Walking Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Victims of Dead Man Walking? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Victims of Dead Man Walking. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Victims of Dead Man Walking ReviewVictims of Dead Man Walking has been the most difficult, tear-jerking, enraging, must read I have come across. Ever. This brutal rape and murder happened not far from my home, and Faith's memory is still well within the minds and hearts of people all over our area. She was a beautiful, smart, 18 year old young lady who had the world within her reach on graduation day. But a cruel, unrelenting Robert Willie and Joseph Vaccaro, both of them boasting about a life of crime without remorse, stole Faith Hathaway away from this earth. They raped her repeatedly, stabbed her until the gaping wounds nearly severed her head, and left her to die alone in Fricke's Cave, only to be discovered 8 days later by a then 25 year old whip detective Mike Varnado. Hollywood doesn't want you to know these things. They would rather you believe that a then 24 year old "Matthew Poncelet" (a dead ringer for Robert Willie if there ever was one), who received the death penalty by electric chair, became a remorseful repentant man when he met his fate. Nothing of the sort ever occured. His partner in crime, Joseph Vaccaro, sits this day in a federal penitentiary still serving out his sentence for yet another crime, the rape and kidnapping of a "16 year old from Madisonville".
This book is so very well written it feels as though Detective Mike is speaking to you personally. He makes it easy, while terrifying, to put yourself in his shoes, countless sleepless nights after discovering Faiths swollen, nude, decomposing body in the once family oriented Fricke's Cave. You can feel the anger rise up from the pages from a very cruel young man who boasted of his murders, who never showed remorse, but loved the attention he gained from the spectacle of a nun and the television news. After the book DMW and movie of the same name, the real story of Faith Hathaway was nearly forgotten until Detective Mike brought forth the true details of the crime. One need not be pro nor con death penalty to learn valuable lessons and true facts of Faith Hathaway. After speaking with Faith's mother personally, I learned that Mrs. Harvey (Faith's mother) asked Tim Robbins (DMW director) to at least visit the area of Fricke's Cave where her daughter was left to die. Mr. Robbins response was "I don't have the time". Please - make the time for this book, the REAL story of the Victims of Dead Man Walking. These words by Detective Mike will make you a litttle wiser to the facts of this young girl, the trial that followed, and could very well give you the knowledge to save your own life one day.Victims of Dead Man Walking Overview

Want to learn more information about Victims of Dead Man Walking?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2) ReviewThis book is the second volume in the Library of America set on American crime noir. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I decided to read the second one during Christmas break. Once again, the LOA has done a nice job of collecting a fine series of stories. These stories were written during the 1950's and 1960's. The book is nice to look at too; it's covered in red cloth with a cloth bookmark.
The first story is from the demented mind of Jim Thompson. This story, called The Killer Inside Me, is much better than The Grifters, a book by Thompson that I read some time ago. The Grifters seemed to be pretty one-dimensional with respect to its characters. This story is the exact opposite. A deputy sheriff in a Texas city has a terrible secret. He plays dumb on the outside, but inside he is a cunning sociopath. A long simmering resentment leads to a terrible revenge. Bodies quickly stack up as a result. This seems to be the story that Thompson is best known for and it's no surprise why. This is a dark, twisted tale with a grim ending.
Patricia Highsmith wrote a whole series of stories concerning Tom Ripley. The one included here is The Talented Mr. Ripley, probably better known due to the recent film with Matt Damon. This tale isn't as noir as I would have liked, but it still has enough twists and turns to keep anybody in suspense. Ripley is a low class conniver who ingratiates himself into a wealthy family who wants him to go to Italy and bring back their son. Ripley sees the potential for bucks and meets up with the kid and his lady friend. Of course, things take a turn for the worse and the bodies start stacking up. This story was probably my least favorite out of the entire collection.
The next story, Pick-Up, by Charles Willeford, is a depressing tale about two alcoholics who go bump in the night. The story follows the adventures of this alcoholic couple as they attempt suicide, check themselves into a mental hospital, and drink themselves into a stupor. After the female half of the couple dies in another suicide pact, the story switches to a prison tale. The end is somewhat of a twist, but really doesn't impact the story that much, in my opinion. Again, not really noir as noir can be, but still a fine story that can stand by itself.
Down There, by David Goodis, is a wild ride of a tale. Full of suspense and death, this is a great story that deserves to be included here. A family of ne'er-do-wells drags their talented piano-playing brother into their personal problems. The background information on Eddie, the piano player, is phenomenal. The tragedy that has struck him once is bound to repeat itself again. This story has great bit characters that really liven up the background.
The final story, by Chester Himes, is The Real Cool Killers. This is noir on acid: pornographic violence, massive doses of grim reality, and characters you're glad to see get killed. The story is set in Harlem and involves two tough cops named Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Someone kills a white guy in Harlem and the cops try and track them down. This story contains one of the funniest descriptions of a person falling off a balcony that I've ever read (and I've read a few, disturbingly enough). The writing has enough similes and metaphors to give Raymond Chandler an apoplectic fit. A cool story that certainly deserves a place in this book.
If you like noir, read these two LOA novels. They are long (together they're almost 2000 pages) but it is definitely worth the effort. These kinds of stories are just a great way to while away some free time and relieve stress.Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2) Overview

