Rating: 
Summary: Different but worth a read
Review: I had never read this particular author before but the back of the book got me interested. It's very different than what I am used too reading. It started out fast but the characters are well defined and I enjoyed the ending quite a bit. Definetly worth reading. I may even pick up one of her other novels.
Rating:
Summary: Different but worth a read
Review: I had never read this particular author before but the back of the book got me interested. It's very different than what I am used too reading. It started out fast but the characters are well defined and I enjoyed the ending quite a bit. Definetly worth reading. I may even pick up one of her other novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Rather disappointing
Review: I've been a long-time fan of this series-with the exception of Satan's Lambs which, although well-written, goes down the Satanic Ritual Abuse path where I cannot follow (at least, not without a full frontal lobotomy). The characters are always effectively drawn, the narrative strong, the plot-lines plausible, the books generally entertaining.The Debt Collector, however, just isn't up to Hightower's usual mark. First, the identity of the mysterious "third man" present at the grisly scene of the home invasion that is the central event of the tale, was fairly obvious. And, second, I couldn't buy into the heroine's suicidal ideation. Given that things were actually going well in Sonora Blair's life (so well, in fact, that I know any number of women who'd happily trade their lives for Sonora's), it didn't seem reasonable (no matter how charismatic the character of the "third man") that she'd be so preoccupied with thoughts of her own death-as well as being food-phobic almost to the point of anorexia. This is very serious stuff and there's just nothing in the text to substantiate this psychological near-meltdown. That said, it's a book worth reading. It's just not up to the standard set by Hightower in No Good Deed, Eyeshot, and Flashpoint.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the surprise ending
Review: Lynn Hightower's characters are well defined and the ending is worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite possibly her worst. It's like she was drunk.
Review: Ms. Hightower is building an iron-clad reputation for not knowing anything about what she writes.
She has a great talent for plot derivation, and even development, I'll give her that. These books are irresistible reading, and hard to put down. But for a native Lexingtonian, the mistakes are hard to swallow. Granted, Ms. Hightower was born in Chattanooga, TN, which should give her some leeway, but I am thorough believer that one should WRITE about what one KNOWS. Ms. Hightower obviously does not KNOW Lexington, Cincinnati, or the area in general, and to the locals, it is quite insulting.
A few comments to the author:
Please get your facts straight. It involves a minor, minor time constraint for you, but will improve your books 1000%. Just call someone. TALK to a local. Take the time to perfect it. It will be worth it, I PROMISE. Some specifics regarding this book for the author to reflect on:
1) There is no "drug highway" on I-75 between Cincinnati and Chicago. Why? Because I-75 DOES NOT GO TO CHICAGO. It goes north to Detroit. There IS no single interstate that directly connects Cincinnati and Chicago, and as a native, you should know that. This is one that ANYONE in the eastern half of the country could, and probably does, know.
2) There is no parking lot at Tolly Ho in Lexington. Even if there were, it is probably 1.5-2 miles from there to the UK Hospital - in the middle of the night, you could find a better place to park and walk. If you were just "dropping hints" that you "know this town", it backfired.
3) Please tell me how you can call something that came from a shotgun a "bullet", and how you can match that to the weapon. From my experience a shotgun fires many pellets which can perhaps be traced back to the shell casing, but if you don't have the shell, how can you trace it to the weapon? Answer: You can't. You are dreaming up forensics that don't exist. Suggestion: Don't do this. It really destroys the lure of the genre, and makes you look bad.
4) On the same vein: how can you blast out a window and "snipe" someone several times in the chest THROUGH that window WITH A SHOTGUN, when that window is on the FIFTH FLOOR? Was your "sniper" standing on another rooftop and ACTUALLY using a rifle? Or did you really mean it when you wrote that this "sniper" is using a shotgun, blowing out a fifth-story window, and managing to plink someone expertly in the chest several times? INconceivable.
