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Sean Richardson #1
Loše mesto za umiranje
Beverli Tompson je oteta i mučena, ali odbija da bude samo bespomoćna žrtva. Nikada neće prestati da se odupire nepoznatom muškarcu koji je drži zatočenu niti će ikada izgubiti nadu.
Prilikom otmice privlačne advokatice, njen muž je bezobzirno ubijen istim oružjem kojim je umorena i jedna starija gospođa dva dana ranije.
Prilikom otmice privlačne advokatice, njen muž je bezobzirno ubijen istim oružjem kojim je umorena i jedna starija gospođa dva dana ranije.
321 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2010
About the author
James L. Thane
10 books7,083 followersJames L. Thane was born and raised in northwestern Montana and has worked as a janitor, a dry cleaner, an auto parts salesman, a sawyer, an ambulance driver and a college professor. While working as an historian, Thane wrote one non-fiction book and a number of magazine and journal articles. But he always loved reading crime fiction and so decided to take a crack at writing a suspense novel. The result was NO PLACE TO DIE, the first Sean Richardson novel. The next three, in order, are UNTIL DEATH, FATAL BLOW, and SOUTH OF THE DEUCE. Thane has also written two traditional mystery novels, CROSSROADS, which is set in Montana, and TYNDALL, which is set in South Dakota. He has also written two stand-alone thrillers, PICTURE ME GONE, which was released in 2022, and A SHOT TO THE HEART, which will be released on October 31, 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
November 2, 2019
”As the sun slipped from the sky, the McDowell range stood out in sharp relief to the east, the mountains a deep purple in the advancing dusk. Above me, the sky faded slowly from a cobalt blue to a pale gray. To the West a bank of clouds gradually dissolved from a light pink to a brighter orange and then to a blazing crimson before finally draining out to a gunmetal gray and then disappearing altogether as the darkness descended over the Valley.”
I lived in Arizona for ten years and had the pleasure to spend significant time in Flagstaff, Mesa, Phoenix, and most of all Tucson. The sunsets were spectacular and made more so by the very brown haze that often hung over the Valley. I knew several people who visited Arizona and never went back to the states they came from. They were even willing to take major pay cuts to make the transition happen. It is a seductive place, and since I left, I think about it often.
Unfortunately, the sunsets and the picturesque desert scenes are as susceptible to crime as any other large metropolitan area. Phoenix is enjoying that mild, beautiful, winter weather that has snowbirds flocking to Arizona from Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, etc., but an insidious presence has descended on the Valley, a man intent on revenge. He is finally free as a bird, but he doesn’t feel free. In fact, he feels like he has been destroyed by an injustice, and he knows who needs to pay. ”Freedom’s just another word for having nothing to lose.”
It all begins with the kidnapping of Beverly Thompson and the murder of her husband. Who is the target? That is the first question that Detective Sean Richardson would like to have answered. We get the chance to see real police work as Sean and his partner Maggie McClinton take a handful of slender leads and try to puzzle out what is significant and what is just distracting them from the main line of enquiry.
This reminded me of the time, a few years ago, when I served on a jury, which is actually a fascinating opportunity. People really shouldn’t work so hard to get out of performing jury duty, although after reading this book they might not be so encouraged. The interesting thing for me was watching lawyers enter evidence that was salacious in detail, but really had nothing to do with the actual crime that was committed. When I was sequestered with the jury, I was appalled at how easily the jury members were distracted by details that had nothing to do with the crime we were prosecuting.
A good policeman can’t really throw out any “evidence,” but at the same time, he can not be distracted by elements that will cost him valuable time, especially when he is trying to find an attractive, successful, white woman who has gone missing. The pressure is enormous to produce results quickly, to not only have a chance to save the victim but to quiet the clamoring of Richardson’s politically conscious supervisors and the inquisitive, condemning press.
The other underlying issue is the state of Sean Richardson’s mind. His beloved wife was in a car accident that has left her in a coma. Machines are keeping her alive, but even though Sean knows what his wife would want him to do, her family is doing everything they can to keep him from pulling the plug and letting her finally receive peace. Can he focus on a high profile case with all those distractions lurking in the background of his every thought? His new partner Maggie, an African-American, also has her own ongoing problems as she tries to work her way through a system still mired in sexism and racism.
They are both powder kegs, vulnerable to the right spark to explode into one of those colorful sunsets so much admired.
The cat and mouse game, though really it is much more serious than what that language would imply, between Beverly Thompson and her captor certainly adds even more tension to the plot. The relationship that develops between them, based on violence and tenderness, produces more than one shiver from this reader.
As more bodies continue to show up with the same modus operandi, the team becomes more convinced that the kidnapping and the murders are connected. The question is, with the victims unconnected in any way, how are they being selected for execution? They are missing the lynchpin revelation that will finally springboard them to a final and deadly confrontation with a most insidious killer.
James L. Thane was good enough to send me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. He brings the backdrop of this mystery to life with his descriptions of the Valley of the Sun. His characters are fully fleshed and very human, with their weaknesses and strengths equally exposed. The tension is palpable as the statistics for recovering a kidnapping victim get more dire with each passing day, and with our bird’s eye view of the killer, the reader feels every bit of that tension as we see the degradation of the killer’s final slender attachments to any kind of empathy. We fear his slide into untethered madness. I have the other two books in this series and plan to queue them up soon. I want to see what underbelly of the Valley Thane will guide me to next.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visithttp://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
I lived in Arizona for ten years and had the pleasure to spend significant time in Flagstaff, Mesa, Phoenix, and most of all Tucson. The sunsets were spectacular and made more so by the very brown haze that often hung over the Valley. I knew several people who visited Arizona and never went back to the states they came from. They were even willing to take major pay cuts to make the transition happen. It is a seductive place, and since I left, I think about it often.
Unfortunately, the sunsets and the picturesque desert scenes are as susceptible to crime as any other large metropolitan area. Phoenix is enjoying that mild, beautiful, winter weather that has snowbirds flocking to Arizona from Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, etc., but an insidious presence has descended on the Valley, a man intent on revenge. He is finally free as a bird, but he doesn’t feel free. In fact, he feels like he has been destroyed by an injustice, and he knows who needs to pay. ”Freedom’s just another word for having nothing to lose.”
It all begins with the kidnapping of Beverly Thompson and the murder of her husband. Who is the target? That is the first question that Detective Sean Richardson would like to have answered. We get the chance to see real police work as Sean and his partner Maggie McClinton take a handful of slender leads and try to puzzle out what is significant and what is just distracting them from the main line of enquiry.
This reminded me of the time, a few years ago, when I served on a jury, which is actually a fascinating opportunity. People really shouldn’t work so hard to get out of performing jury duty, although after reading this book they might not be so encouraged. The interesting thing for me was watching lawyers enter evidence that was salacious in detail, but really had nothing to do with the actual crime that was committed. When I was sequestered with the jury, I was appalled at how easily the jury members were distracted by details that had nothing to do with the crime we were prosecuting.
A good policeman can’t really throw out any “evidence,” but at the same time, he can not be distracted by elements that will cost him valuable time, especially when he is trying to find an attractive, successful, white woman who has gone missing. The pressure is enormous to produce results quickly, to not only have a chance to save the victim but to quiet the clamoring of Richardson’s politically conscious supervisors and the inquisitive, condemning press.
