Red Light

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: Red Light Stops the Action
Review: I have always listed T. Jefferson Parker as one of my "must read" authors.This attempt at a creative police procedural set in Orange Co began with intrigue and promise. Merci Rayborn, talented star investigator is found trying to start a new life following the death of her partner and love interest in The Blue Hour. She is assigned to solve 2 cases of murdered prostitutes. The more recent is the point blank shooting of a young and beautiful call girl with all the evidence pointing toward Merci's current boyfriend and fellow police officer. The older case is the 35 y.o. homocide of a prostitute with known connections to the police force when Merci's father worked there. The emotional conflict and doubt in which Merci finds herself has numerous plot possibilities. The story presents a challenge to the reader to guess how the two cases are related and how the solutions to the crimes will effect Merci and those she cares deeply for. However, relating the characters in each case to each other is no simple task and I found it confusing.The story became tedious and the slowly mounting suspense seemed to drag as the story became more complicated. I wanted desperately for there to be a mind numbing surprise as the story neared its conclusion but instead Red Light ground the action to a stop.

Rating:
Summary: Preposterous!
Review: I understand this is fiction but I have never read such an absurd crime novel. It is a bit hard to believe that practically all the higher ups in the department for the previous generations are corrupt. And to even involve her father in the scheme. PLEASE! I was waiting for her toddler to somehow be involved as well. This was my second, and last, Parker read. What a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Merci Rayborn is Back!
Review: I was surprised and not so surprised that T. Jefferson Parker brought back Merci Rayborn. After all, the ending for the book that introduced her, THE BLUE HOUR all but demanded that she return.

In this book, Merci is two years older and still mourning the loss of her partner (and father to her son) Tim Hess. She has named her little boy after his father and is now involved with another detective sergeant on the Orange County (CA) Sheriff's department, Mike McNally.

Parker provides the reader with a multi-leveled mystery and police procedure novel that uses spare but biting prose to make its point. In this story, Merci Rayborn, a single mother and crack homicide investigator is involved in two homicide investigations. One is current and may involve her fellow officer and lover, Mike McNally and the other is over thirty years old and involves the murder of a prostitute who had had connections with local political and law enforcement officials.

In the more recent of the murder cases, Merci initially investigates the death of another young prostitute, this one who also had conections, but those closer to home. Initial evidence begins to point to Merci's erstwhile lover and would-be husband. Merci, never one to shy away from pursuing justice or the truth follows the trail of evidence with a dedication bordering on fanatical. More and more, the evidence points at Mike McNally. But is he really the killer or is he being framed? And if so, by whom?

I have read almost all of Parker's previous novels and have enjoyed them all. His common denominator is the setting, Orange County, CA. However, with each new book installment, he shows that he has climbed rapidly into the ranks of true masters in this genre. He is spare with his prose and in this he makes me think of what Hemingway would have been like had he written mysteries and police stories. He gives us flawed but interesting characters. Some we come to like and have hopes for and others we don't. I have to say that I did NOT like Merci Rayborn when I read THE BLUE HOUR. But perhaps motherhood, the loss of Tim Hess and the personal and political problems she faces in the Sheriff's Department have mellowed her to the point that she has become more human and less disagreeable. In RED LIGHT, for all of her flaws and self-doubts, Parker has made her a much more agreeable and yes, a more sympathetic character.

This book has some slow points and then, the plot and the level of action pick up. I do not know if this was a deliberate device by Parker or not but either way, the book does become a page turner. When Merci must decide for herself whether Mike McNally is guilty or being framed is where the book really took off. It is where I knew that Parker had planned and timed the story line for just such a reason.

Parker's intimate knowledge of police procedures is displayed at its best in this novel. His former career as a journalist and his extensive background in the history of Orange County also serve him well in RED LIGHT. Although this is the first time that he has used a recurring character, I hope it will not be his last. Merci Rayborn still has a lot to say and I hope Mr. Parker will let her speak in upcoming works.

Thank you Mr. Parker for many hours of enjoyable reading. I hope you won't dispense with Merci Rayborn just yet. I'd like to think of her as your version of Robert B. Parker's SPENSER. And we all know how many novels he has mined from that character. I look forward with anticipation to your next novel and hope that we will all see one or more adapted for the screen.

