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Raven
A string of lovers' lane rapes takes a grisly turn when one of the victims is found dead. Unfortunately for the murderer, Detective Fred Raven is put on the case.
Brutally realistic . . . graphic in its use of sex and violence --Booklist.
Brutally realistic . . . graphic in its use of sex and violence --Booklist.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2024
The thing that drew me to this 1985 police procedural was the price (25 cents) and the back cover blurb promising that the book had been written by a NYPD cop who was writing under an assumed name to protect his identity. It supposedly would reveal what really goes on at the NYPD. I figured I'd give it a shot.
To put it simply, this is easily the worst novel I have ever finished. I almost quit reading four or five times, but hung in there to see who the murderer turned out to be. I was expecting a clever surprise at the end that would flip the story on its ear. This is what you get with murder mysteries, right? Well, not all of them. This ending was shockingly dull and predictable.
But the worst thing about this book is that it has not a shred, not a speck, not a DNA particle of morality in it. All the characters are Grade A reprobates and completely unlikable, especially the cops. They are worse criminals than the criminals. If this is how big city police departments really operate, we truly are doomed.
I also hated that the author chose to include entire chapters that did not advance the story one inch. For example, chapter 18 is 24-pages long and does nothing but explain the elaborate lengths Raven goes to when he wants to cheat on his wife. The book is 250 pages long and could have been 175 pages if just the pointless passages had been left out. I assume the editorial staff at Berkley was either all out sick or stone cold drunk when this manuscript crossed their desks.
This is a bad novel. It is only slightly more fun than having your wisdom teeth pulled...without anesthesia. I have inducted it into my personal Hall of Shame.
To put it simply, this is easily the worst novel I have ever finished. I almost quit reading four or five times, but hung in there to see who the murderer turned out to be. I was expecting a clever surprise at the end that would flip the story on its ear. This is what you get with murder mysteries, right? Well, not all of them. This ending was shockingly dull and predictable.
But the worst thing about this book is that it has not a shred, not a speck, not a DNA particle of morality in it. All the characters are Grade A reprobates and completely unlikable, especially the cops. They are worse criminals than the criminals. If this is how big city police departments really operate, we truly are doomed.
I also hated that the author chose to include entire chapters that did not advance the story one inch. For example, chapter 18 is 24-pages long and does nothing but explain the elaborate lengths Raven goes to when he wants to cheat on his wife. The book is 250 pages long and could have been 175 pages if just the pointless passages had been left out. I assume the editorial staff at Berkley was either all out sick or stone cold drunk when this manuscript crossed their desks.
This is a bad novel. It is only slightly more fun than having your wisdom teeth pulled...without anesthesia. I have inducted it into my personal Hall of Shame.
January 22, 2014
This is a book written by a retired policeman. Written in the mid-1980's, it is set sometime around 1970.
A girl is killed and the local police think the boyfriend did it. Fred Raven and his partner take the case and find a series of similar rapes. Meanwhile, they tap the phone and bug the houses of everybody they encounter, commit adultery, and take graft, along with ripping off criminals.
Not bad, but some might have trouble with this cynical take on the police.
A girl is killed and the local police think the boyfriend did it. Fred Raven and his partner take the case and find a series of similar rapes. Meanwhile, they tap the phone and bug the houses of everybody they encounter, commit adultery, and take graft, along with ripping off criminals.
Not bad, but some might have trouble with this cynical take on the police.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews