Rating: 
Summary: A good read. Nice start for 1st book.
Review: I thought this was a good book, although the ending was kind of weak. Knowing the Jodi Compton is working on a 2nd novel with the same characters could explain that some. The book read at a nice pace and I didn't lose interest or lose track of the characters like you do in some books. There were some issues in the book that I don't enjoy dealing with, but I know they are part of the world.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine, Unforgettable Debut from a Promising New Novelist
Review: It's sad but true. There are some books that should be major bestsellers but are released to a resounding Flop! and barely see the light of day. They may acquire a quiet cult following, but they never achieve the notoriety, the fame, that they deserve. There are a number of reasons why this happens, though it can sometimes occur for no reason at all. One of my favorite novels, a little suspense novel titled KARMA by Mitchell Smith, may not even be in print anymore. Another book, a mystery titled THE DEATH OF THE DETECTIVE by Mark Smith (no relation, heh heh) contains some of the most memorable prose I have ever read. I know of two people, besides myself, who have ever read it.THE 37TH HOUR by Jodi Compton is a fine, unforgettable debut. My goal is to make sure that people know about it, read it and remember it. And that they are still talking about it years from now, remembering the day that they first discovered her. The title, THE 37TH HOUR, refers to the truism that after 36 hours it is nearly impossible to find a missing person, or at least find them still living. There are of course exceptions to that --- Elizabeth Smart being the most recent one --- but it generally holds true in those cases where someone goes missing as the result of the bad intent of another or by misadventure. In the case of this novel, it refers to Michael Shiloh, who disappears on the day that he is supposed to leave Minnesota for Quantico, Virginia to begin FBI training. Shiloh is the silent subject of much of THE 37TH HOUR, but the focus of the book is Minneapolis Detective Sarah Pribek, Shiloh's wife, who doggedly pursues the investigation of her husband's disappearance. Pribek is an enigmatic character, as ultimately is Shiloh. As the story unfolds the reader learns how these two people after an initial encounter drifted slowly, almost reluctantly, toward a more permanent relationship. Pribek's quest takes her into Shiloh's past, including his estranged family. It is Pribek's own past though that ultimately holds the key to Shiloh's mysterious disappearance. Pribek's investigation, however, uncovers secrets and ultimately acts as a catalyst that will change her life forever. Compton's character development in THE 37TH HOUR is simply incredible. Pribek, almost from the opening page of her first person narration, gives the subtle impression that she is not entirely on balance. There is a reason for this --- she carries some baggage with her --- and her quietly odd relationship with Shiloh is but one manifestation of the quiet turmoil within her. As is occasionally noted in Alanon meetings, however, a "ten" doesn't marry a "two." And by the conclusion of THE 37th HOUR, you won't know whether you should have stared or looked away. This is not an explosions-and-karate novel. Compton paints a complete picture, but very slowly, with a stroke here and a brush there, keeping things quietly simmering but always interesting. THE 37TH HOUR is supposed to be the first of a series of Pribek novels, and it is a tribute to Compton's success and talent that readers of her book will sit on tenterhooks as they await what comes next. Meanwhile, THE 37TH HOUR will be read and reread, and will haunt the consciousness of its readers. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating:
Summary: Short on plot
Review: Like most other reviewers, I felt this book was missing a great chunk of plot. It was well-written and had believable characters - I particularly enjoyed the description of Sarah and Shiloh's semi-squalid house - but I kept waiting for some major twist (or three) which never came. When I had finished it, it occurred to me that Jodi Compton suffers from exactly the opposite problem to Harlan Coben - he has too much plot and not enough characterisation. If only these two could join forces, what a great book they could produce!
Rating:
Summary: great police procedural
Review: Minneapolis Police Detective Sarah Pribek, an expert on missing-person cases, worries about her partner, Genevieve Brown, whose mental collapse is understandable since her daughter was recently raped and murdered. The accused Royce "Shorty" Stewart is free due to a legal technicality, which adds to Genevieve's stress due to a lack of justice providing her some closure. Sarah's husband, Police Detective Mike Shiloh, leaves for a four-month training class at Quantico with the FBI, but never arrives at his destination. Sarah investigates the disappearance though her peers and superiors believe Mike walked out on her after two months of marriage. Sarah finds no clues in her spouse's trek east or in his behavior just before his departure. She looks into Mike's past, but her inquiries lead to her Utah-based family while also bringing Genevieve back among the living assisting her on her quest. However, the long and winding road seems to have one more twist around the bend, but always returns to Minneapolis, but what will Sarah find at the end of this rainbow? THE 37TH HOUR is a great police procedural starring complex protagonists who in their way are as dark and foreboding as the odious Shorty is. The story line is solid, intricate, and deep as the audience follows a non-linear trail that makes for a deeper reading experience. Anyone who appreciates a powerful one sitting realistic investigative tale that contains strong convincing characters will want to read Jodi Compton's debut novel that in turn will lead to everyone hating this talented author for making novel writing seem so effortless. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A novella sized plot stretched into a 320 page novel
Review: Minnesota Detective Sarah Pribek is faced with a very real problem. Her new husband, a fellow officer on his way for training to become an FBI agent, has disappeared. There is simply no logical reason for this that Sarah could imagine. She must, therefore, look into her husband's past to get the answers. At the same time, she is trying to coax a former partner to return to work following the violent death of a daughter while shouldering the feelings of guilt and responsibility for the killer's release on a technicality.
Jodi Compton has a definite talent for writing compelling stories and peopling them with above average characterizations. However, there are some definite problems with this debut effort. One could almost see the attempt to pad the plot of the story to book length form. Daily minutiae become important in this endeavor and under the guise of character development. This is one technique I do not appreciate. In actuality, this is a novella sized plot stretched into a 320 page novel. Much has been written about the ending which many have professed as being disappointing. I would concur and add the words unrealistic and manipulative. On the other hand, the book as a whole remains entertaining with a plot compelling enough to keep the pages steadily turning.