The other underlying issue is the state of Sean Richardson’s mind. His beloved wife was in a car accident that has left her in a coma. Machines are keeping her alive, but even though Sean knows what his wife would want him to do, her family is doing everything they can to keep him from pulling the plug and letting her finally receive peace. Can he focus on a high profile case with all those distractions lurking in the background of his every thought? His new partner Maggie, an African-American, also has her own ongoing problems as she tries to work her way through a system still mired in sexism and racism.
They are both powder kegs, vulnerable to the right spark to explode into one of those colorful sunsets so much admired.
The cat and mouse game, though really it is much more serious than what that language would imply, between Beverly Thompson and her captor certainly adds even more tension to the plot. The relationship that develops between them, based on violence and tenderness, produces more than one shiver from this reader.
As more bodies continue to show up with the same modus operandi, the team becomes more convinced that the kidnapping and the murders are connected. The question is, with the victims unconnected in any way, how are they being selected for execution? They are missing the lynchpin revelation that will finally springboard them to a final and deadly confrontation with a most insidious killer.
James L. Thane was good enough to send me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. He brings the backdrop of this mystery to life with his descriptions of the Valley of the Sun. His characters are fully fleshed and very human, with their weaknesses and strengths equally exposed. The tension is palpable as the statistics for recovering a kidnapping victim get more dire with each passing day, and with our bird’s eye view of the killer, the reader feels every bit of that tension as we see the degradation of the killer’s final slender attachments to any kind of empathy. We fear his slide into untethered madness. I have the other two books in this series and plan to queue them up soon. I want to see what underbelly of the Valley Thane will guide me to next.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visithttp://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
February 7, 2017
Attorney Beverly Thompson is abducted moments after her car enters the garage of her Phoenix home. In horror she watches, as her husband and their dog are gunned down in front of her. Seconds before she succumbs to the chloroform rag her abductor has stuffed in her mouth, the gunman leans in close and whispers “ Hello Beverly. It’s very nice to see you again.”
Detective Sean Richardson is on his way to the nursing home to visit with his wife when he gets the call about a guy and his dog who have been shot to death in their garage. It does not take him and his partner very long, once at the scene to postulate that Beverly Thompson is missing and likely in the hands of the unknown gunman. As far as evidence goes, very little is left at the scene. Not much to work with, save the ballistics report identifying the kind of weapon used.
Carl MacLean is the unknown gunman and even though Beverly does not seem able to remember him, Carl has had years to think about her and all the others he holds personally responsible for his incarceration. He has had years to plan his revenge, to make them pay for the life he has lost. No harm in holding onto Beverly for a while and having some fun while he makes his way through the list of those who have wronged him, right..
No Place to Die is a strong and compelling police procedural. As Beverly struggles to remember the identity of her abductor and Detective Richardson and his team attempt to put together the few leads left to them, the reader is privy to MacLeans inner most thoughts and motivations. The narrative flows seamlessly between these perspectives and serves up characters who are all the more believable because they read so real, with the all the attendant flaws, doubts, weaknesses and complexities that all we mere mortals harbour. Nothing here is black and white, shades of grey are evident, much as they are in real life. In fact, one of the detectives, presumably a good guy right, is such an asshole that I seriously wanted to drill him myself.
Sensitive readers should know that due to the nature of Beverly’s captivity and her captor’s hostility, their scenes are graphic in nature and can be difficult to read.
I gulped this one down and was thoroughly entertained. 3.5 captivating stars rounded up to four as a nod to Doyle’s judicious, facial encounter with the edge of a conference table.. Woot!.
Do read the acknowledgments section at the end. It is chuckle worthy.
Detective Sean Richardson is on his way to the nursing home to visit with his wife when he gets the call about a guy and his dog who have been shot to death in their garage. It does not take him and his partner very long, once at the scene to postulate that Beverly Thompson is missing and likely in the hands of the unknown gunman. As far as evidence goes, very little is left at the scene. Not much to work with, save the ballistics report identifying the kind of weapon used.
Carl MacLean is the unknown gunman and even though Beverly does not seem able to remember him, Carl has had years to think about her and all the others he holds personally responsible for his incarceration. He has had years to plan his revenge, to make them pay for the life he has lost. No harm in holding onto Beverly for a while and having some fun while he makes his way through the list of those who have wronged him, right..
No Place to Die is a strong and compelling police procedural. As Beverly struggles to remember the identity of her abductor and Detective Richardson and his team attempt to put together the few leads left to them, the reader is privy to MacLeans inner most thoughts and motivations. The narrative flows seamlessly between these perspectives and serves up characters who are all the more believable because they read so real, with the all the attendant flaws, doubts, weaknesses and complexities that all we mere mortals harbour. Nothing here is black and white, shades of grey are evident, much as they are in real life. In fact, one of the detectives, presumably a good guy right, is such an asshole that I seriously wanted to drill him myself.
Sensitive readers should know that due to the nature of Beverly’s captivity and her captor’s hostility, their scenes are graphic in nature and can be difficult to read.
I gulped this one down and was thoroughly entertained. 3.5 captivating stars rounded up to four as a nod to Doyle’s judicious, facial encounter with the edge of a conference table.. Woot!.
Do read the acknowledgments section at the end. It is chuckle worthy.
November 27, 2015
I always get a little knot in the pit of my stomach whenever I start reading the work of an author who is also a Goodreads friend. What if I don’t enjoy it? What if I hurt the author’s feelings by writing a less than stellar review?
For some reason, this anxiety didn’t occur when I started reading No Place to Die. Maybe it was the last two paragraphs in the Acknowledgments section that cracked me up. Or maybe it was the vivid description of a brutal crime in the first chapter that made me want to read more to find out why Beverly Thompson was abducted and her husband and dog shot. In any case, I was hooked from the very beginning.
Sean Richardson and his partner, Maggie McClinton, have their work cut out for them as the body count increases. The killer, Carl McClain, was one of the most compelling villains I’ve come across in a while. Fueled by a desire for vengeance, McClain is devoid of emotion as he systematically takes the lives of those he believed have wronged him. He has a sensitive side too, that is evident when he watches his daughter from afar, and in the complex relationship that develops between him and his captive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. It was gripping and fast-paced with well-developed and believable characters. The sections with McClain and Beverly were very intense and I found at times I was relieved to get back to Sean’s investigation. Thankfully, the details of police work were interesting without being overwhelming. I’m not a fan of police procedurals and would rather read of bold crimes and complex characters without all the mundane activities surrounding police work.
I am happy to have made Mr. Thane’s acquaintance and very much look forward to his next novel.
For some reason, this anxiety didn’t occur when I started reading No Place to Die. Maybe it was the last two paragraphs in the Acknowledgments section that cracked me up. Or maybe it was the vivid description of a brutal crime in the first chapter that made me want to read more to find out why Beverly Thompson was abducted and her husband and dog shot. In any case, I was hooked from the very beginning.
Sean Richardson and his partner, Maggie McClinton, have their work cut out for them as the body count increases. The killer, Carl McClain, was one of the most compelling villains I’ve come across in a while. Fueled by a desire for vengeance, McClain is devoid of emotion as he systematically takes the lives of those he believed have wronged him. He has a sensitive side too, that is evident when he watches his daughter from afar, and in the complex relationship that develops between him and his captive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. It was gripping and fast-paced with well-developed and believable characters. The sections with McClain and Beverly were very intense and I found at times I was relieved to get back to Sean’s investigation. Thankfully, the details of police work were interesting without being overwhelming. I’m not a fan of police procedurals and would rather read of bold crimes and complex characters without all the mundane activities surrounding police work.
