Mystery Crime Books

This book is a great thriller and espionage read but I was frustrated by the author's propogating the stereotypes and even his inaccuracies in details language and names. The names he had picked for his 'Iranian' characters were arabic and pakistani (Quitab and Parvez Jin) and Iranians write Farsi/Persian not Arabic. Overall he seemed to foster the typical stereotypes set forth by Hollywood. Might sell well but not responsible!

I don't read much of the spy thriller genre, but when I do, I hope that the author can match wits with the likes of someone from the intelligence community. Too much to ask, you say? Okay, well then how 'bout a little character development? How about some insightful historical context? No... ? A bit of thoughtful dialogue then, with one or two brilliant uses of descriptive "takes you there" scenery or witty turn of phrase? Alright, forget it. Can we have one or two cool spy gadgets and a wee bit of love and sexual tension?

In the end I couldn't finish it, even though I tried as it was a gift from a friend. Based on the first half though, I figure that that and the second half will probably show up on some daytime movie channel someday. Who knows, it might hold my attention until my workout's over on the treadmill...

May be a real page-turner for other folks, but it looks like Christopher Reich's works are not for me.

This isn't the genre of book that I usually read. As a fast moving story of International Espionage, I was never sure where the story would turn next and who or whom could be trusted. The story is set in a post-9/11 era and many of the details reflect our modern world. I have to wonder how much of the story is fiction and how much is true. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a story that makes you question the current events you read in the daily paper or see on the news.

In this novel, a doctor who practices in Third World countries as a volunteer with Doctors Without Borders finds himself embroiled in a scheme of international intrigue, terrorism, and government corruption at the highest levels. He must outthink and outfight his opponents while trying to unravel the mystery of why he's the object of an international manhunt, wrongly implicated as a terrorist, and accused of murder.

As an escapist thriller, this book works as far as the mechanics of the action; a lot of shooting in picturesque locales. The realization of the individual characters is pretty thin, though, so it's hard to build up much empathy on more than a very superficial level. I didn't find myself invested in them at all.

Frankly, this book - with the exception of its fatal flaw - works better as a script for a movie than as an engrossing novel.

Now to the real problem.


SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!




The key plot device - the actual perpetrators of the terrorist action - is one that in my opinion fell out of style back in the 70s: the "rogue" US government agency. And the reason it's so hackneyed is that in this day and age of government oversight and extremely partisan politics, it's simply beyond incredible that such an agency would not only be able to gather the resources necessary to carry out this scheme, but that a "competing" agency would let them continue on their path simply to discredit them.

I mean.... HUH?????

It was simply ludicrous beyond belief, and had me laughing out loud.

Straight out: buy Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva and take a pass on Rules of Deception. That is my rule.

Reich is a great writer. Unlike the authors who deliver treats once a year, Reich forces us to wait a while longer. Thus, one is left with a longer period to anticipate greatness. Sadly, Rules of Deception fails to deliver.

Here we follow reluctant hero Jonathan Ransom as he tries to find out who the woman he married really is: wife or spy? A series of subplots are drawn to the inevitable meeting at a woeful conclusion. In the past Reich was a master at weaving these subplots into the fabric of a great story. In Rules of Deception the weak subplots combine to weaken the whole.

In the past Reich was able to provide sufficient character development, usually surrounding an unwillling hero who rises to a great challenge. Perhaps it is just that Reich has become too formulaic. We have seen this story before in the same venues. Are there any other countries beyond Switzerland in which to be chased?

To be able to deliver consistantly great thrillers without falling victim to formula is a great challenge. Reich was able to successfully march rhough the minefield in the past. Sadly, Rules of Deception demonstrates that even a master sometimes fall short.

I fell in love with the author many years ago. I have completed almost all of his works. I enjoyed Swan Peak and eagerly await his next novel.

ANOTHER GREAT BOOK BY BURKE. ROBICHEAUX FANS WILL LOVE IT. WILL PATTON IS THE BEST READER AROUND FOR MY MONEY.

