Fast-paced crime story
932334
For those who enjoy stories about the elusive Jack Reacher, this one will feel like a car chase--fast, dangerous and full of unexpected turns.
578534
This book is a quick and enjoyable introduction to Sydney private investigator Claudia Valentine. Claudia's usual area of expertise is insurance investigation, but when an ex-school friend calls on her about her dead brother she feels compelled to help determine whether his death was the accidental heart failure it was ruled, or something more sinister.

Not long into her investigation she gets the distinct impression that she is being followed, an impression that is confirmed telling her she must be onto something. Helped by friends and nosy neighbours alike, Claudia learns enough to get herself into more than one dangerous tight spot, mixing it up with the feared Harry Lavender.

THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF HARRY LAVENDER is the first book in the Claudia Valentine series and Valentine proves to be a no-nonsense, tough woman who views the world through a jaundiced eye, ready with a quip to lighten the moment. It's a fast-paced book that is tightly plotted moving logically from clue to clue. On the down side, coincidence seems to play a big part in the story with unlikely interconnections between characters popping up throughout the book.

This is an enjoyable though uncomplicated series introduction.
1079689
Excellent exciting Crime Story. Hard to put down once you start reading! Well written - you will enjoy every page.
3244323
Good crime novel with twists and turns. Good characters and a story you get very caught up in. The main character is a cop with a tragic past she's trying to figure out. Her small town has a lot of secrets about her sisters murder.
1144018
Stateline is a tightly-written, fast-paced detective story that will satisfy any devotee of crime fiction.

When Private Investigator Dan Reno is hired for $100,000 to find and bring to justice the killer of a wealthy businessman's son, he gets way more than he bargained for. Prostitutes, drugs, hard drinking tough guys, despicable bad guys -- this novel has them all.

Reno and his sidekick Cody Gibbons must solve the murder without the help of corrupt police and sheriff's officers. In fact, the thoroughly despicable police officers and deputies do their darndest to stop them -- even resorting to torture and attempted murder. Through it all, Reno and his wise-cracking buddy Gibbons keep going, turning Lake Tahoe inside out, and following a twisted trail of clues that leads all the way to Utah.

Will the mystery be solved so Reno can get the rest of his $100,000 bounty? Will predatory prostitutes, harassing henchmen and enough close shaves to satisfy an old-time barber deter Reno -- or make him drop the case?

You'll just have to pay your $3.99 and find out for yourself.

Some good lines:

"She made love like a woman with an abundance of sexual instinct, and a lifetime of promiscuity to back it up."

"Ranesewich strikes me as so uptight, you couldn't pull a needle out of his ass with a tractor."

"If the detectives caught up with me before I was ready, I'd piss in their ear and tell them it was raining."

And when a really bad guy dies, the narrative takes on a paranormal tone: "I saw his spirit being sucked into the earth, like sand falling through an hourglass in fast motion."

This is not a book for someone with an aversion to strong language or semi-explicit sex scenes. But if you're interested in a good old-fashioned murder mystery with a satisfying ending, Stateline is your basic perfect read.

I give Stateline a solid five stars.
3605564
A fun, fast-paced detective story with a good bit of romance thrown in. The protagonist (Katy) is a treat and I found myself rooting for her throughout. While there are some typos - as expected at this price point - they are not frequent enough to detract from the story. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
503180
This is a quick read with some interesting characters.  If you enjoy crime novels, go for it!
4588539
This was such a well told story, with action that never seemed to drag. The author is on his way to becoming one of our better crime writers. His main character is believable and easy to root for as a "cop hero." But, I pretty much knew where this was going  quite early in the book, so he'll gain more plaudits from more readers when he can sustain the mystery a little longer.
4455967
An exciting , thrilling mystery full of police procedures that give insight to how crimes are examined and solved.  It also shows the tenacity that law enforcement agencies display in attempting to solve crimes. They just keep at it until they finally get their man.  In this tale they are being hampered by the fact that the killer they are seeking could possibly be one of their own. This gripping tale is fast paced from the start and will hold your interest through-out.  I RECOMMEND...Enjoy!
2837355
This story moved along quickly and draws you right in. Excellent crime fiction from a master of the hardboiled pulp era.  Lots of violence, sexy dames, doubelcrosses and action.  The language and writing is a wonderful thing to behold for those who have a penchant for classic-era crime. Lean prose takes you headlong into the rough-and-tumble ending of the story with nary a slow moment I can recall.  Good stuff, and highly recommended for fans of 1940s-1950s hardboiled crime.
1337013
Good job by Mr. McGarrity. Fast-paced story with some interesting characters. New Mexico State Police Deputy Chief Kevin Kearney comes off as the every man faced with impossible odds. Still he tackles them with pit bull-like tenacity. In this book, he's trying to handle two cases at once. The shooting of a small town cop who turns out to be not a very nice person, and the theft of millions of dollars worth of art from the Governor's office. Behind the theft is a man named DeLeon, a subtlely evil drug lord with connections all over the place and an obsession to kill Kearny. Lots of interesting characters throughout the story. Robert, the schizophranic man who may be a key witness in the cop shooting case, and Kearney's gay, dandy art enthusiast friend Fletcher Hartley. Really enjoyed the rapport with those two and Hartley's enthusiasm over helping out with the art theft case. At times I wondered if the two separate cases would ever come together, but trust me, they do. Big time. Also, McGarrity did a fantastic job capturing the social atmosphere of the Southwest. As someone who lives a state away in Arizona, I could relate to the resentment between old timers and newcomers and the battle between Western tradition and the building of tourist traps. Fine novel. I am sold on Michael McGarrity.
1798210
A kidnapping and a brutal murder run on parallel plot lines until finally they merge together into one plot. The plot moves quickly and easily keeps the reader's attention with many twists and turns. The characters were very human and multidimensional throughout. A good fast read.
4217095
The story is fast-paced and flows naturally from the initial scene to the logical conclusion. The action sequences are described well, with tension keeping the reader eagerly turning pages to see how it turns out.

