Night Crimes

Rating:
Summary: Night Crimes May be 2002's "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: "Night Crimes" is a tense thriller for a lonely night. Although no one gets cannibalized in "Night Crimes," in terms of pure terror this is a novel that will give "Silence of the Lambs" a run for its money. If some Hollywood director doesn't pick this up to chill the summer of 2002, it's their loss.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Tales review
Review: By TT reviewer Chuck Gregory

Someone is stalking Lara Bello. She feels a presence, but hasn't actually seen anyone. Her husband Tony, head of the bicycle unit at his police precinct, thinks she is being a bit paranoid. She is becoming distracted, dismissing her art class early, her thoughts wandering. A stranger appears briefly in the classroom and leaves a card in her purse that says, "I am watching you." Later, her son David is followed, too.

Meanwhile, Tony's unit finds a series of bodies of homeless people. They have drunk barbiturates mixed with wine or liquor, and they appear to be very happy. Word on the street is that the Death Angel helps those who are unhappy, by assisting them in their final exit from life.

David draws comic books and every week he spends the afternoon at Miss Browne's bookstore. Miss Browne tells him some of her grandfather's stories, and these end up in his comics. She is a wonderful lady and she has a great collection of rare books.

The Bello family has a lot in store for them in this book. There may be some relationship between these seemingly independent events. Or, there may not-and I certainly won't tell you, because Judith Colombo has done it much better than I could. I will tell you that when I read this book, I stayed up most of the night, and that I raced through the whole thing almost nonstop. And though I made several correct guesses as the story progressed, I wasn't even close on the major puzzles. But the evidence was definitely there, even though I didn't put it all together. The solutions are masterfully woven into the story, but often one question answered reveals many more that had not yet been asked.

Judith Colombo has taught at the college level, although her subjects are English, Analytical Thinking, and Research Skills rather than Art, which is her protagonist's area. Her husband, like Tony in "Night Crimes", is a sergeant of detectives. Their life experiences are undoubtedly part of the research for this book, and so it is not surprising that it has an extremely factual 'feel'. I have worked with homeless people, and mental health consumers, and I can especially vouch for the accuracy of those portrayals.

Make sure you have plenty of time before starting this one, because you won't want to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Put on Your Thinking Cap
Review: If you're looking for a good mystery loaded with action and riveting suspense, you just found it. NIGHT CRIMES by Judith Woolcock Colombo offers a mind-boggling tale of two mysteries in one.

There's a killer lurking the streets of the night. A man who feels he has a gift to give to the homeless people of New York-the gift of death. But he only gives his gift to those who ask for it. To the police this creature of the night becomes known as The Death Angel. What's more of a mystery then who The Death Angel's identity is why is he leaving his victims for Sergeant Tony Bello to find?

At the same time, Sergeant Bello's wife Lara has her own mystery developing. Lara, artist from Brooklyn and teacher, is being stalked by a man in a blue baseball cap. Problem is, no one believes her. Not even her husband. At first, Lara decides it's just her imagination working overtime-that is until he begins following her oldest son David and leaving warning notes for the both of them to find. Worse, the stalker seems to know every move she and her son are going to make before they even make it!