Want to learn more information about Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America) (Vol 2)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) ReviewNot whether to get it -- for you must -- but which edition to get it in -- that is the question. And the Everyman's edition is the edition you want. It has three novels to Modern Library's two, and its paper is thicker than that of the Library of America edition. The font is a tad smaller than that in the Vintage Crime paperback editions, but still pleasantly readable. And the hardcover binding is a sturdy, beautiful and very strokable red cloth.
As for the novels themselves, well, suffice to say, they are classics: addictive, page-turning, vivid, funny, haunting. The characters are original and believable. All rendered in tight prose and witty, convincing dialogues.
Enjoy.The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) Overview

Want to learn more information about The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library) ReviewIf you like characters in fiction that get under your skin, then this anthology is for you. Under the darkened pen of Patricia Highsmith, Tom Ripley, her most memorable character of fiction, brilliantly comes to life. Growing from a poor, insecure boy, to a suave, albeit dangerous man of the world, Tom Ripley takes you along through the passages of his life, holding you as a willing hostage to the dark secrets he keeps. From the Sunny shores of Italy to the elegant French countryside, we are allowed to eavesdrop into the inner workings of a master deceiver. Rarely do we get the chance to watch a character mature as the author matures, but over the course of several decades, Ms. Highsmith, accomplished the task by writing 5 books dealing with Tom Ripley. Her three best novels of the series are presented here.
For a good old fashioned, up all night, reading marathon, you can't go far wrong with this anthology. If you enjoy the feelings of hope, excitement, dispair, fear and loss then you'll love this compilation. Having read all the Tom Ripley novels, the only dissapointment I have is that there are no more.The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library) Overview

Want to learn more information about The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent ReviewI've been buying the Kinsey Milhone series as they have been published as 3-in-one hardbacks since last year when I finally discovered these fun little mystery books. I now wish I had discovered them years ago. These Kinsey Milhone mysteries,and Sue Graftons writing style have matured as the series progresses.
These books are easy reads - not terribly deep but they don't pretend to be anything but that either. I also recomend Janet Evonovich's Stephanie Plum series for readers who are fans of Grafton heroine Kinsey Milhone. Although Evanovich's heroine "Stephanie plum" is somewhat more of a "character" and the situations are far more unbelievable (intentionally so), the books are just as much fun.Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent Overview