Paul Connors

Rating:
Summary: A NOVEL THAT GRIPS YOU IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!
Review: In RED LIGHT, T. Jefferson Parker's sequel to THE BLUE HOUR, Sergeant Merci Rayborn of the Orange County Sheriff Department returns to investigate the murder of a prostitute. It's been two long years since the Purse Snatcher killed her partner and lover, Tim Hess, and the emotional pain and guilt still haven't gone away. Her father has moved in with her to help with little Tim, Jr. and to try and ease the fears that have overwhelmed her during the past twenty-four months. As she and her new partner, Paul Zamorra, dig deeper into the dead prostitute's life, the crime scene evidence starts to point to another police officer, Mike McNally, as the perpetrator...a man she has been dating for several months. Merci doesn't want to believe that her lover could be the killer, but as the evidence begins to pile up, she soon realizes that there may be no choice but to take him down. If that wasn't enough, Merci is asked by her boss to take a look at a thirty-year-old case in which another prostitute was murdered. As she works on the second case, it soon becomes clear that the death of the two prostitutes may be connected and that higher-ups in the Sheriff Department could be involved. It won't be long before Merci will have to make a choice as to whether or not to betray her lover and to risk her life and career by going after the men who murdered a woman three decades ago out of greed and political gain. RED LIGHT is a powerful character study of a female police officer who must combat her own personal demons, while at the same time seeking revenge against those who murdered two women over a thirty-year time span. Merci will find herself in a position of not knowing whom to trust and will even begin to question her own judgment. Filled, however, with an inner strength and a dog-like determination, our heroine will throw caution to the wind and plow ahead in order to find the truth. At the end of this journey for retribution, Merci will finally discover that truth has its price and that betrayals may take years to heal and to forgive. T. Jefferson Parker has written a stark novel about life, death, and what it means to be a human being, demonstrating his unique gift at being able to create primary and secondary characters that live and breath...characters that come alive in such a way as to draw the reader into the story as if they were actually participating in it themselves. All of his characters are flawed and must learn to deal with the obstacles that life throws at them. Some will succeed and others will not. The one theme that comes across so strongly in RED LIGHT is that we can't always do it by ourselves and must occasionally allow others to offer us a helping hand. It demands a certain element of trust and sometimes that's the hardest thing to give. RED LIGHT is not an action-packed novel, but rather a hard, poignant look at what it's like to be a woman who also happens to be a mother and a police officer and the choices that have to be made in a man's world. This novel will definitely leave you wanting more, and I hope Mr. Parker will bring back Merci Rayborn for at least one more outing.

Rating:
Summary: Merci Rayborn is no Kay Scarpetta
Review: On the whole the Red Light is a good read.
However, the plot took too long to develop. Also suspense was lacking, given that most of the book was dedicated to Merci's musings.
The unforeseen climax at the end is worth the time.
I would advise against buying the book(since it isn't close to classic), but rather would suggest borrowing it from the library.
ATTENTION: Red Light is not for people with short attention spans.

Rating:
Summary: MERCILESS MERCI
Review: Parker picks up with Merci Rayborn from BLUE HOUR and thrusts her into the RED LIGHT. Parker is a marvelous writer, deft at both plotting and character development. And while I agree he's "somewhat softened" Merci, I still find her hard to like a hundred percent..and that's good in a way. What she does to Mike McNally in this book only accentuates her driven psyche...she even seduces Mike to gain evidence against him. Then she asks for his forgiveness. It's a shame, I think. I like Mike's character, and his involvement with the prostitute only proved that Merci was neglecting him in a big way. You can have friendship with a member of the opposite sex, and if he found himself "falling" for her, he realized that she was no good for him, and he was never unfaithful to Merci.
Back to the plot, though. Parker interweaves the two seemingly disparate cases together to come up with a somewhat surprising solution to the murders.
A complex, gritty novel.

Rating:
Summary: MERCILESS MERCI
Review: Parker picks up with Merci Rayborn from BLUE HOUR and thrusts her into the RED LIGHT. Parker is a marvelous writer, deft at both plotting and character development. And while I agree he's "somewhat softened" Merci, I still find her hard to like a hundred percent..and that's good in a way. What she does to Mike McNally in this book only accentuates her driven psyche...she even seduces Mike to gain evidence against him. Then she asks for his forgiveness. It's a shame, I think. I like Mike's character, and his involvement with the prostitute only proved that Merci was neglecting him in a big way. You can have friendship with a member of the opposite sex, and if he found himself "falling" for her, he realized that she was no good for him, and he was never unfaithful to Merci.
Back to the plot, though. Parker interweaves the two seemingly disparate cases together to come up with a somewhat surprising solution to the murders.
A complex, gritty novel.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent second outing in Merci Rayborn series !!
Review: Parker's second book in the homicide sergeant (Ms) Merci Rayborn series (of three so far) is definitely a sequel to his earlier work, "Blue Hour" [which if you haven't read that, STOP HERE]. At the close of that book, Marci loses her temporary partner and one-night lover, Tim Hess, to a bullet meant for her, only to bear his son nine months later. Skipping ahead in fictional time two years to this book, we find Merci not at all over her loss and the fears it has created, despite her unbridled joy in her young son. Her dad, retired cop and widower Clark Rayborn, has moved in to baby-sit as needed and create some semblance of family.

Against this backdrop, Merci is back at work with a new partner, Paul Zamorra, who has a somewhat minor role in the action since his wife is dying as we read of a brain tumor. They are assigned to investigate the murder of a hooker in her own apartment, where a seeming abundance of clues is at hand. Meanwhile, with year-end in the offing, the department annually hauls out its cold cases. Merci is assigned a 30-year old unsolved murder, coincidentally, of another hooker shot to death without ever a suspect. In her relentless, intense method of tackling these cases head-on, as she does just about everything in life, Merci begins to harvest "dirt" from both murders, both pointing at comrades and even her new boyfriend, cops all. The plot twists and turns through quite a few different scenarios, including finding some stunning new evidence, creating terrific suspense until the true stories eventually surface. Near the end, Merci needs to deal with some ethical issues about what she's discovered that pose some interesting questions to ponder for us all.

Parker manages to pull off a great deal of plot complexity with a relatively small number of characters. That skill means we get to know them well, relate to them and care for them, and really get caught up emotionally in much of the intrigue. We grow fonder of Merci with every passing chapter, as she seemingly matures (at age 36) before our eyes. And we also harbor a great deal of empathy for her struggling to advance her career fighting heinous criminals, while coping with a new son, the terrible death of his father, the personal tribulations of her new partner, and the advances of other men who see as much in Merci to like as we do.

To us, that all of that adds up to another top-notch effort: and on to Parker's Merci #3, "Black Water"!