About this title: In THE BLUE HOUR she was retired cop Tim Hess's partner in a serial killer investigation. In this book, homicide detective Merci Rayborn makes a solo attempt at uncovering the truth behind the murders of two prostitutes that took place 30 years apart. While juggling both cases and the possible political and police conspiracies surrounding one or both of them, Merci learns that her boyfriend, Sergeant Mike McNally, was a close friend of the most recent victim and is now a primary suspect. Caught between her professional duty and her devotion to Mike, Merci will be forced to put her lover ...
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Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780786889754ISBN:0786889756
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has light wear, pages are unmarked, pages printed in a way that makes a few pages folded. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 544 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780786889754ISBN:0786889756
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. First printing. Pages slightly tanned. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 384 pages. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very Good. 0786889756 Great condition paperback book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, some edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Description: Very Good. 0786889756 Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Hyperion, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780786889754ISBN:0786889756
Description: Good. 0786889756 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Description: Good or better condition paperback. Slight wear along cover edges, gentle corner creases on back cover. Clean and tight. 0786889756. read more
Description: Very Good. Hyperion PB published 201, 1st MMPB edition, 1st printing. Clean, tight binding, very gently read, would be like new except for small repaired tear on top edge of front cover, unmarked. read more
"Very Good; Continuing character: Merci Reyborn; cop is involved in two cases, both involving murdered prostitutes, one from 30 years ago; both point to police involvement in the deaths."
"A classic whodunit story with a lady detective as the leading character, who pieces together all the evidence she has and comes up with a surprising suspect. Along the way she also tries to solve a cold case, a murder from 1969. And both seem to have something in common.
Good thrillers I read within a few days because they are quite easy to read and you want to know what happens next. This was also the case with this book, although it wasn't a 'suspenseful' thriller where you have to be afraid when the culprit strikes next. The main action has already taken place (but there is a climax at the end!)"
"Merci Rayborn is back to solve the death of two prostitutes: one in the present and one in the past, linked by dirty police secrets. Her love life is still an unmitigated disaster."
"Merci Rayborn returns in Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker. It's two years after Tim Hess died. She's dating Mike McNally - a fellow officer, has an 18-month-old son and lives with her father since her mother passed away. In this installment of the Rayborn series, a prostitute is murdered. But the catch is this prostitute has a tie to Merci's boyfriend, Mike McNally, and soon the evidence starts piling up against Mike as the murderer. Meanwhile, Merci has also been given a cold case to look into. The cold case is also a prostitute murder, this one from 1969, that starts to look like it too has ties back to the sheriff's department.
I listened to this book on audio, read by Anna Fields. She does a good job of projecting the dark tone of Parker's novel. She doesn't have a wide range of voices, though. I thought most all the female characters sounded one way and all the male characters another way, but not much differentiation within the genders. It was still a decent recording, though.
I predicted the outcome in this book pretty early. I'm not sure if it's because I'm reading too much crime fiction these days and have it all figured out or if this particular book was just a bit on the predictable side. And yet, there's something about Parker's writing that just keeps me riveted. He's great with detail. I love how all the detail is essential in the plot. There isn't a bunch of superfluous "stuff." He doesn't try to be showy or extravagant. Rather, Parker is economical and makes full use of everything he puts in the book.
I have found so far with the four books I've read of his, Red Light included, I wouldn't recommend them if you're depressed! All four have had a very dark tone, and Parker doesn't have much in the way of comic relief.
I'm intrigued by Merci Rayborn. I can't say she's one of my favorite female characters, but I'm constantly trying to figure her out. She's a tough cookie, without a doubt. And she is a character with depth. But, in this book, more so than in The Blue Hour, I found some of her behavior out of character. It just didn't seem to fit, and I didn't buy into it.
The other thing that bothered me a bit about this novel was the handful of details I was picking up as the law-enforcement-ignorant-reader that Merci was NOT picking up as a veteran sheriff's detective. She would eventually get there, but I had a hard time believing it would take her as long as it did. Now maybe, being on the outside looking in changes things, but as an example, it took her until the end of the book to think of the possibility that the outside light might NOT have been turned on. They assumed that the light would have been on because the bulb was not burned out - the bulb's status was determined at the beginning of the novel. Wouldn't a veteran investigator consider all the possibilities of that bulb from the get-go? I mean, personally, I would think one of the first scenarios they would consider is that the murderer unscrewed the bulb so the victim couldn't see him/her through the peep hole. But, I could be way off base.
Overall, I enjoyed Red Light and it was a good audiobook to listen to in the car."
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