Want to learn more information about Three Complete Novels: "G" Is for Gumshoe, "H" Is for Homicide, and "I" Is for Innocent?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox ReviewI purchased Nina Burleigh's fine book having only limited knowledge of the facts and circumstances surrounding the the tragic, horrific murder of Meredith Kercher, an English exchange student studying in Perugia, Italy, on a prestigious ERASMUS scholarship.
I can tell you unequivocally that I'm glad I bought and read this book. It is an outstanding piece of investigative writing containing a thorough, credible analysis of a most troubling series of events. It is also a damn fine page-turner of a read.
With only limited exposure to media coverage of the murder, ensuing investigation and trials, I was very puzzled and troubled by the case. I wanted to know more about what could possibly have driven two or three persons to commit such an unspeakable act. Was it drugs, sex, ritualistic pagan deeds, or something else? The murder, and ensuing police investigation and trials, were portrayed in a made-for-TV movie I saw recently and which upset me greatly. I was at first very angry about Amanda Knox and her boy friend, especially as they were portrayed in the TV movie. They struck me as trivial, hash-addled bone-heads, possibly murderers to boot. The movie, however, was low-grade in quality and lacking in credible analysis. I could not put my finger on it, but something about the entire case didn't feel "right" to me. Unsatisfied, and in after a restless a night or two following the TV movie on the case, I bought Nina Burleigh's book.
Nina offers a very thorough, well-researched, and provocative analysis of the case and players at all levels: the scene in Perugia, the university town in which the murder occurred; the victim and her flat mates; the three acccused and convicted of the crime; the Italian magistrate responsible for both investigating and trying the case; the police and crime lab personnel; the Italian legal system; the lawyers on all sides; the witnesses; and affected family members.
The book addresses the importance of context in this case. Context is crucial to understanding what happened and the likely reasons why each of the events along the way played out as they did. Absent an understaning of context the events in Perugia are so puzzling as to be beyond comprehension. That is why I slept fitfully after viewing the TV movie. The case made no sense to me.
The author does an outstanding job detailing and dissecting the context of the case. She includes discussion of how Ms. Knox's strange behavior informed the investigation, the motivations driving the prosecutor, the 3 accused of the crime, the media, and other, key players in the saga. The reader is thereby armed with all of the tools necessary to understand what went down the night of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
The author also skillfull reviews and critiques the tangible evidence, explaining in detail the strengths as well as the apparent weaknesses in the prosecution's case.
Reading this book helped me understand what most likely happened when Meredith Kercher was murdered. One is able to more readily comprehend the ensuing investigation and the culminating trials. The author's discussion of related topics central to context, including the still evolving role of women in Italian culture, the impact of religion on the case, and differences between the Italian and American justice systems, provide valuable insights. The author skillfully demonstrates in chapter after chapter her own gravitas as a writer and analyst.
Having practiced law for over 33 years in the United States, I can tell you from experience a case that makes no sense is every lawyer's worst dream. Thanks to Nina for writing a book that illuminates a most vexing case, one that is tragic on many levels.
We can only hope that justice will be done in the still-pending Knox and Sollecito appeals.
The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox Overview

Want to learn more information about The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde ReviewThe Bosch series is for anyone who likes a good police detective thriller. The story isn't as fast paced as James Pattersons - Alex Cross series, but the pace will keep you reading. The Black Echo, Black Ice, and Concrete Blonde (4 stars, 4 stars, and 5 stars, respectively) are a great compilation for starting with the Bosch Series. The first book may be a slightly predictable, but it gives good detail on the lead character. The second book builds on the first, with a lot of twists, and the third is the best of them all, a must read.The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde Overview

Want to learn more information about The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight ReviewFormer newspaper reporter Michael Connelly has been writing intriguing and suspenseful novels for his Harry Bosch protagonist for over a decade now. The first six of these novels have been collected into two hardcover omnibus volumes.
The first volume is certainly required reading if you want to understand the complete background and motivations of this brooding LAPD detective who won't tolerate injustice or any human vice that feeds it either directly (corruption, politics) or indirectly (bureaucracy, laziness, incompetence). They're interesting reads for sure, especially "The Concrete Blonde". However, those earlier stories expose Connelly as a new novelist unsure of what type of character Bosch is destined to be.
This second volume is the work of a much more seasoned and confident author writing about a multi-dimensional and human character. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll say that these three books develop Bosch well beyond just a grim crime-solving automaton who moves from case to case in a very detached manner. He goes after crimes that have personal significance and he undertakes situations outside his role as a police detective. The result is that by the time you turn the last page, you'll be hooked on the Bosch character, not just the stories of the crimes he's solved. That's the hallmark of a great fiction series.
Plus, these three stories are varied and intriguing in their own separate ways. The universe of characters that surround Bosch rotate in and out in ways that are highly interesting without being incredible. "Trunk Music" stretches this point a bit with a story that throws in every angle imaginable and almost loses its way. However, "Angels Flight" rebounds superbly and gets my vote for the finest book of either volume.
These volumes are must-haves for anyone interested in getting acquainted with one of the best mystery writers working today. At a price less than the cost of three paperbacks, you get a well-bound and attractive hardcover book, making this package a wonderful value as well.The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight Overview

Want to learn more information about The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...