Red Light

Rating:
Summary: Parker can write!
Review: A friend, a bibliophile, once told me, after I almost ashamedly told him that I read mostly mysteries, not "real literature," that the best novels being written today are in the mystery field.

Parker proves this is true. To be able to write this well, he has to have deep scars, ones that he's picked open and examined again and again, ones that never heal, only partly because he doesn't allow them to. At times he opens me up and lets me see into my own heart, firmly turning my head toward my own scars, barely healed.

Even though I didn't really like his main character, Merci, and didn't often agree with her decisions, the prose, often apart from the story, was so finely crafted, was so communicative, that it carries the book into the realm of fine literature.

But I'm not putting down the story. It's reminiscent of the old detective masters who were able to weave old mistakes and cover-ups into present pain and tragedy. Thus, Red Light works on two levels: the prose touches you and the story resurrects the memory of the era of the best crime fiction ever...Dashiell Hammett, Ross McDonald, and others. It doesn't employ the cheap titillation of most 'serial killer' novels, nor the self-pitying recovering-alcoholic detective series. Rather, it's a thoughful, finely-wrought example of very good writing and storytelling.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely positively fabulous
Review: A sergeant in the Orange County Sheriff's Department, MerciRayborn is a dedicated law enforcement official. She is an honorableperson who believes her calling is to apprehend and bring criminals to justice. Although two long years have passed since a psychopath killed her partner and lover Tim Hess, Merci remains consumed with anger and guilt because he died protecting her... Jefferson Parker has written one of the better police procedurals of the first year in the new millennium. Fans of Ridley Pearson and Linda Fairstein will fully enjoy RED LIGHT because it is a novel that has as much heart as it does action. The heroine is a sympathetic character driven by emotional needs that the audience understands and empathizes with even though they will question some of her actions. The rich sub-plots add complexity to the fast-paced main story line. On a score from a high five to a low one, this book is a strong six.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: TOO LITE
Review: Although I have enjoyed Parkers books in the past, I found this one to be a bit muddled and the plot convoluted. I loved BLUE LIGHT because of Tim Hess. I cannot stand Merci as the main character in this tome. The story takes far too long to get going and never gets inside the criminals mind like Parkers other books. Skip this one and read BLUE LIGHT.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Solid Read with a few concerns
Review: As a fan of T Jefferson Parker, I was a bit disappointed with this this-his follow up effort to "The Blue Hour". Continuing with the character of Merci Rayborn, Parker delves into her innermost demons and plays with this as she investigates the brutal murder of a prostitute wherein her own boyfriend cop emerges as the prime suspect. Also thrown into the mix is a thirty year old murder investigation that has implications for all the major players in Ms. Rayborn's life: her father and her co-workers. As a character study, Parker knows his stuff. He gets into Rayborn's psyche as only he can and exposes her fear and emotions of having lost a lover and of trying to regain a foothold in life. As the evidence mounts in both investigations, I was a bit disappointed in how one crucial piece of evidence was uncovered from a death scene so late in the novel-suffice to say that something was discovered that should've been discovered from the get go, had the investigation been done properly and efficiently. It does tend to bog down a bit toward the end as the loose threads are tied up with the older murder investigation: a bit too much sorting out of who's who and what relationship is this one to that one. All in all, a good solid read, but a notch below that of "The Blue Hour"

Rating:
Summary: A boo-boo
Review: As always Parker weaves a good tale. I would have given it five stars, if not for a mistake that nobody seems to have noticed. I'll use XXXX so as to not give a clue to the killer's identity. It takes place when the killer boasts to Merci how clever he was in substituting his prints in the Sheriff's files for that of XXXX. Yet some paragraphs later Merci tells him he'll not get away with the murder because his prints are at the crime scene. Merci: "Your prints were in Whittaker's kitchen." (Not so, what would show up would be the prints of XXXX.)

The killer compounds the error. Killer: "Hey,babe, I'm a CSI. I worked that scene. Mistakes happen."

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing page turner with a surprise ending
Review: As in his previous books, T. Jefferson Parker combines good character development, solid technical accuracy and ingenious plot twists to keep the reader anxious to turn the page. He has a deep understanding of the human psyche. He uses the concept of the susceptibility of everyone to self-deception to move the plot along and explore the motivations of both the criminals and the victims. The reader is moved to self-discovery along with the characters. The book is not only a good read, it is a good life experience.