(3.5 stars) A middling James Lee Burke book is still MILES ahead of most other writers' work in the crime fiction genre. This one, altho not up to the standards of the previous "Tin Roof Blowdown", is well worth reading. I agree with some previous posters that the plot lines are too numerous & unnecessarily tangled. The book would have been helped by leaning it down a bit by dropping a couple of subplots. I disagree, however, with those who believe the book was hurt by temporarily leaving New Orleans & moving to the soaring "Big Country" setting. I think Burke brilliantly juxtaposes with bitter irony the edenic, "Heaven's Gate" Montana setting in all its staggering natural beauty against the petty, narrow minded, sometimes outright evil & horrific actions of various tormented human beings found in the book. It was also interesting to see how one tortured character who had committed many horrific acts in his past found redemption of a sort with a good woman, rather than his receiving the usual expected comeuppance of brutal street justice that is usually meted out to such characters in this series. Finally, I see all the debate about how Dave & Clete are portrayed as acting much younger & much more physically fit & formidable than men who are their actual ages. I really feel readers need to suspend disbelief about the "age factor" of the heroes in these various genre series. Robert Parker's Spenser is a Korean War veteran, even older than Robicheaux & Purcel, & still performing much larger than life derring do. I think we need to see these larger than life protagonists as forever sealed in still-vigorous middle age, rather than as preposterously unlikely senior citizens. Lawrence Block tried to portray his Matthew Scudder character as acting like his actual age in the last couple of books in that series, & the results were sad & dismal (at least for this fan). So I think it's either end these series & maybe create younger series heroes, or use artistic license & keep the older characters going frozen at an (inaccurate) younger age. Since I enjoy reading about these characters' exploits so much & don't want them to go away, I prefer the latter course.

Dave & Clete leave the big sleazy & head north to Montana to fish. Not before long Clete is fishing but in trouble again. He & Dave colide with a double homicide which begins their journey into the caves of degradation that are hiding in Montana. They have to re adjust their vietnam memories to get past these next sources of evil & maybe one other from the past that they thought was gone in a ball of fire. More murder & mayhem occur & more sleaze as they get to the finale.

I am a fan of James Lee Burke and look forward to every Dave Robicheaux novel. Mind you, it isn't a bad read - it simply does not compare well with his other work. Not a big deal really since every author occasionally doesn't quite hit the mark.

"Swan Peak" is weighed down with too many nefarious, if not nebulous, characters chasaing too many plots, sub-plots and backstories. In my opinion, the story would have been improved by slimming it down.

Robicheaux and his wife Molly, with Clete Purcel tagging along, are vacationing on a friend's property in Montana, far from their native New Iberia and New Orleans. Purcel is always a bull in a china shop and this outing is no different. In fact, Clete is almost buffoonish in this novel.

Burke, of course, is not writing a story about how Dave, Molly and Clete spent their summer vacation. With those two guys, there has to be trouble brewing - and there is. A pair of college kids, seemingly with innocent backgrounds, are brutally murdered on a hill above Robicheaux's friend's property. Immediately suspected are the rich, secretive Wellstone brothers, whose "security" personnel have already had a run-in with Clete. One of the brothers has a badly disfigured face from being burned in a French Foreign Legion tank. The other brother has an unspecified malady that puts him on crutches. Barely have the bodies of the two college students cooled, when two more bodies are discovered. The two have also been brutally murdered and disfigured.

The disfigured Wellstone brother is married to a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice and a beautiful son, who was fathered by a man imprisoned in Texas - until, of course, he escapes. A brutal prison guard stays on his trail as he heads north to Montana.

Now throw in an assortment of oddball locals, a rough woman with a heart of gold, FBI agents, a local sheriff and Burke's ruminations on the Vietnam and Iraq wars and you have the makings of an overly complicated plot. On top of that, add in the crash of an airplane years ago that may have been caused by Clete Purcel and a storyline that never quite catches up with itself and you have a somewhat unsatisfying James Lee Burke novel.

Needless to say, Dave Robicheaux and particularly Clete Purcel narrowly escape injury and death on several occasions and have all kinds of bad guys to deal with.

Frankly, it all got tiresome. The ending was long, drawn out and way too predictable, as well as being unbelievable.

In all, not a great read. Definitely not a bad book, but not on a par with most of James Lee Burke's other work. Hopefully, he'll be back to speed with the next Dave Robicheaux novel.