I am happy to have made Mr. Thane’s acquaintance and very much look forward to his next novel.
January 21, 2020
Because I love a good mystery, it is always a pleasure to find one which holds my attention, a book fashioned by a writer who know his craft. And that pleasure becomes a delight when the mystery contains enough originality and humanity to engage my intellect and stir my emotions. James Thane’s first novel No Place to Die is that sort of a book.
Sean Richardson of the Phoenix PD is headed to the nursing home for a visit with his wife when he is notified that a man and his dog have been shot to death in a garage. At the scene, Sean and his tough-talking partner Maggie learn that the man was married, and that his wife, lawyer Beverly Thompson, is missing. Soon the bodies begin to pile up, and the two detectives suspect they are dealing with a spree killer. But what is the connection between the victims, what motive would spark such a series of homicides?
Detective Richardson is a sympathetic hero. Professional and even-tempered, he is under a great emotional strain: his brain-damaged wife is on life-support, confined to a nursing home, and, although he has resolved to carry out Julie’s wishes and let her die with dignity, her mother Elizabeth—from whom she was estranged—has filed suit to keep her daughter alive. Sean’s faithful, frequent visits to his wife’s bedside show us he is a man of love and honor, and lets us know that Beverly Thompson’s case is in good hands.
It is the relationship between Beverly Thompson and her kidnapper/ rapist Carl McCain that interested me most in the novel. The woman held prisoner in a small room by a man bent on revenge is a cliché of the genre full of temptations for the novelist. Thane avoids the pitfalls, refusing to exploit his female character for prurience or terror, but instead creates the portrait of a relationship that does justice to the humanity of both captive and captor.
But perhaps more important—this is a mystery, after all—No Place to Die is exciting. The bad guy has an interesting motive, the plot has many believable twists and turns, and the ending is both exciting and satisfying.
Pick up a copy. I think you’ll like it.
July 29, 2010
Well, this is awkward.
For the first time I find myself writing a review that I think there’s an actual chance that the author might read because James Thane is one of my Goodreads friends that I hear from pretty regularly.
(Other Goodreads authors should note how James Thane has used this site. He’s got more books than friends, has written several interesting reviews as well as voted and commented on reviews by others, and he’s never once tried to pimp his novel to me. So I bought his book the day it released. See how that works?)
JT seems like a pretty good guy, and I certainly hope that his book does well, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or lie to people if it sucked. So I’m very relieved to report that I really enjoyed No Place to Die.
Beverly Thompson is returning home after work when a man rushes into her garage and surprises her. Before she even realizes what’s happened, her husband has been murdered and she’s been kidnapped. Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson is on the case, but as he tries to figure out what happened, Beverly’s abduction is linked to a series of homicides. As Sean struggles to find a motive for the killings, Beverly finds herself confined and brutalized, and her only chance of survival is to try and make her captor start sympathizing with her.
This is a police procedural, and I’m usually not a fan of that genre, but I liked this one because it had a villain out for revenge and a manhunt style plot rather then the serial killer-type thing that most of these stories revolve around. The actions shifts from the first person account of Sean working the case to third person narratives of Beverly’s dire situation and the kidnapper pursuing his killing spree against other victims.
There’s also a nice personal hook to Sean’s personal life. His wife is in a vegetative state following being hit by a drunk driver, and he’s in the midst of a legal case against her mother as he tries to enforce her living will and have her feeding tube removed. There’s a twisted irony to the idea that Sean is working like a dog to try and save a woman he doesn’t know while having to fight to let the woman he loves die.
My one problem with the story is that I think the media’s role in a case of this type is underplayed. While Sean has to put up with a few reporters and his bosses talk about political heat, the kidnapping of a very pretty white woman from her home as her husband is murdered followed by several other high profile killings would have started a media firestorm that would have Fox News camped out all over Phoenix and talking heads like Nancy Grace having multiple on-air orgasms as they babbled about the murders. Supposedly, once the police figure out who the targets are, they can’t offer all of them protection due to a lack of manpower, but in a shitstorm this bad, the politicians would have called in the National Guard if necessary.
But that’s minor nitpicking about a solid thriller. Any fans of the John Sandford-type novels would enjoy this one.
For the first time I find myself writing a review that I think there’s an actual chance that the author might read because James Thane is one of my Goodreads friends that I hear from pretty regularly.
(Other Goodreads authors should note how James Thane has used this site. He’s got more books than friends, has written several interesting reviews as well as voted and commented on reviews by others, and he’s never once tried to pimp his novel to me. So I bought his book the day it released. See how that works?)
JT seems like a pretty good guy, and I certainly hope that his book does well, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or lie to people if it sucked. So I’m very relieved to report that I really enjoyed No Place to Die.
Beverly Thompson is returning home after work when a man rushes into her garage and surprises her. Before she even realizes what’s happened, her husband has been murdered and she’s been kidnapped. Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson is on the case, but as he tries to figure out what happened, Beverly’s abduction is linked to a series of homicides. As Sean struggles to find a motive for the killings, Beverly finds herself confined and brutalized, and her only chance of survival is to try and make her captor start sympathizing with her.
This is a police procedural, and I’m usually not a fan of that genre, but I liked this one because it had a villain out for revenge and a manhunt style plot rather then the serial killer-type thing that most of these stories revolve around. The actions shifts from the first person account of Sean working the case to third person narratives of Beverly’s dire situation and the kidnapper pursuing his killing spree against other victims.
There’s also a nice personal hook to Sean’s personal life. His wife is in a vegetative state following being hit by a drunk driver, and he’s in the midst of a legal case against her mother as he tries to enforce her living will and have her feeding tube removed. There’s a twisted irony to the idea that Sean is working like a dog to try and save a woman he doesn’t know while having to fight to let the woman he loves die.
My one problem with the story is that I think the media’s role in a case of this type is underplayed. While Sean has to put up with a few reporters and his bosses talk about political heat, the kidnapping of a very pretty white woman from her home as her husband is murdered followed by several other high profile killings would have started a media firestorm that would have Fox News camped out all over Phoenix and talking heads like Nancy Grace having multiple on-air orgasms as they babbled about the murders. Supposedly, once the police figure out who the targets are, they can’t offer all of them protection due to a lack of manpower, but in a shitstorm this bad, the politicians would have called in the National Guard if necessary.
But that’s minor nitpicking about a solid thriller. Any fans of the John Sandford-type novels would enjoy this one.
May 30, 2011
Attorney Beverly Thompson is kidnapped after watching her husband and dog being killed by a man she failed to keep out of prison years before. As she goes through a living hell of rape and abuse, Carl McClain goes on a rampage, killing all those he feels responsible for his incarceration. Can Detective Sean Richardson stop McClain before he kills Thompson?
Before I get into the meat of this review, I want to bring up a subject we are all passionate about: Goodreads Authors. You hate them, right? Befriending you just to sell a book? I tell you, this James Thane is the most insidious of them all. Rather than beat you over the head with ham-fisted solicitations to buy his book, he takes a much more stealthy approach. James befriends you, writes good reviews, votes on reviews he likes, and never once mentions he's an author. Pretty damn sneaky, don't you think?
Anyway, Thane's had a long love with suspense and detective fiction and it shows in No Place to Die. I've read a lot of suspense in the past couple years and this plot was actually fairly original. How often does the wrongly convicted man go on a revenge spree? This was a page turner and a half. By the end, I was just skimming, waiting for McClain's hash to get settled.