Judith Woolcock Colombo has composed a murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. The characters that make up NIGHT CRIMES are well developed. We learn their habits, their fears, their dreams, as well as their traits. Mrs. Colombo has done her homework into the worlds of police and artists as well, weaving each into the story to create an aura of spine chilling suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Suspense at its Best
Review: Judith Woolcock Colombo's second novel "Night Crimes" is a masterpiece of suspense. Bizarre dual-personalities and psychotic stalkers add depth to a plot that drips with tension. Colombo's talented use of action and dialogue to move the story toward its conclusion draws the reader into the midst of the drama and keeps you engrossed to the surprising end. Readers will sometimes find it difficult to separate the good guys from the bad in this well written novel. Colombo's writing style, her rich characterizations and her ability to create suspense will most surly propel her into fame.
Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Rating:
Summary: I found myself held captive to the very end!
Review: Night Crimes is an excellent novel of mystery and suspense. There are two plots running side by side. The hero, Lara Bello, an artist from Brooklyn, New York, is being pursued by a man in a blue baseball cap. However, no one believes her, not even her husband Tony who is a NYPD police sergeant. He says there is no reason why someone would want to stalk an art teacher from Brooklyn. But Tony is wrong. Lara is being followed everywhere she goes by this man in the blue baseball cap. At the same time, Tony becomes involved in his own mystery. Someone is killing homeless people and leaving their bodies in places where Tony is sure to find them. These two stories form the foundation of Night Crimes, but each story is not as simple as it first appears. The stalker is not merely a stalker, some lunatic out for cheap thrills. His motives are far more complex and frightening. Neither is the killer of the homeless people simply a mad man. Both are complicated, scary and in many ways likable characters. This element of likability and ordinariness in both villians is what makes the story so terrifying. I found Lara and Tony Bello and their family likable people. I could relate to them and identify with Lara's fears. That is what sold the story for me. Night Crimes is filled with surprises. I found myself held captive to the very end. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Suspense
Review: This was a great book. I gave it 4 stars because I never give anything 5. This book was filled with suspense, action, terror, humor and love, all the things that make a great story. I found it great because it was true to life, but thrilling at the same time. The story is about Lara Bello an artist who is being followed by the man in the blue baseball cap and her husband Tony Bello a NYPD cop who is being left bodies of homeless people to find. I thought the characters were all true to life. The villians were not only well developed but even likable. The police information was accurate. My brother who is a police officer said it was right on the money. I highly reccomend this exciting novel.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate thriller
Review: When it's hard to tell the difference between the psychotic killers and the cops, and when one psycho stalks another, you know you have a plot to leave even the best detective befuddled. But in Night Crimes, you are the best detective there is. Judith Woolcock Colombo has crafted a thriller that somehow leads us to discover the mysteries slowly until we realise that we know (and have known) whodunnit - even though we didn't know at the time that we knew.

Set in New York City, and including a chase in upstate New York, Lara finds herself stalker by a psychotic killer. Or are there more? The Jamaican-born artist and her husband, Italian-American Tony Bello, have to sort out the mess before Lara gets killed. The mystery grows increasingly difficult to unravel as people close to the family one by one get involved in the story.

The reader also gets a long, hard look into the mind of the phychotic killer (killers?). One of them talks extensively to the reader: "I have never intended to harm anyone. I am not cruel. I befriend the hopeless and get to know them before I make my offer. Even after I have put them to rest, I still see to their well-being."

The characters are semi-autobiographical, living in a similar brownstone house to the author, with the same ethnic backgrounds and some of the same occupations. As many authors do, Woolcock Colombo built a story on the environment she knows well ... and on a great pile of imagination.

Night Crimes plays the suspense card over and over to the maximum. Woolcock Colombo is masterful at weaving several tales together and letting the reader savor the taste of discovery right to the very end. I give this novel ten out of ten. ...

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate thriller
Review: When it's hard to tell the difference between the psychotic killers and the cops, and when one psycho stalks another, you know you have a plot to leave even the best detective befuddled. But in Night Crimes, you are the best detective there is. Judith Woolcock Colombo has crafted a thriller that somehow leads us to discover the mysteries slowly until we realise that we know (and have known) whodunnit - even though we didn't know at the time that we knew.

Set in New York City, and including a chase in upstate New York, Lara finds herself stalker by a psychotic killer. Or are there more? The Jamaican-born artist and her husband, Italian-American Tony Bello, have to sort out the mess before Lara gets killed. The mystery grows increasingly difficult to unravel as people close to the family one by one get involved in the story.

The reader also gets a long, hard look into the mind of the phychotic killer (killers?). One of them talks extensively to the reader: "I have never intended to harm anyone. I am not cruel. I befriend the hopeless and get to know them before I make my offer. Even after I have put them to rest, I still see to their well-being."

The characters are semi-autobiographical, living in a similar brownstone house to the author, with the same ethnic backgrounds and some of the same occupations. As many authors do, Woolcock Colombo built a story on the environment she knows well ... and on a great pile of imagination.

Night Crimes plays the suspense card over and over to the maximum. Woolcock Colombo is masterful at weaving several tales together and letting the reader savor the taste of discovery right to the very end. I give this novel ten out of ten. ...