Jerry

I absolutely loved all three True To The Game books. I could not put this one (or any of them) down.

This book was better than the second one simply because it answered a lot of questions that im sure everyone had about the second one. I loved the ending. It was a little drawn out but still a good read.

IF YOU ARE A TERRI WOODS FAN AND HAVE READ THE TRUE II THE GAME SERIES THEN YOU WILL LOVE THE FINAL INSTALLMENT

PLEASE GO AND COP THIS BOOK ALONG WITH TRUE TO THE GAME II... I ENJOYED EVERY BOOK PART I PART II AND PART III.. TERRI WOODS IS ONE OF THE BEST!! HER WRITING IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE!!

i read part one when i was in my mid 30 it was good then, when i read part two and three im in my 40. i really thought part two and three was for the younger readers, the only reason i read part three was because i just wanted to finish the sequels, to see how things would end. i did not enjoy part three.
maybe for me it was a maturity thing, where i was at then and where im at now. if you really want to finish the series read it, get it from the library or borrow it from a friend.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is one-third a true crime book about a famous murder in the English countryside in 1860, one-third a history of the English detective profession in general, one-third a biography of Jonathan Whicher, one of the first English detectives, and one-third a literary history of the English detective novel. If you're good at math, undoubtedly you have calculated that Mr. Whicher includes more subjects than can fit comfortably in a single book. Some readers will find this quirky mix of elements to be confused or unfocused. I found it charming and entertaining. I am fascinated with the development of the English novel as a form of literature in the 1700s and 1800s, including the early detective novels by authors like Wilkie Collins. Although not necessary, having some background and interest in literary history makes Mr. Whicher a more absorbing read. The studious tone adopted by Summerscale may be a bit dry for some, but I found the tone to be a perfectly appropriate accompaniment to the subject matter(s) of the book. All in all, a varied, informative, and entertaining read.

Okay, it's all my fault I misunderstood what this book was about. I take full responsibility. I was thinking this was a novel based upon the style, artwork, and overall presentation of this book. I imagined a whodunit novel with twists and turns and clues to piece together as I read it. I was excited to say the least at the prospect of reading this book.

Instead, I found out about 60 pages in that this is in fact a history book! Not even historical fiction, real history! I kept wondering as I read this book when the story was going to start, but once I got into the frame of mind that I was reading a well researched history book the reading became a bit more manageable as I changed my expectations.

If the names Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes excite you, then this book would be a great addition to your library as it expands upon the early development of detective work and the origins of procedures, terminology, and the fascination with such work and the authors who write the stories.

At the core of the book however is a real story about a real detective and a real little boy who gets murdered. Along the way readers are sure to pick up a plethora of knowledge and a deeper appreciation and understanding of the birth of modern day detectives.

After reading the review in the NYTimes, I was very eager to read this book. It was a great story, well written, well researched and very compelling. I have read many historical accounts and this book stands alone in being a true page turner! I could not wait to find out who the murderer was. I am a big mystery fan and was intrigued to learn that it was this story that inspired so many British novelists. I could not wait to sink my teeth into this book and was not disappointed.

The book reads like someone did enormous amounts of research, then couldn't bear to leave anything out of the final product. As a result of the continual snippets of files, references, word origins, quotes from and references to Dickens, etc., the prose is turgid, and the book is tedious. Despite the fact that the story itself is highly interesting, the author manages to make getting through the book a hard slog. The editor should have cut the book in half.

This book may well be enjoyed by those interested in the origins of the practice now known as "detection" and who need something to help put them to sleep at night, but those looking for a "good read" should look elsewhere.

While Summerscale should be praised for all of the research she did while creating this text, she should also be critiqued for her saturating the book with unnecessary details. I found it highly irritating when she referred to another book or meaningless detail about a person unrelated to the story every paragraph or so. It was almost as if she wanted to prove how much she learned while researching. This took away from the storyline and dragged the book on and on. As a result, I would not recommend this book nor read another by this author's.

Never disappointing, Karin Slaughter writes a fine thriller. Her characters are the kinds of folks you might expect in the situations she creates, and they're human and believable.

FRACTURED was hard to put down, even when dinner needed to be prepared.