The characters' motivations, actions, and reactions were believable. Zoe has impulse control issues as well as residual anger and survivor's guilt in the wake of what happened to her and her friend, Holli. Zoe has made a point of learning self-defense techniques (a positive change), but she also tends to put herself in risky or even dangerous situations to prove to herself that she's not a victim. Over the course of the book, she gains insight into her true motives (as opposed to how she initially explains away some of her behavior), and learns to control her impulses and anger somewhat better. Her character arc is satisfying and believable, and doesn't happen too quickly.

Zoe doesn't just sit around waiting for someone else to save her. She takes charge of her situation and works to find answers.

The villain is given a back story that explains his obsession in a reasonable manner, but I felt that he benefitted from at least one coincidence that strained credulity. The lead detective and others are not very well fleshed out. You could substitute almost any competent detective in Detective Greening's place and the storyline would have been unaffected.

I found "The One That Got Away" to be an easy read. It's well-written, and for the most part the editing was good, but a small number of errors still managed to slip through--things like "affect change" rather than "effect change" and "wretched" instead of "retched." In a couple of places, especially toward the end of the book, I found fault with a couple of the details, but to avoid spoilers, I won't say more.

These issues were relatively minor, however, and I would recommend the book to anyone looking for a quick read that doesn't have a convoluted plot and a cast of thousands. I would definitely read more by this author. This book earns a solid four stars on my scale.
4899514
Thanks to James Thane for recommending the 87th Precinct series - - Ed McBain is my kind of writer - short, concise sentences and always to the point - with rapid fire delivery. He knows about cops and how they go about solving various crimes. This story is about a double murder - its a tough one - the two protagonists are detectives and partners - they each have a private life but its in the background - the crime comes first. There's only one thing that made me choose four stars instead of five - - McBain doesn't use a real city as the locale - - its a made up city - large and on the East Coast.  Ok, maybe its New York, but he uses some other made up name. I'm a reader who likes the city be one of the story characters - - I think its important to the story. So, four stars.  But, I loved everything else - - looking forward to reading the series.
1702180
Charles Salzberg is a master at creating fast-paced stories combined with intriguing characters who live and breathe on the page. In Second Story Man, we get inside the mind of the Muhammad Ali of the criminal world  Francis Hoyt, a burglar whose genius at entering the second floor of homes while the inhabitants are relaxing downstairs has put him high on the police wanted list. Enter Manny, a Miami detective whos determined to stop Francis no matter what -- and Charlie, a retired cop who grudgingly agrees to help with one more case -- and youve got a recipe for a page-turner whose pace never lets up. If you like wry, gritty cops and robbers with crackling dialogue in the vein of Richard Prices crime novels, youll love Second Story Man.
3429385
I really enjoyed this book, it is fast-paced, which is just the way i like it. The plot was interesting, and realistic (I say that because a lot of times the crime events described in books are too cheesy and simple). This felt like a real story with captivating investigation, unexpected turns and twists (but not too many, so it was easy to follow the storyline). I also liked the main character and the way he got things done. It is not a small book, but I finished it in 5 days, which means it kept me interested to want to read whenever I could. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book.
2693304
When Sam Archer infiltrates a gang of bank robbers in New York City in order to track down the person who murdered his father, he's soon caught in a deadly game that proves the old saying, "there's no honor among thieves."

Once again, tom Barber delivers in this fast-paced crime thriller that keeps you turning the pages.  This second book in the Sam Archer series is a recommended read for those who enjoy hard-hitting action and suspense.