5) Please make a mental note of where your characters and objects are at all times, so that you don't contradict yourself. If the mother is on the bed folding laundry, she is not, accordingly, in the closet. You must CLARIFY this, you must tell the reader that this happened at two different times, rather than stating that both are correct simultaneously.
If the car with primer on the fender is behind the house, then it cannot at the same time be out running errands with the lackey. It's not rocket science.
When reconstructing the crime scene, you state that the father rushes in right after the son's murder, while the daughter is still alive and struggling in the bathroom, and the mother is folding laundry (in the closet? - earlier you said the laundry was on the bed. Is the bed in the closet???). ONE PAGE LATER, you state that the father rushes in after the daughter has been laid on the bed and the mother has been attacked. Which is it? Did the dad rush in twice? Did he rush in the house to see his family being killed, and then run back out to the car because he forgot his briefcase? What are you selling here?
I know, maybe you could READ YOUR OWN BOOKS before you send them off to be published.
I hate to be so harsh, but after four books in a row, I feel utterly ashamed of you as an author. Fact-checking is not a difficult thing to do, especially when you LIVE in the area you're writing about.
Rating: 
Summary: ANOTHER EXCELLENT NOVEL BY ONE OF THE BEST
Review: Other writers in the mystery/suspense community know how good Lynn Hightower is but now everyone else should start taking notice. Her prose is beautiful, poignant and even haunting. Sonora Blair is an excellent detective but she has flaws and fears like the rest of us. Lynn Hightower is one of the best. Read her other Sonora books too.
Rating:
Summary: A scintillating police procedural
Review: She has been a homicide detective for many years working many ugly cases yet she remains steady on her job due to her inner strength and abilities. Sonora Blair is also a single mother raising a teenage son and an adolescent daughter. Though she would do anything for them, she knows something is missing in her life that leads her to the edge of the abyss like none of her cases has ever done. She cannot eat or sleep and has no social life since her last relationship ended seven months ago. Ironically, her latest investigation wakes Sonora up to what is going on in her psyche. She and Sam (her partner) are investigating the butchery of a family in their home. The prevailing opinion among her peers is that two killers committed the brutal crimes. Sonora believes a third person was also there. That individual rescued the only survivor, a baby. As she and Sam make inquiries, Sonora meets a legendary retired cop, who sends her down a path that seems to wrap up the case. However, Sonora still has professional (and personal) doubts that the case is solved. THE DEBT COLLECTOR is a dark, disturbing, yet mesmerizing police procedural novel that illustrates the toll police work has on an officer's soul. Readers who prefer happy endings need to look elsewhere as this story line sticks to the blues till the end of the novel and beyond (an aftertaste lingers). The audience who relishes a gut wrenching reality check in their plots will owe a debt of gratitude to talented Shamus Award winner Lynn Hightower. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A little boring, but good read all together
Review: The debt collector starts out with a gory crime scene which is done very well. I think the author goes a little overboard in trying to give the characters "character". Some of the dialog is just downright corny, but hey, some people like corny. Sonora, our heroine detective does her job well and is a bit on the independent/rebellious side. Unfortunately the killer does not get to go to the electric chair, oops, I shouldn't give that away, but his conclusion is still interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A little boring, but good read all together
Review: The debt collector starts out with a gory crime scene which is done very well. I think the author goes a little overboard in trying to give the characters "character". Some of the dialog is just downright corny, but hey, some people like corny. Sonora, our heroine detective does her job well and is a bit on the independent/rebellious side. Unfortunately the killer does not get to go to the electric chair, oops, I shouldn't give that away, but his conclusion is still interesting.
Rating:
Summary: pacy and thrilling
Review: This is a tale of an horrific house break-in and a very gory murder of almost an entire family.It seems to have taken place for no apparent reason,and it takes a very feisty woman detective to sort it all out.Lynn Hightower sets a cracking pace and maintains your interest for the entire book.This is a very good ,fast read, with aspects of hidden agendas and enough psychological twists to keep you guessing up to the last.
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