Affluent attorney Abigail Campano returns to her mansion in Atlanta's upscale Ansley Park section only to see a dead girl lying on the upstairs hallway. Without getting a close look, a stunned Abigail assumes the victim is her teenage daughter Emma. The apparent killer had not yet left the premise and the outraged Abby kills him. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Will Trent investigates along with Atlanta police Detective Faith Mitchell. The father Paul arrives filled with belligerence and bluster. Paul looks at the body and notices the lack of a birthmark; he insists the corpse of the teen is not his daughter; he and Abigail feel guilt and relief as Emma's friend Kayla Alexander lies dead on the floor.

Will concludes that besides the obvious murder, someone kidnapped Emma. His fear is that they are too late to save the life of the seventeen year old girl but he and Faith remain determined to try; while the case is already confusing with the homicide and the death of the alleged killer by the lioness in her home, neither expected the twists that the investigation takes. Still both cops fear they are too late.

Police procedural fans need to set aside time for this one sitting 400-page thriller as the audience will keep on adding one more exciting chapter after another to read. The two cops Will and Faith are a wonderful pairing as both are dedicated, but flawed; those personal defects augment a strong thriller. Filled with twists, FRACTURED will leave Karin Slaughter fans clamoring for the next GBI installment (see TRIPTYCH for the previous one).

Harriet Klausner

Karin Slaughter's latest release, Fractured is completely deserving of the acclaim and high praises it has received. Abigail Campano arrives home to discover her door unlocked and shattered glass around her feet. Her first response is fear for the well being of her daughter, Emma. As she rushes upstairs, she comes face to face with the battered and bloody body of her daughter and a man kneeling over her body with a knife in his hand. Pure adrenaline and rage consumes Abigail and she strangles the man to death. Enter Will Trent, member of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Will struggles with the crime scene and determines that the brutalized body upstairs does not belong to Emma Campano, but to her best friend Kayla, and the murdered man Abigail strangled with her bare hands was actually Emma's boyfriend, whose attempt to save Emma and Kayla got him killed. The shift from the murder to the reality of the kidnapping of Emma, forces Will to pair up with Atlanta officer Faith Mitchell. Running against the clock and without any suspects or leads, Will and Faith must work together to find Emma and catch a killer. Fractured is filled with plot twists and heart pounding intensity. Beyond Karin Slaughter's ability to provide her readers with an excellent storyline and superb mystery, she is able to delve into the characters emotions and backgrounds so deeply that readers feel they know these men and women. The return of our favorites like Will and his boss Amanda paired with new intriguing characters like Faith, Abigail and the monstrous villains will surly please its audience. Fractured is by far one of Slaughter's best works, she gives her readers everything and them some more. Valerie Jones mrsvaljones@netzero.net

I was glad when Karin Slaughter started a new crime series two years ago with Triptych, as I was tiring of her Grant County novels (especially after the way she chose to end the most recent, Beyond Reach.) Fractured is a sequel to Triptych and again features Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Wil Trent. A wealthy Atlanta housewife kills an intruder in her home after discovering the dead body of a girl whom she initially mistakes for her daughter. Her nightmare is just beginning, however, as it soon becomes clear that her teenager has actually been kidnapped. Agents Amanda Wagner and Wil Trent of the GBI are called in to investigate the crime and recover the girl; they are assisted by Atlanta State Police detective Faith Mitchell, who has major issues with Trent after he helped end her mother's career on the force. The plot barrels forward inexorably, sometimes focusing on the distraught parents, sometimes on the cops and sometimes on the villains, and the suspense is excruciating. Slaughter also uses the city of Atlanta to great effect, exploring wealthy Ansley Park (where the mystery begins), grimy slums and the university campus. But the conflicts between the flawed investigators really made this book stand out for me, and I can't wait to hear from them again.
Also recommended: A Stranger Lies There - an exciting, moving crime novel based in the desert around Palm Springs, it won the Malice Domestic Award for best first mystery.

Love the Odd Thomas series and am usually willing to "go with the flow".This was a total disappointment and I would think that considering book sales and Odd merchandise Koontz would not need to swindle his readers our of $10 for this second rate paperback.Thank heavens I got Odd Hours at the same time, it took my mind off trusting in odd or its author.