The two main characters, Sean Richardson and Carl McClain were well done. McClain was just the right mix of craziness and sensitivity. He wasn't the deranged genius most serial killers in detective fiction are. He was deranged but believed his actions were justified, the mark of a good villain. His sensitivity proved to be his downfall. Extra points to Thane for the Lawrence Block references.
Richardson was pretty good lead. His relationships with the other cops and his comatose wife fueled his half of the story. While I'm not a fan of police procedurals, the Richardson half of the book did its job building suspense leading up to the inevitable climax at the end. No Place to Die is a thriller that's well worth a few hours of your time.
Before I get into the meat of this review, I want to bring up a subject we are all passionate about: Goodreads Authors. You hate them, right? Befriending you just to sell a book? I tell you, this James Thane is the most insidious of them all. Rather than beat you over the head with ham-fisted solicitations to buy his book, he takes a much more stealthy approach. James befriends you, writes good reviews, votes on reviews he likes, and never once mentions he's an author. Pretty damn sneaky, don't you think?
Anyway, Thane's had a long love with suspense and detective fiction and it shows in No Place to Die. I've read a lot of suspense in the past couple years and this plot was actually fairly original. How often does the wrongly convicted man go on a revenge spree? This was a page turner and a half. By the end, I was just skimming, waiting for McClain's hash to get settled.
The two main characters, Sean Richardson and Carl McClain were well done. McClain was just the right mix of craziness and sensitivity. He wasn't the deranged genius most serial killers in detective fiction are. He was deranged but believed his actions were justified, the mark of a good villain. His sensitivity proved to be his downfall. Extra points to Thane for the Lawrence Block references.
Richardson was pretty good lead. His relationships with the other cops and his comatose wife fueled his half of the story. While I'm not a fan of police procedurals, the Richardson half of the book did its job building suspense leading up to the inevitable climax at the end. No Place to Die is a thriller that's well worth a few hours of your time.
January 21, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed James Thane’s debut, “No Place To Die”. This is a solid detective/cop thriller that is difficult to put down. And if one must put it down, one picks right back up, no re-reading necessary.
The story begins when an attorney is kidnapped from her home, and the abductor takes her and her car after killing her husband. Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson is assigned to the case. Richardson is going through his own personal issues. His wife is in a vegetative state after a drunk driver rammed her car. Not only is Richardson bereaved, but his wife’s mother is fighting him for care. That’s in the background of Richardson’s life as a detective. While he takes on this high-profile case of the kidnapped attorney, his Sargant questions his ability to focus.
The case gets complicated when other victims, with the same ballistic profile come into play. The victims have no commonality and Richardson is at a loss to what the motivation is for the kidnapping and murders of other seemingly random victims.
Thane does a fantastic job of character development. Plus, the police procedural part was detailed and believable. Some detective/ thriller novels have that “unbelievability” factor, which I go along with because it’s part of the thriller piece. This novel was detailed and plausible. The perp did a great job of hiding his face so there was no possibility of cameras finding his identity. Also, there is some male macho crap that a female detective had to endure that is incredibly believable.
The reader knows what’s going on before Richardson does. Thane writes it so that it’s totally believable that the perp keeps ahead of the police.
I highly recommend this as an absorbing and fast read.
The story begins when an attorney is kidnapped from her home, and the abductor takes her and her car after killing her husband. Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson is assigned to the case. Richardson is going through his own personal issues. His wife is in a vegetative state after a drunk driver rammed her car. Not only is Richardson bereaved, but his wife’s mother is fighting him for care. That’s in the background of Richardson’s life as a detective. While he takes on this high-profile case of the kidnapped attorney, his Sargant questions his ability to focus.
The case gets complicated when other victims, with the same ballistic profile come into play. The victims have no commonality and Richardson is at a loss to what the motivation is for the kidnapping and murders of other seemingly random victims.
Thane does a fantastic job of character development. Plus, the police procedural part was detailed and believable. Some detective/ thriller novels have that “unbelievability” factor, which I go along with because it’s part of the thriller piece. This novel was detailed and plausible. The perp did a great job of hiding his face so there was no possibility of cameras finding his identity. Also, there is some male macho crap that a female detective had to endure that is incredibly believable.
The reader knows what’s going on before Richardson does. Thane writes it so that it’s totally believable that the perp keeps ahead of the police.
I highly recommend this as an absorbing and fast read.
November 1, 2022
Like quite a few reviewers on this site, James Thane is a Goodreads friend of mine who has kindly commented on a number of reviews I’ve posted and in so doing has talked about his admiration for a number of crime fiction writers that I, too, admire. He also writes interesting reviews himself, and above all he’s never once suggested I should read one of his own books. To me, this last element is as good a reason as I can think of for seeking out this book, his first. I really hoped I’d like it - I really shouldn’t have worried, it really is a cracker.
It opens with a dramatic scene in which an attorney, Beverly Thompson, is violently abducted. In the process both her husband and her dog are shot. Once secreted in the kidnapper’s lair it becomes clear that she is known to her captor, and yet this sense of knowing isn’t reciprocated by Beverly. What follows is uncomfortable to witness as Beverly is repeatedly physically abused by this man. At this point, what remains a mystery is both the identity of this man and the nature of his connection to this woman.
Detective Sean Richardson is in charge of the investigation, assisted by a mixed bag of a team which includes a smart and loyal partner as well as a lazy and insolent time-server. We learn quite a bit about Sean, a man who has his own tragedy unfolding in the background. His wife was seriously injured in a car accident and is now being kept alive by a life-support system, the doctors having advised him that there is no hope of recovery. Sean’s battle with his mother-in-law in terms of how things might play out from here is a secondary element to this tale. But despite this significant diversion Sean is desperate to find Beverly – hopefully alive – and he’s putting his heart and soul into tracking her down.
Then a cluster of murders occur in the same region and when the gun fired in each instance is matched back to the weapon used during the kidnapping it leaves the detectives desperately trying to identify the link between these events. This would be an important step in the journey towards identification of the perpetrator. The telling of the story has similarities in style to John Sanford’s novels in that whilst we are monitoring the action from the perspective of the investigating officers we also follow what’s going on with Beverly and her captor. This works really well here, the fully immersive approach helping to sustain both pace and tension. The denouement, when it comes, is swift and brutal.
Set in The Valley of the Sun, the Greater Phoenix area becomes an additional character in this book. I visited Arizona briefly a few years back and was blown away by the desert scenes and the light. I loved the small part of the state I was able to see. And here the descriptions James injects made me feel I that I really need to visit this place again and to explore it more thoroughly. I do love books where the settings are big part of the overall picture: Donna Leon does it with Venice, Ian Rankin with Edinburgh, James Lee Burke with Louisiana and Montana, Lawrence Block with New York and Connelly, of course, with L.A.
I’m so pleased I liked this book, in fact I’d go further and say it was a tale that had me hooked from the very start and never let me go. I’ve already downloaded an audio version of the next book in this series; I can’t wait to get back and see what happens next to Sean and the crew and complete another (virtual) visit to The Grand Canyon State.
It opens with a dramatic scene in which an attorney, Beverly Thompson, is violently abducted. In the process both her husband and her dog are shot. Once secreted in the kidnapper’s lair it becomes clear that she is known to her captor, and yet this sense of knowing isn’t reciprocated by Beverly. What follows is uncomfortable to witness as Beverly is repeatedly physically abused by this man. At this point, what remains a mystery is both the identity of this man and the nature of his connection to this woman.
