The Blue Hour

Rating:
Summary: a good murder mystery/police drama that makes you think
Review: It was hard for me to decide whether to give this book four stars or five. The strong story and suspense as well as the drama which unfolded between two unlikely police partners in a search for a serial killer was about as good as one would expect from the genre.

The reason I finally decided to give this book four stars instead of five however, was because I really was not very fond of one of the main characters (Merci). Merci is a tough ambitious police woman who is partnered with a semi-retired hard-boiled cop (Tim Hess) who is dieing of cancer. I think the relationship between Merci and Tim is believable. But I just didn't find Merci very likable because it seemed as though she was just driven by rage and hate (nothing more). People like her undoubtedly exist in the real world (I've met some like her). I'll even go so far as to say that under some circumstances, I've had some characteristics of Merci.

The story revolves around the relationship between Merci and Tim but the main theme is the search for a serial killer called the purse snatcher who kills young women (attractive professional types) and drains all of the blood out of their bodies. The story moves relatively fast with a number of suspects and leads being interrogated by the police. I thought however that it was easy to figure out who the killer was. I figured out who the killer was very early, but assumed later that the author wouldn't make it so easy for readers to figure it out, but it was.

Rating:
Summary: An Odd Couple
Review: T. Jefferson Parker's The Blue Hour captures two unusual police detectives at work on a series of murders. Tim Hess is an old school cop, recovering from cancer surgery, aware his days are numbered. Mercy Rayborn is today's policewoman. She is young, energetic, ambitious, and, some say, ruthless. Her career is mapped out clearly ahead of her, date by date for future promotion after future promotion are already inscribed firmly on her heart. The developing relationship between Hess and Rayborn is perhaps the facet of this thriller I most enjoyed. Mr. Parker spins his usual complicated plot, and my native Orange County is captured perfectly. Excellent book, and I plan to read his follow up, Red Light, soon.

Rating:
Summary: Parker Just Keeps Getting Better and Better!
Review: There is the old cliche that says "practice makes perfect. Well, T. Jefferson Parker has six other novels that I know of to his credit and he just keeps getting better with each outing.

THE BLUE HOUR, his latest installment in the generally unrelated crime novels set in Orange County, CA rings with a truth all its own. Parker introduces two new but completely disparate characters. One I liked, respected and admired. The other, I didn't. The first is Tim Hess, a 67 year old retired detective called back into service to help solve some horribly gruesome murders. He is facing a death sentence of his own because he has already lost more than half a lung to cancer and is awaiting with that patient acceptance, the inevitable outcome. He thinks of himself as a loser; he has been divorced several times, is childless and alone as he enters the final phase of his life.

His new partner is Detective Merci Rayborn. She is half his age and a lot easier to look at. In fact, some think of her as a beauty. There's a problem with her though and her name is very inappropriate. She is not merciful and gives none. She is difficult to be around, brash, temperamental and unforgiving. She seems to be singlehandely out to catch and punish all the evildoers in Orange County. If given her way, the reader wonders not about her possibilities for success but just how long it will take before she cleans up the entire state.

There is a truly horrible criminal antagonist in this novel. He is the one committing the unspeakable crimes. He is the one Tim and Merci must stop. What Parker does with these characters and the spare but biting prose is nothing short of masterful. It is obvious that while these are imaginary characters, Parker has met them (or variations thereof) in his former life as a journalist in Orange County.

Before the end of the book Parker ensures that Merci and Tim will become lovers. While somewhat implausible when taken out of context, I actually came to view it as inevitable. Both detectives are flawed characters who have never been able to make a permanent connection to other people. In the story, the author ensures that they finally do (and I wondered if he didn't do so for the sake of Tim Hess knowing that his time was finally coming to an end).

Parker writes with an intimate knowledge of police procedures. He knows about the types of criminals police officers deal with every day. He knows how the penal system sometimes fails to protect society from its most degenerate predators. As Joseph Wambaugh wrote almost 30 years ago in his debut novel THE NEW CENTURIONS, it becomes readily apparent that the Tim Hesses and the Merci Rayborn's may be all that stands between civilization and total criminal chaos. T. Jefferson Parker carries on the tradition of Wambaugh by reminding us of that. He also shows his respect and admiration for the people who keep the barbarians at the gates from entering to wreak havoc upon the citizens inside the walls of the citadel.

Other reviewers have said that this may well be Parker's best effort to date. I'm not here to dispute them. I discovered Parker early on and have read just about everything he's written. This is an outstanding novel in this genre. If you haven't read any of his other works, don't worry. Read this one first and then go back and read some of his earlier efforts (such as LITTLE SAIGON and LAGUNA BEACH). They were good, exciting and enjoyable reads but I think readers will be surprised and pleased to see just how far he has come as a master of this genre and in such a relatively short period of time.

And if you liked this book, Merci Rayborn is reprised in Parker's latest release RED LIGHT.

Thank you Mr. Parker for many enjoyable hours of reading pleasure. Much continued success in the future and I anxiously await your next effort.