I, like others, ordered this on the proven-to-date premise that "everything Koontz is golden". This effort gets a bronze at best. I should have been tipped off by the fact I coudn't find it in hardback. I did not rate this a 1-star out of respect to Mr. Koontz. He must have had a reason for this project. I'm going with the benefit of the doubt and saying it was an honest and hopeful experiment. I do wonder, though, what DK is up to when he has T-shirts and mugs advertised in the back of the book along with news of another graphic "adventure" in 2009. I would like to believe this manga effort was more of a sincere desire on Mr. Koontz' part to nod to the talents of Ms. Chan - a total guess on my part - and to see where this kind of format might lead. For a different audience - one that appreciates the manga format - this may have appeal. As an avid times 10 reader of Dean Koontz novels, this does not appeal to me. Koontz is not Koontz without the beauty of language. Almost all of the artistry and style so endearing in the Odd series and certainly all of the literary gymnastics and sleight-of-hand so capably infused into every Koontz novel are totally missing. I will not purchase another departure from the Dean Koontz I have come to know, appreciate and love.

I did not realize this was more of comic book type reading with the pictures, or I would have not bought it.

A cute publication but doesn't really go anywhere. Being a big fan of Dean Koontz I was disappointed. The Odd Thomas series of books have been great, but not the comic-strip!

Dean Koontz is my all time favorite writer. The character of Odd Thomas has been in 4 Dean Koontz books so far. In Odd We Trust is a comic book version of Odd Thomas. I've loved this character since Dean Koontz introduced him to his fans.

The Odd Thomas books are amazing and this new version is just as wonderful. The characters are rich and so believable. Most of all the character of Odd Thomas, although only 21 years old, is so insightful and compassionate. Whatever life throws at him, he learns to adjust to it and he always has hope of better days!

I think this book is a wonderful tribute to Odd Thomas and it shows what amazing character Dean Koontz has created.

I recommend this book and all the Odd Thomas books to anyone who is a fan of Dean Koontz and Odd or just to anyone who wants to read about something different and wonderful.

I love this series - I give it 5 stars!
This book is a great addition, I like that Lindsay's character has been developing and moves along in 7th Heaven. When I first read the jacket cover I hoped he was not going to turn the series into a Stephanie Plum read-a-like! The characters are strong and I would hate to see the books get hung up on Lindsay getting married or not - she can be married and the series will only get stronger.
Can't wait to see what "the girls" are up to next JP - bring on 8!

I agree with other Patterson readers, plot was OK but it could've been better. Boxer with Conklin?? Please!! I don't think so. I was disappointed with this book, and lately with the Alex Cross ones. Hopefully Patterson's next book Cross or WMC is put together better, and not leaving me feel so "BLAH".

This was an airport pick-up. I like the series. Again another exciting story with so many twists you all most get lost. It keeps you guessing to the very end. You want to read it without putting it down.

Difficult to catch some shuteye with one eye open trying to finish the book.

James Patterson is unique author and keeps these lightweight easy read action thrillers coming.

Another in Patterson's prodigious output, this novel is part of the Women's Murder Club series. Part of its interest lies in the issues it raises of friends who have professional responsibilities that at times require secrecy from one another. This newest of the series includes all the elements we've grown to expect: murder of the most bizarre and horrific type, scientific explanations and research to aid in finding solutions, romance challengd by job responsibilities, courtroom drama, and the occasional madman. Each of the women characters remains true to form, and that is part of the series' charm; its predictability takes the edge off the horrors the characters face. Perfectly satisfactory light reading.

The Women's Murder Club series just keeps getting better. I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to no. 8.

I liked Tailspin much better than the last book. However, it's becoming a bit long and after 12 books, the plots are becoming predictable. Probably should've waited until it came out in paperback and saved a couple $$$.

I started this book with high hopes, which were quickly dashed. This book is formulaic with few, if any surprises. The characters were undeveloped. I'm glad I took the book out of the library and didn't spend on it.

Coulter is in good form with this novel, I read it very quickly. I like th fast pace of the story. She has created good characters.

I was really disappointed in this book as I had looked forward to it. As someone else wrote, borrow it from the library or a friend. Do not waste your money. Got it from the library and am really pleased I did not waste the money, sorry I wasted the time to read it.