Detective Sean Richardson is in charge of the investigation, assisted by a mixed bag of a team which includes a smart and loyal partner as well as a lazy and insolent time-server. We learn quite a bit about Sean, a man who has his own tragedy unfolding in the background. His wife was seriously injured in a car accident and is now being kept alive by a life-support system, the doctors having advised him that there is no hope of recovery. Sean’s battle with his mother-in-law in terms of how things might play out from here is a secondary element to this tale. But despite this significant diversion Sean is desperate to find Beverly – hopefully alive – and he’s putting his heart and soul into tracking her down.
Then a cluster of murders occur in the same region and when the gun fired in each instance is matched back to the weapon used during the kidnapping it leaves the detectives desperately trying to identify the link between these events. This would be an important step in the journey towards identification of the perpetrator. The telling of the story has similarities in style to John Sanford’s novels in that whilst we are monitoring the action from the perspective of the investigating officers we also follow what’s going on with Beverly and her captor. This works really well here, the fully immersive approach helping to sustain both pace and tension. The denouement, when it comes, is swift and brutal.
Set in The Valley of the Sun, the Greater Phoenix area becomes an additional character in this book. I visited Arizona briefly a few years back and was blown away by the desert scenes and the light. I loved the small part of the state I was able to see. And here the descriptions James injects made me feel I that I really need to visit this place again and to explore it more thoroughly. I do love books where the settings are big part of the overall picture: Donna Leon does it with Venice, Ian Rankin with Edinburgh, James Lee Burke with Louisiana and Montana, Lawrence Block with New York and Connelly, of course, with L.A.
I’m so pleased I liked this book, in fact I’d go further and say it was a tale that had me hooked from the very start and never let me go. I’ve already downloaded an audio version of the next book in this series; I can’t wait to get back and see what happens next to Sean and the crew and complete another (virtual) visit to The Grand Canyon State.
January 11, 2015
Pour yourself a couple of fingers of Jameson, sit back with your feet propped up and enjoy this fast-paced, realistic suspense thriller novel. The plot to seek revenge from those that put McClain in jail by mistake was terrific. I felt comfortably at home with the author's style of writing.
Don't miss the Acknowledgements to wife and friends!
Looking forward to reading Thane's latest book published in 2013.
Don't miss the Acknowledgements to wife and friends!
Looking forward to reading Thane's latest book published in 2013.
September 25, 2022
No Place to Die is the first book by a Goodreads friend that I have read but, as usual, my review will be honest, straightforward and vicious. He and I have exchanged a few notes via Goodreads but we are not exactly lifelong drinking buddies.
No Place to Die is a rather cleverly plotted cop story about the hunt for a serial killer/kidnapper who is terrorizing the metro Phoenix area. Detective Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie (forgot her last name) catch a case involving the murder of a man in his garage, and the disappearance of both his wife's car and his wife. Did she kill him and hit the road? Did someone else kill him and kidnap her? Given the background of the victim and the wife, the latter seems to be the case. This is confirmed when another body shows up where the victim was killed by the same gun. Then a third is discovered....
There seems to be nothing linking these killings so Richardson and Maggie begin round-the-clock detecting, as one might expect from a pair of dedicated detectives. Since another pair of detectives caught one of the killings, the four work together and are joined by Maggie´s ex-partner, the obligatory, older, misogynistic schmuck who seems to appear in many such cop stories.
To further complicate Sean's life, his wife had recently been left by an accident in a persistent vegetative state. Despite her living will and the medical power of attorney in favor of Sean, the woman´s mother is determined to keep her alive via machines even though the docs have repeatedly said that she shows no signs of any brain function and, as a result, she will never awaken from her perpetual sleep. Sean's mother-in-law makes frequent trips from her home in Minneapolis to Phoenix to visit her daughter and becomes the bane of Sean's existence.
Thane´s plot is both clever, as I mentioned before, and quite engaging. The characters were rich, well developed and quite plausible although Sean does appear to be a little too perfect until he smacks ... oooops, that would be a spoiler. Thane's attention to detail makes the story seem more realistic but it also leads to a little problem. That being Thane´s wordiness. Unless, like Alexandre Dumas, Thane is being paid by the word, there are just too many of them (words, that is). His writing style is straightforward and very readable but the tendency of wordiness is found throughout the book.
Nonetheless, I would recommend the book to those who enjoy a good serial killer/cop story and are not as curmudgeonly as me when it comes to the economy of words.
Upon further reflection, this review seems a bit on the wordy side. Oh well...
Fini
No Place to Die is a rather cleverly plotted cop story about the hunt for a serial killer/kidnapper who is terrorizing the metro Phoenix area. Detective Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie (forgot her last name) catch a case involving the murder of a man in his garage, and the disappearance of both his wife's car and his wife. Did she kill him and hit the road? Did someone else kill him and kidnap her? Given the background of the victim and the wife, the latter seems to be the case. This is confirmed when another body shows up where the victim was killed by the same gun. Then a third is discovered....
There seems to be nothing linking these killings so Richardson and Maggie begin round-the-clock detecting, as one might expect from a pair of dedicated detectives. Since another pair of detectives caught one of the killings, the four work together and are joined by Maggie´s ex-partner, the obligatory, older, misogynistic schmuck who seems to appear in many such cop stories.
To further complicate Sean's life, his wife had recently been left by an accident in a persistent vegetative state. Despite her living will and the medical power of attorney in favor of Sean, the woman´s mother is determined to keep her alive via machines even though the docs have repeatedly said that she shows no signs of any brain function and, as a result, she will never awaken from her perpetual sleep. Sean's mother-in-law makes frequent trips from her home in Minneapolis to Phoenix to visit her daughter and becomes the bane of Sean's existence.
Thane´s plot is both clever, as I mentioned before, and quite engaging. The characters were rich, well developed and quite plausible although Sean does appear to be a little too perfect until he smacks ... oooops, that would be a spoiler. Thane's attention to detail makes the story seem more realistic but it also leads to a little problem. That being Thane´s wordiness. Unless, like Alexandre Dumas, Thane is being paid by the word, there are just too many of them (words, that is). His writing style is straightforward and very readable but the tendency of wordiness is found throughout the book.
Nonetheless, I would recommend the book to those who enjoy a good serial killer/cop story and are not as curmudgeonly as me when it comes to the economy of words.
Upon further reflection, this review seems a bit on the wordy side. Oh well...
Fini
October 19, 2016
“Dinner was almost ready when Beverly Thompson was snatched from her garage on a beautiful Wednesday evening early in February.”
Got your attention? That’s the first line of this impressive debut novel that pits Phoenix homicide detectives against an angry killer out to settle a score. While there are cameo chapters narrated by several victims, the bulk of the story is told by 3 MC’s.
Sean Richardson is an experienced cop with a lot on his plate. His wife has been in a coma for 18 months following a brain injury. Julie was always very clear about her end of life wishes & the time has come to honour her decision.
When Sean & partner Maggie McClinton begin looking into Beverly’s disappearance, it’s not long before they have several bodies on their hands. But it will take long hours of diligent police work before they figure out the connection between the victims.
Meanwhile, Carl McClain continues to check names off his list (we know he’s the killer from the start so no spoilers here). He had years to plot his revenge & his careful planning leaves the cops literally without a clue.