Rating: 
Summary: Hype Unequal to Content
Review: Regret I fell for the hype and bought this book. The premise seemed OK but 90% of the text tells us infinitely MORE than we want or need about the characters.
Solution takes a minimal amount of effort. Anyone who reads this book ought to get a 37 hour lapel pin for putting up with it. The background of the plot and the search for an answer are overdone and I found the book to be infinitely boring.
$8 bucks down the drain. Save your time on this one.
Rating:
Summary: It does not live up to the hype
Review: Sarah Pribek who is a detective for the Henepin county sheriffs dept. is the main character of the book with a partner Genevieve who is on leave because of the tragic rape and death of her daughter and case which Sara played a crucial part in.Sarah and genevieve worked together on missing person cases,and sarah is fixing to face her own problems when her husband of two months Michael Shiloh who is a kind of loner in the department(also a cop)and soon to be on his way to the FBI academy doesnot show up and so the story begins. I thought this story had lots of potential but it just did not deliver it is a fair enough read but i thought it was slow developing and a thin storyline it took almost a third of the book to get to the main part of the story unlike some of the other reveiws i did feel there was a dramtic story or a real surprise ending as with other so called mysterys
Rating: 
Summary: A Minnesota detective seeks her missing husband.
Review: Sarah Pribek, the heroine of Jodi Compton's new thriller, "The 37th Hour," is a detective in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Sarah loves her job, but she has suffered through some rough times in the past. She saw the only child of her mentor and best friend, Genevieve Brown, die after being raped and beaten. Sarah testified against the rapist who murdered Kamareia Brown, but the perpetrator was freed on a technicality. Neither Sarah nor Genevieve has recovered from the trauma. Sarah's life is about to take another nightmarish turn. Her husband of two months, Michael Shiloh, is missing. He was supposed to have reported to the FBI Training Center at Quantico, Virginia, but he never arrived at his destination. Since Sarah has done missing persons work in the past, she takes personal leave to track her husband's movements just before he disappeared. "The 37th Hour" is a strong first novel for Compton. It is crisply written and very fast-paced, with interesting details about how missing persons investigations are conducted. Sarah is a smart and dedicated cop and she is a sympathetic protagonist. The author vividly describes Sarah's efforts to remain objective while she is inwardly terrified that her husband may be injured or dead. As her investigation deepens, Sarah must face the fact that her husband may have been keeping a large part of his life secret from her. The weakest element of the book is the ending, which suffers from the "startling revelations" syndrome. Too many authors write engrossing books in which the tension slowly builds, only to end their books with a series of far-out and melodramatic revelations and events. I was looking forward to the denouement of "The 37th Hour," and I was disappointed with the contrived and unsatisfying conclusion. A less sensational and more credible outcome would have worked better. Nonetheless, I loved Sarah Pribek and I think that Jodi Compton has a real feel for writing thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: DISTURBING AND GRIPPING
Review: Sheriff's Det. Sarah Pribek's daughter is raped and murdered. Then perpetrator Shorty gets away with it. Then Sarah's husband goes missing and Sarah has to investigate and goes back to her husband's past to find clues as to what happened to him. The ending is grim. The whole read is very haunting and disturbing, but in the right way. I would like to see this become a series.
Rating:
Summary: An Emotional Wrench
Review: Starting out as a missing person story this debut novel by Jodi Compton slowly evolves into a wonderfully emotional hunt that raises some difficult questions of whether ethics should prevail over grief. It's a story that builds up the momentum until reaching a climax that, although not earth-shattering, unearths a few surprises. Written in the first person perspective of Sarah Pribek, a detective with the Hennepin County sheriff's office, we meet a capable yet vulnerable woman. The reason for her vulnerability stems from the recent semi-retirement of her partner, mentor and friend Genevieve Brown. Genevieve had recently suffered a mother's worst nightmare when her daughter was raped and murdered. To make matters worse, the man who did it escaped punishment due to a legal technicality, a technicality that Sarah feels responsible for. But that is just one sub-plot. The other main sub-plot involves her husband Mike Shiloh. Shiloh is also a cop who was working with the Minneapolis Police Department until he was recruited by the FBI. From early on it is established that he and Sarah are very much in love and go out of their way to show how much they care for each other. Which is why Sarah thought it was unusual when Shiloh left for Quantico without so much as a note to say goodbye. By this time it has also been established that Shiloh tends not to do the expected all the time, so Sarah is not particularly concerned. It's only when the FBI ring to ask why Shiloh hasn't shown up that the alarm bells start to ring. Fortunately, Sarah happens to specialise in finding missing persons and immediately begins to track down his last known movements. What's not so fortunate for her peace of mind is her knowledge of the probability of finding a missing person alive after they've been missing for longer than 36 hours. The tension brought about from searching for her missing husband soon consumes all other thoughts and takes over the mood of the book. Even though this is first and foremost a mystery story, it's main focus turns out to be about relationships. Starting with the husband and wife relationship displayed by Sarah and Shiloh. Although it appears strong at the start, and indeed it probably is, Sarah soon comes to the realisation that there is much about her husband she doesn't know. The next relationship spotlighted is the friendship forged as fellow police officers by Sarah and Genevieve. But this too is revealed to be fragile as Sarah fells she is unable to supply the support Genevieve needs in her grief. Finally there is a brother / sister relationship that is revealed towards the end of the book that holds secrets from Shiloh's past. The way the book finished gave me the strong impression that this was the first of a series featuring Sarah Pribek. If this is the case then Jodi Compton will definitely be an author to look out for by readers who like a bit more depth to their characters.
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