by Robert Crais
Carol Starkey is an LAPD Criminal Conspiracy detective and
she's also a drunk. She
catches the primary designation on a case that brings her past back,
exploding into the
present.
Reviewed by: Lynne Quido
About Lynne Quido
The books of Robert Crais are a revelation in series mystery/thrillers.
Friends recommended his satirical, well-sketched detective, Elvis Cole to me
some months ago. It took me a little while to speed through the eight
novels that feature Cole and his mystery partner, Joe Pike, and I couldn't
wait for more! Crais departed from his success with Cole to write two
non-series novels in recent years. Each featured a different main character
("Demolition Angel" and "Hostage"). Many novelists fail in their attempts
to develop beyond a one-dimensional character focus, because their fans
won't let them. Following the path that Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben
have set, Crais proves to be the master at proving that he can create
multiple marvelous story lines. The two "nonseries" novels met with
critical acclaim and quickly hit best seller status. Of the two, I much
prefer "Demolition Angel".
Carol Starkey is the disenfranchised heroine of the book. Starkey is one of
a rare breed of "bomb squad" cops who treat bombs like sophisticated
puzzles. We join Starkey (now off the bomb squad) several years after her
lover had died in a freak accident; a minor earthquake set off a bomb that
Starkey and Sugar are trying to assess and defuse. Starkey died that day,
as well, but they somehow revived her. She's not sure that was a good
thing. Since the accident, Starkey's been a walking disaster area;
subsisting on Tagamet, coffee and cigarettes, her failures at therapy and
her unwillingness to form any meaningful relationships are destroying her
energy, in the same way that liquor is destroying her career. Starkey is a
drunk.
Another squad technician, Charles Riggio, is fatally blown up by an
explosive device as the novel opens. The device bears the signature of
madman bomber "Mr. Red". The reader is allowed to spend some time exploring
the theory before being introduced to Mr. Red, himself. Complicating the
search for the bomber, and toying with Starkey's emotions, is an ATF agent,
Jack Pell, who's an expert on Mr. Red.
It's Starkey's case. Solving it will cause her to relive the most horrible
day of her life. Many of the leads she turns up are false, and it seems
that even Pell wants her to take the easy way out in solving a series of
explosions that are devastating the landscape. The powerful story of how
Carol Starkey breaks through the pain to follow her instincts without losing
her life, will haunt you for days, once the tale is finished.
An excellent introduction to Crais that will make you want to get involved
with Elvis Cole, as well!
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Demolition Angel
Copyright © by Lynne Quido, 2003
Reviewed by Lynne Quido:
-- The Whore's Child: And Other Stories - by Richard Russo
-- The Murder Book - by Jonathan Kellerman
-- Tuesdays with Morrie - by Mitch Albom
-- Girls' Poker Night - by Jill A. Davis
-- Dead Midnight - by Marcia Muller
-- The Jesus Thief - by J. R. Lankford
-- The Prettiest Feathers - by John Philpin, Patricia Sierra
-- Wherever You Go, There You Are - by Jon Kabat-Zinn
-- Demolition Angel - by Robert Crais
-- The Eight - by Katherine Neville
-- Mystic Rivert - by Dennis Lehane
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