Rating:
Summary: Read this one and stay on your toes....
Review: because you are in for a rough ride and a startling one at that.

Merci Rayborn, the tough-soft cop is back in Parker's sequel to THE BLUE HOUR.

Her partner-lover, Tim Hess had been killed but she has his son Tim, Jr., who helps her keep her sanity in this high riding story.

Mike, her first love seems to be a steadying influence, until a prostitute is murdered. Then as is done every year, old unsolved mysteries are given each detective and Merci's just happens to be one of a murdered prostitute.

The clever way in which these two crimes are connected is startling and revealing. When it comes to a point where she knows the solutions to both, she has a monumental decision as to wheter she should keep things status-quo all around and not make waves...or come out with the truth.You will be on the edge of your chair!!!!

Her decision was skillfully handled by Parker, who is fast rising on my "read immediately list"! As usual all the technical procedures are revealed in an astute and very knowedgeable manner.

You can't go wrong in reading this book; not with this plot, with these characters and with this author.

Rating:
Summary: When is an "error" not an error
Review: Clearly opinons differ as to the quality of "Red Light." That's OK. One sign of a good novel, in fact, is that it actually reveals something important about life rather than merely entertaining. An author takes risks when his protagonist discovers life's dark sides, and the risks are compounded when the protagonist finds herself as noir as her world. A protagonist who, in the course of the novel, finds that s/he is not "just fine, thank you" will be bothersome to readers who are looking for role models. Merci Rayborn is not a role model. Merci Rayborn is not Norman Vincent Peale. Merci Rayborn is a detective with a good deal of personal and professional baggage, and she will not be dissuaded from her quest for truth and understanding no matter where the quest may lead. Good for her! If you are the sort of reader who wants to take the lead detective to the prom, however, find another book.

For some clue to Parker's approach to his anti-heroic anti-hero, one should re-read the clever first line in "Red Light's" prologue, "You might not have liked Aubrey Whittaker." This throwaway line, referring here to the victim, applies just as well to Merci Rayborn, our anti-heroine. I think Parker is saying as much.

As to the purported "boo-boo" concerning fingerprints, suffice to say that a closer reading would reveal that this is not an error at all. OF COURSE the fingerprints belonged to the perpetrator; it is their interpretation which is at issue. It appears that the dissatisfied reader has not followed Parker's argument closely enough to understand that there is absolutely no slip here.

So, I recommend "Red Light" highly for those who value authentic characters struggling to know themselves, even when the selves they find are not what they had hoped to find. For the Pollyannas in the group, try the Bobbsie Twins.

Rating:
Summary: When is an "error" not an error
Review: Clearly opinons differ as to the quality of "Red Light." That's OK. One sign of a good novel, in fact, is that it actually reveals something important about life rather than merely entertaining. An author takes risks when his protagonist discovers life's dark sides, and the risks are compounded when the protagonist finds herself as noir as her world. A protagonist who, in the course of the novel, finds that s/he is not "just fine, thank you" will be bothersome to readers who are looking for role models. Merci Rayborn is not a role model. Merci Rayborn is not Norman Vincent Peale. Merci Rayborn is a detective with a good deal of personal and professional baggage, and she will not be dissuaded from her quest for truth and understanding no matter where the quest may lead. Good for her! If you are the sort of reader who wants to take the lead detective to the prom, however, find another book.

For some clue to Parker's approach to his anti-heroic anti-hero, one should re-read the clever first line in "Red Light's" prologue, "You might not have liked Aubrey Whittaker." This throwaway line, referring here to the victim, applies just as well to Merci Rayborn, our anti-heroine. I think Parker is saying as much.

As to the purported "boo-boo" concerning fingerprints, suffice to say that a closer reading would reveal that this is not an error at all. OF COURSE the fingerprints belonged to the perpetrator; it is their interpretation which is at issue. It appears that the dissatisfied reader has not followed Parker's argument closely enough to understand that there is absolutely no slip here.

So, I recommend "Red Light" highly for those who value authentic characters struggling to know themselves, even when the selves they find are not what they had hoped to find. For the Pollyannas in the group, try the Bobbsie Twins.

Rating:
Summary: worth a read.....
Review: I guess it speaks well to the talent of Mr. Parker that even though his heroine is not warm or very likeable he still manages to engross you completely in the plot. Read and enjoy this book for the mystery and prose as there is not any characters you will feel drawn to.Ree-views