This was an excellent novel with a lot of unexpected turns. It was suspenseful and well worth reading. If you are a fan you won't be disappointed.

when you begin this book. It's really a big challenge to stop. Everything is brilliant: writing. psychology, atmosphere. In my dream,I would like to be able to wrote a book like that.

It's a hot summer afternoon in 1972 in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Three white teenagers, bored and stoned, cruise the streets, aimlessly seeking relief from the tedium. They drive into a poor black neighborhood, ironically named Heathrow Heights. For fun, one decides to toss a cherry pie, splattering a teenage resident of the neighborhood. Minutes later, the driver lies dead of a bullet wound, one passenger is severely beaten and six lives are altered forever.

Acclaimed as one of America's most thoughtful crime novelists, George Pelecanos continues to stretch the boundaries of his genre to explore the moral dimensions of human action in his latest novel, THE TURNAROUND. It's an absorbing story likely to burnish his reputation with his loyal fans and expose him to a wider audience.

Alex Pappas is one of the young men in the car who enters Heathrow Heights on the fateful afternoon. When the novel fast forwards to 2007, he's the 51-year-old owner of a modest coffee shop near DuPont Circle he's been running since age 19, when his father died of a heart attack. Alex's younger son, Gus, has been killed in Iraq and he's grooming his older son, John, to take over the family business.

Every afternoon, Alex quietly delivers pies and desserts to the wounded veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center. On one of those visits he encounters Raymond Monroe, a physical therapist at the hospital whose own son has been deployed to Afghanistan. When Monroe discovers that Pappas, like him, was involved in the Heathrow Heights incident, he seeks him out, taking the first tentative steps toward reconciliation after 35 years. Raymond's older brother, James, sentenced to 10 years in prison (bloated to 20 for his misconduct there) for shooting Alex's friend, the driver, works as a mechanic in a nondescript auto repair shop. Raymond struggles to persuade his reluctant brother to let the past surrender its hold on him.

Charles Baker, who inflicted a beating that caused permanent damage to Alex's eye, lives on the fringes of the law, working fitfully at a menial job in a nursing home. He has hooked up with two teenagers running a small drug dealing operation and is looking for the big score --- whether it's a chance to muscle out their supplier or to blackmail Alex or the other occupant of the car, who fled the scene and now has become a prominent Washington lawyer recognized for his work helping minorities.

Pelecanos skillfully creates an atmosphere of foreboding as the five survivors of the Heathrow Heights incident head toward a denouement that feels at some times as if it may be cataclysmic and at others redemptive. His ability to sustain this tension to the end of the novel is a testament to his skill in creating both credible characters and a plausible plot. Sympathetic without yielding to sentimentality, he draws sharp contrasts between characters like Alex and Raymond, who've managed to carve out respectable middle class lives, and those like Charles Baker and James Monroe, for whom the burden of bad choices shadows their every action.

A native of Washington who happens to be roughly the same age as the principal characters of the novel, Pelecanos is adept at capturing the atmosphere of working class life there, both in the 1970s and today. Beyond possessing an intimate knowledge of his setting, he has a knack for invoking the music, clothing, hairstyles and cars that associate the characters with a particular era or social class.

Each day, the media offer up fresh stories of violent crime. Soon, the details of these events fade from our memories and we're unlikely to spend much time pondering their permanent impact on perpetrators, victims and their families. Without moralizing, George Pelecanos forces us to pause and reflect on the consequences that flow from an instant of thoughtless violence. That he does so in the form of a page-turning novel makes his achievement all the more impressive.

--- Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg

In 1972, three suburban teenage white friends (Alex Pappas, Billy Cachoris and Pete Whitten) are stoned having smoked marihuana and drank alcohol. As high as they ever been, the trio cruises D.C in a Torino stopping in a poor black neighborhood where they challenge three local males (brothers James and Raymond Monroe and Charles Baker). The ensuing brawl leaves Billy dead and Alex severely battered.