And then there’s Beverly. Her chapters are difficult reading at times as we follow her ordeal. The author mentions enough to let us know what she’s going through but details are kept to a minimum with no gratuitous scenes. She’s a strong, resourceful woman whose life had been trashed & easy to root for.
In many similar books, the reader spends a lot of time & energy trying to identify the bad guy. That’s done & dusted for us in the opening pages. What’s interesting is that it actually adds to the tension. Instead of an anonymous killer, we have ample time to get to know Carl & despite his horrific deeds, there are moments where you can sympathize because of what he’s endured. Besides, anyone who listens to John Hiatt & Bonnie Raitt can’t be all bad, right?
The central cast of characters are well developed & I especially enjoyed the relationship between Sean & Maggie. The story is well paced to keep you reading & realistically portrays the hard grunt work cops must do to crack a case. It would be easy to portray the inevitable showdown between Sean & Carl as good vs. evil. But their characters are more nuanced than that with all the emotional complexity of real people.
The alternating narrator format lets us watch this game of cat & mouse play out in real time until we arrive at a tense & satisfying finale. Book #1 in a series, it was published in 2010 so I’m fashionably late to the party. Glad I finally arrived.
Got your attention? That’s the first line of this impressive debut novel that pits Phoenix homicide detectives against an angry killer out to settle a score. While there are cameo chapters narrated by several victims, the bulk of the story is told by 3 MC’s.
Sean Richardson is an experienced cop with a lot on his plate. His wife has been in a coma for 18 months following a brain injury. Julie was always very clear about her end of life wishes & the time has come to honour her decision.
When Sean & partner Maggie McClinton begin looking into Beverly’s disappearance, it’s not long before they have several bodies on their hands. But it will take long hours of diligent police work before they figure out the connection between the victims.
Meanwhile, Carl McClain continues to check names off his list (we know he’s the killer from the start so no spoilers here). He had years to plot his revenge & his careful planning leaves the cops literally without a clue.
And then there’s Beverly. Her chapters are difficult reading at times as we follow her ordeal. The author mentions enough to let us know what she’s going through but details are kept to a minimum with no gratuitous scenes. She’s a strong, resourceful woman whose life had been trashed & easy to root for.
In many similar books, the reader spends a lot of time & energy trying to identify the bad guy. That’s done & dusted for us in the opening pages. What’s interesting is that it actually adds to the tension. Instead of an anonymous killer, we have ample time to get to know Carl & despite his horrific deeds, there are moments where you can sympathize because of what he’s endured. Besides, anyone who listens to John Hiatt & Bonnie Raitt can’t be all bad, right?
The central cast of characters are well developed & I especially enjoyed the relationship between Sean & Maggie. The story is well paced to keep you reading & realistically portrays the hard grunt work cops must do to crack a case. It would be easy to portray the inevitable showdown between Sean & Carl as good vs. evil. But their characters are more nuanced than that with all the emotional complexity of real people.
The alternating narrator format lets us watch this game of cat & mouse play out in real time until we arrive at a tense & satisfying finale. Book #1 in a series, it was published in 2010 so I’m fashionably late to the party. Glad I finally arrived.
August 13, 2014
Beverly Thompson is snatched from her garage in broad daylight, her husband gunned down in cold blood. A killer is on the loose and detective Sean Richardson of the Phoenix PD is on the case. When a string of murders follow Beverly’s abduction, Richardson and company struggle to connect them. Do the killings have anything to do with Thompson’s disappearance and can Sean stop the madman before the body count continues?
I probably should provide full disclosure - James is a friend of mine and while he never asked me to review his book, several folks within the Goodreads community seemed thoroughly impressed with his work so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Rather than spend the entire novel in the dark alongside Detective Richardson, Thane reveals the villain almost immediately allowing a different perspective for the reader as the Phoenix PD chase down leads; stumbling along the way. I thought this worked really well in giving Thane a chance to develop a plethora of characters rather than just using the story as vehicle to establish Richardson alone. In doing so, I found myself becoming increasingly invested in the actions of many of the supporting characters - which was great.
Not only is No Place to Die’s plot structurally sound (you’d be hard pressed to find any holes in this story) but it moves quickly as well; a real page turner. It’s hard to believe this is Thane’s first crime novel, the story feels like it was written by a real pro. There’s a sequel out - published last year (2013) - and you can bet I’ll be snagging it up shortly.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing.
I probably should provide full disclosure - James is a friend of mine and while he never asked me to review his book, several folks within the Goodreads community seemed thoroughly impressed with his work so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Rather than spend the entire novel in the dark alongside Detective Richardson, Thane reveals the villain almost immediately allowing a different perspective for the reader as the Phoenix PD chase down leads; stumbling along the way. I thought this worked really well in giving Thane a chance to develop a plethora of characters rather than just using the story as vehicle to establish Richardson alone. In doing so, I found myself becoming increasingly invested in the actions of many of the supporting characters - which was great.
Not only is No Place to Die’s plot structurally sound (you’d be hard pressed to find any holes in this story) but it moves quickly as well; a real page turner. It’s hard to believe this is Thane’s first crime novel, the story feels like it was written by a real pro. There’s a sequel out - published last year (2013) - and you can bet I’ll be snagging it up shortly.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing.
October 6, 2017
Not bad for Thane's first book. Some nice moments here and there.
However, the repeated brutal violence and rape scenes were too much for me, although I am perhaps more sensitive to this stuff than most readers. So, I decided to skip about half the chapters, those from the viewpoint of the villain, and many from the viewpoint of his victim.
Just not my kind of crime fiction. I like noir, clever and dark, without the bludgeon of graphic violence.
In much of the book, I felt that Thane was trying to escape cliché, but perhaps not very successfully. I will be reading his second book at some point.
Alas, no memorable quotes to lift the detective above average.
Notes:
10.0% ... I've been GR friends with James a while now, and I enjoy his reviews, and his kind comments on mine. I bought the book today, to check out his own work. A bit dry to start but he's loosening up and I'm starting to enjoy it.
19.0% .... I really dislike the scenes of villains raping and torturing victims. There's really no need to write this stuff graphically. It's pandering to the worst appetites of readers. Ugh
21.0% ... yet another chapter of violent crime against undeserving victims. Ugh.
30.0% .... good chapter. Thane's writing is more relaxed, with much better pacing and flow
51.0% .... the unpleasant brutality continues every other chapter or so. Ugh. The detectives are just not bright enough to really hold my attention. Just skimming mostly now. A long back-history of a crime doesn't advance the plot at all.
79.0% .... yawn. By the numbers. Losing interest....
However, the repeated brutal violence and rape scenes were too much for me, although I am perhaps more sensitive to this stuff than most readers. So, I decided to skip about half the chapters, those from the viewpoint of the villain, and many from the viewpoint of his victim.
Just not my kind of crime fiction. I like noir, clever and dark, without the bludgeon of graphic violence.
In much of the book, I felt that Thane was trying to escape cliché, but perhaps not very successfully. I will be reading his second book at some point.
Alas, no memorable quotes to lift the detective above average.
Notes:
10.0% ... I've been GR friends with James a while now, and I enjoy his reviews, and his kind comments on mine. I bought the book today, to check out his own work. A bit dry to start but he's loosening up and I'm starting to enjoy it.
19.0% .... I really dislike the scenes of villains raping and torturing victims. There's really no need to write this stuff graphically. It's pandering to the worst appetites of readers. Ugh
21.0% ... yet another chapter of violent crime against undeserving victims. Ugh.