In 2007, Alex grieves the loss of his son, a combat casualty in Iraq. He owns and runs the Pappas and Sons Coffee Shop that his father established in 1964. At Walter Reed Raymond Monroe, one of the three blacks involved in the deadly fight, recognizes Alex's name. Raymond thinks maybe he can put somewhat behind him the mess that has haunted him for thirty-five years by talking with Alex so he contacts the coffee shop owner; Alex too needs closure. At about the same time, Baker who destroyed Alex's face has just left prison with a plan to blackmail the participants in the '72 race war.

This stand alone urban thriller hooks the audience from the opening joyride and never let's goes as the audience wonders whether Alex and Raymond will find liberation from their overwhelming guilt for their respective roles in the fight or a second war. The key cast members are fully developed so that the reader understands what they need and what they could lose if they risk THE TURNAROUND of redemption and ignore the extortion. George P. Pelecanos writes a great tale that will be on everyone's short list for thriller of the year as the DC area has rarely seen as imposing as it does in 1972 and 2007.

Harriet Klausner

Pelecanos just keeps getting better, and this new one must be his best yet. One of his best qualities is that he continues to bring characters from earlier novels for cameos--his Washington is, after all, a pretty small town and not the one made up of newly graduated immigrants on the make every time a political party gains a majority. Another recurrent theme--almost a character--is the soul and rock music of the '70's, and you can say the same thing about the cars his people drive. But at the heart of his best novels is a careful respect for the people he depicts--even the villains.

If this book has a flaw it is that it veers a little close to sentimentality in its ending, but it does so in such a satisfying way that you feel churlish for objecting. People do, after all, redeem themselves once in a while.

Part One of The Turnaround is set in the outskirts of Washington D.C. circa July 1972, chronicling the activities of two sets of teens, one trio black, the other white. The youths have no way of knowing this, but fate has placed them on an inexorable collision course with each other, one which leads to a sad, violent encounter that will prove lethal to one of their number.

Set in 2007, Part Two slowly reveals the results of that grim episode, following the lives of the survivors, who, now middle aged, still reside in the same neighborhoods they grew up in, either because of family ties, or because their individual circumstances did not permit escape. Although they've had no contact since that fateful day thirty five years prior, their lives are once again destined to intersect, in ways both poignant and tragic.

Although The Turnaround is certainly a fine crime novel, it's also in fact one of the best novels you'll ever encounter, period. A true craftsman, Pelecanos establishes his urban milieu and his varied cast of characters with a few deft strokes, then expertly navigates towards a moving climax which will likely take readers by surprise, even though it comes to seem inevitable upon further reflection. A tale of dashed hopes and shattered dreams, it's also a novel of courage and redemption, one that will leave your emotions in a state of turmoil for days after you scan its final passages. Always able to find and exploit the humanity in even the most despicable of his characters, Pelecanos again demonstrates an uncanny ability to defy and even exceed the highest of expectations.

Overall I thought this was a really good book. It's great to see Cornwell work with some new characters. She is such a great writer, and I'm glad she is demonstrating her range. The format was a little strange, but I think that is mostly because it was written as serialized fiction and not as a novel.

This is one of the worst books Cornwell has published. It was too short, finished too quickly (typical Cornwell), non-compelling and not thought provoking. It was an absolute zero.

I just finished "The Front" and I am still wondering why this was published. It felt like an outline that needed to be fleshed out.
I liked the characters so I gave it two stars instead of one but I felt cheated and wanted more information about everything: the people, the plot, the setting...
I hope that someday there is a full-blown novel with all of these characters, I would like to visit them again. And when I pay for a book I expect to get an actual story.
The only thing that I know for sure after reading this book is that Ms. Cornwell hates republicans, patriots and apple pie...

So far, I have read all of Cornwell's novels, and this was by far, her worst yet. I was very disappointed in both the writing and the plot, and it was only my own OCD that forced me to finish the book, as short as it was. Otherwise, the characters and storyline wouldn't have been enough to keep me interested. Very glad that I borrowed a friends, instead of buying it. Definitely not worth it. Read some of her older stuff, the last few books she's been putting out have been getting increasingly shallow.

I look forward to reading each new book Patricia Cornwell puts out. This one was a waste of my time & money. As I plodded through the story line, I wondered when I'd find the plot, depth or usual intensity of her books. Nothing in this one. Oh well, maybe next time.