30.0% .... good chapter. Thane's writing is more relaxed, with much better pacing and flow
51.0% .... the unpleasant brutality continues every other chapter or so. Ugh. The detectives are just not bright enough to really hold my attention. Just skimming mostly now. A long back-history of a crime doesn't advance the plot at all.
79.0% .... yawn. By the numbers. Losing interest....
September 7, 2022
I can’t possibly do justice in a review for this intense thriller.
Basically a multi-prong narrative, it is in the end a police-procedural/hostage thriller. In addition we get the personal backstory of lead character Police Detective Sean Richardson, his wife in hospice on life support, his battles with his despicable mother-in-law, the backstory on our villain… surprisingly sympathetic, and the narrative of the hostage victim’s ordeals.
Here’s the plot and Lawd, Lawd, Landlawd… beware of potential SPOILERS;
After 17 years in prison for a crime he in fact didn’t commit, continuously beaten and brutalized by his fellow convicts, Carl McLain is released after the real murderer is discovered. McLain goes in a soft, pudgy new fish and roars out a thinner, muscled up monster.
McLain then goes on a long, relentlessly brutal vengeance trip.
One of his first actions is to kidnap his original, fresh out of law school public defender, Beverly Thompson, murdering her husband and killing her beloved German shepherd in the process.
The book screeches off with that.
Look… I dreaded reading this & not really enjoying it as James Thane is a Goodreads friend and a terrific reviewer who has turned me on to some of my favorite novels since I’ve been a GR member. My fears were foundless.
This guy is a professional of the 1st rank.
Highest Damned Recommendation.
This won’t be the last James L. Thane novel I read.
Basically a multi-prong narrative, it is in the end a police-procedural/hostage thriller. In addition we get the personal backstory of lead character Police Detective Sean Richardson, his wife in hospice on life support, his battles with his despicable mother-in-law, the backstory on our villain… surprisingly sympathetic, and the narrative of the hostage victim’s ordeals.
Here’s the plot and Lawd, Lawd, Landlawd… beware of potential SPOILERS;
After 17 years in prison for a crime he in fact didn’t commit, continuously beaten and brutalized by his fellow convicts, Carl McLain is released after the real murderer is discovered. McLain goes in a soft, pudgy new fish and roars out a thinner, muscled up monster.
McLain then goes on a long, relentlessly brutal vengeance trip.
One of his first actions is to kidnap his original, fresh out of law school public defender, Beverly Thompson, murdering her husband and killing her beloved German shepherd in the process.
The book screeches off with that.
Look… I dreaded reading this & not really enjoying it as James Thane is a Goodreads friend and a terrific reviewer who has turned me on to some of my favorite novels since I’ve been a GR member. My fears were foundless.
This guy is a professional of the 1st rank.
Highest Damned Recommendation.
This won’t be the last James L. Thane novel I read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2012
Great readable book and even more impressed for three reasons:
1. Goodreads author, James L. Thane, who is also a GR friend;
2. A debut novel; and
3. A great descriptive and enjoyable read.
Apparently Jim has a sense of humor and I let him know how funny I thought his acknowledgement was after reading it. His response was that he thought he was the only person to read acknowledgments but he did get a lot of feedback about it. Said he figured now that he wasn’t the only one to start from the beginning of a book.
Was having a conversation with fellow GR friend, Jim Andersen about how the protagonists these days, police detectives, PI’s, and others, seem to be such tortured individuals and I agreed; examples such as James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux; Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder; John Lescroart’s Dismas Hardy; and even Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. The list can go on and on as those of us who read detective and mystery books know.
Sean Richardson, the protagonist here, is a Phoenix detective who is thankfully, not so tortured. That doesn’t mean he has no personal problems (don’t we all?) but at this time in his life he’s passed a significant personal crossroads. However, Sean is continuing to face his problems head-on while at the same time, working professionally as the lead detective in what soon becomes series of unrelated murders.
Being a woman, I’m glad to see he’s partnered with a single woman Maggie McClinton, a detective who is smart and professional as well. And she’s no wilting flower, either, can take up for herself quite nicely, thank you very much. She’s multi-ethnic, an American white mom and West Indian dad, with her skin color “light toffee.” How many women pay tanning booths good money for that skin color? All that including a “razor sharp wit.” The whole enchilada which is good, I think.
Maggie’s first partner, well, not a good match since the sloppy 50 something detective thought of her as ‘his girl’ as I recall the phase, a little demeaning, don’t you think? Demeaning for a detective who is younger, but been through the ropes with fulfilling her educational and professional requirements and completing a stint in the U.S. Army.
They make a great team with mutual respect and trust the other’s back. And thankfully, theirs is clearly professional, not in any way sexual. How refreshing is that?
Local color abounds, with descriptions of the Phoenix area including mountain sunsets and such which clearly gives the reader a sense of place. All those things I love about books set outside locales I’m not familiar with (which are numerous, by the way.) Another reason I love reading.
The plot with enough but not too many sub-plots, suits me just fine. It was at first baffling (like, how come?) but in my mind, that's a good thing. The storyline unfolds gradually as it should. At times it was even frightening (I’m squeamish, so I have to watch it with some books) but the disturbing parts are treated with sensitivity not so much “in your face” descriptions. Jim shows an incredible amount of restraint for the reader’s sensibility.
After the first 100 pages or so, I thought about how Jim’s writing was similar but not like Lawrence Block. It just reminded me of Block about 1/4 of the way through. To my pleasure, some writers give ‘a nod’ to their favorite writers in their own books and towards the end of the book Thane brought up one of Block’s books.
To say that Thane’s writing reminds me of Block’s, is quite a compliment and I certainly hope that author Jim Thane takes it as such.
Great, just great first novel, and a second coming out, I think in December. I’m buying it hardback, in part to support a great Goodreads author and secondly, because I’m sure it’s going to be just a super second read which I’m anxious to begin. Want to read more about Detectives Sean Richardson and Maggie McClinton. A great team with smarts and guts. I like that.
So please, Jim, just say 'no' to some, not all of the golf, dinner and movie invites. And the cat who interfered with your time for writing? No idea on that one.
1. Goodreads author, James L. Thane, who is also a GR friend;
2. A debut novel; and
3. A great descriptive and enjoyable read.
Apparently Jim has a sense of humor and I let him know how funny I thought his acknowledgement was after reading it. His response was that he thought he was the only person to read acknowledgments but he did get a lot of feedback about it. Said he figured now that he wasn’t the only one to start from the beginning of a book.
Was having a conversation with fellow GR friend, Jim Andersen about how the protagonists these days, police detectives, PI’s, and others, seem to be such tortured individuals and I agreed; examples such as James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux; Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder; John Lescroart’s Dismas Hardy; and even Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. The list can go on and on as those of us who read detective and mystery books know.
Sean Richardson, the protagonist here, is a Phoenix detective who is thankfully, not so tortured. That doesn’t mean he has no personal problems (don’t we all?) but at this time in his life he’s passed a significant personal crossroads. However, Sean is continuing to face his problems head-on while at the same time, working professionally as the lead detective in what soon becomes series of unrelated murders.
Being a woman, I’m glad to see he’s partnered with a single woman Maggie McClinton, a detective who is smart and professional as well. And she’s no wilting flower, either, can take up for herself quite nicely, thank you very much. She’s multi-ethnic, an American white mom and West Indian dad, with her skin color “light toffee.” How many women pay tanning booths good money for that skin color? All that including a “razor sharp wit.” The whole enchilada which is good, I think.
Maggie’s first partner, well, not a good match since the sloppy 50 something detective thought of her as ‘his girl’ as I recall the phase, a little demeaning, don’t you think? Demeaning for a detective who is younger, but been through the ropes with fulfilling her educational and professional requirements and completing a stint in the U.S. Army.
They make a great team with mutual respect and trust the other’s back. And thankfully, theirs is clearly professional, not in any way sexual. How refreshing is that?
Local color abounds, with descriptions of the Phoenix area including mountain sunsets and such which clearly gives the reader a sense of place. All those things I love about books set outside locales I’m not familiar with (which are numerous, by the way.) Another reason I love reading.
The plot with enough but not too many sub-plots, suits me just fine. It was at first baffling (like, how come?) but in my mind, that's a good thing. The storyline unfolds gradually as it should. At times it was even frightening (I’m squeamish, so I have to watch it with some books) but the disturbing parts are treated with sensitivity not so much “in your face” descriptions. Jim shows an incredible amount of restraint for the reader’s sensibility.
After the first 100 pages or so, I thought about how Jim’s writing was similar but not like Lawrence Block. It just reminded me of Block about 1/4 of the way through. To my pleasure, some writers give ‘a nod’ to their favorite writers in their own books and towards the end of the book Thane brought up one of Block’s books.
To say that Thane’s writing reminds me of Block’s, is quite a compliment and I certainly hope that author Jim Thane takes it as such.
Great, just great first novel, and a second coming out, I think in December. I’m buying it hardback, in part to support a great Goodreads author and secondly, because I’m sure it’s going to be just a super second read which I’m anxious to begin. Want to read more about Detectives Sean Richardson and Maggie McClinton. A great team with smarts and guts. I like that.
So please, Jim, just say 'no' to some, not all of the golf, dinner and movie invites. And the cat who interfered with your time for writing? No idea on that one.
October 22, 2014
A very enjoyable thriller with a low-key narration that some how made the horrors of the story all the more realistic & hard-hitting. The detective's POV was excellent & seemed very realistic, although I can't say for sure. Everything made sense, though. There were no coincidences that so often ruin stories of this type.
The final page disappointed me a bit. Too much was resolved, which detracted from the realism. Nothing terrible, but I would have preferred the book to end without that final wrap. Life is messy & often isn't resolved, besides it seemed pretty far outside the story line. Tacked on.
An excellent read & I look forward to reading more by this author.
The final page disappointed me a bit. Too much was resolved, which detracted from the realism. Nothing terrible, but I would have preferred the book to end without that final wrap. Life is messy & often isn't resolved, besides it seemed pretty far outside the story line. Tacked on.
An excellent read & I look forward to reading more by this author.
December 13, 2013
As another reviewer mentioned, it's always with some trepidation that one purchases and starts reading a book written by a Goodreads friend. There's always the worry it will turn out to be crap. Fortunately this is sooo not the case here. I was hooked from the beginning and it's well-written.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Carl McClain, a man wrongly convicted the murder of a prostitute seventeen years before, and in the first person from the perspective of the detective, Sean, assigned to work the case. Carl has been released from prison and vowed to kill all those he holds responsible for his imprisonment.
Carl's had several years of experience in homicide but his home-life is a wreck, his wife being in a vegetative state in a nursing home following a stroke after being broadsided by a DUI. His mother-in-law, never happy her daughter had deigned to marry a cop, not to mention move away from Minnesota to Arizona, filed suit to void her living will and his health care power of attorney. She had requested no extension of care if in this state, so now he and the in-laws speak only through attorneys and the lawsuit to prevent pulling the feeding tube drags on.
We also have third-person POVs from that of Beverly, an attorney, who was Carl's public defender during his trial. Carl kills her husband and kidnaps her and imprisoning her in a sound-proofed room in a remote house where he rapes and brutalizes her. Beverly has her own method for dealing with Carl.
Maggie, Sean's partner , is a stitch and I hope she gets developed more in future books in the series. I've already pre-ordered the second in the series.
It's a good police procedural and finally, someone has done acknowledgements properly (damn cat.) My only, very minor, complaint was that Thane cleared up the problem with his wife much to neatly and conveniently.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Carl McClain, a man wrongly convicted the murder of a prostitute seventeen years before, and in the first person from the perspective of the detective, Sean, assigned to work the case. Carl has been released from prison and vowed to kill all those he holds responsible for his imprisonment.
Carl's had several years of experience in homicide but his home-life is a wreck, his wife being in a vegetative state in a nursing home following a stroke after being broadsided by a DUI. His mother-in-law, never happy her daughter had deigned to marry a cop, not to mention move away from Minnesota to Arizona, filed suit to void her living will and his health care power of attorney. She had requested no extension of care if in this state, so now he and the in-laws speak only through attorneys and the lawsuit to prevent pulling the feeding tube drags on.
We also have third-person POVs from that of Beverly, an attorney, who was Carl's public defender during his trial. Carl kills her husband and kidnaps her and imprisoning her in a sound-proofed room in a remote house where he rapes and brutalizes her. Beverly has her own method for dealing with Carl.
Maggie, Sean's partner , is a stitch and I hope she gets developed more in future books in the series. I've already pre-ordered the second in the series.
It's a good police procedural and finally, someone has done acknowledgements properly (damn cat.) My only, very minor, complaint was that Thane cleared up the problem with his wife much to neatly and conveniently.
October 27, 2016
Have to put a caveat on this review as I'm not entirely objective.
One of the main negatives (perhaps the only one) of Goodreads is authors sending you friend requests in the hope that you will read and review their books. I usually filter these out using the "Compare Books" function - quite often they have hardly any or no books in common with me.
James Thane is a prolific reviewer on here especially of crime novels and probably one of the main ones that I refer to when deciding to read a book. His reviews are great - and I get 82% when I "compare books" ! You would hardly know that he is also an author as he never mentions that.
I really enjoyed this book which was a quick read, non stop action and hard to put down. Particularly liked the main character, Sean Richardson, and the side story about his wife, which made it different from your usual crime novel. Also, there were even references to my favourite author/character and favourite rock star - Lawrence Block (Matt Scudder) and Bruce Springsteen.
Have a copy of the second Sean Richardson book as well and looking forward to reading that one soon too.
One of the main negatives (perhaps the only one) of Goodreads is authors sending you friend requests in the hope that you will read and review their books. I usually filter these out using the "Compare Books" function - quite often they have hardly any or no books in common with me.
James Thane is a prolific reviewer on here especially of crime novels and probably one of the main ones that I refer to when deciding to read a book. His reviews are great - and I get 82% when I "compare books" ! You would hardly know that he is also an author as he never mentions that.
I really enjoyed this book which was a quick read, non stop action and hard to put down. Particularly liked the main character, Sean Richardson, and the side story about his wife, which made it different from your usual crime novel. Also, there were even references to my favourite author/character and favourite rock star - Lawrence Block (Matt Scudder) and Bruce Springsteen.
Have a copy of the second Sean Richardson book as well and looking forward to reading that one soon too.
March 11, 2014
At last, a nice meaty police procedural where the main investigators are sane and professional. Surely not all police are tortured, flawed souls (note to some authors). Even the villain had a 'normal' motive (revenge) rather than some sick fantasy he was acting out.
This was a fast-paced thriller and, although you knew early on whodunit it didn't detract from the tension one little bit. A very enjoyable read although, as with all page-turners, I got to the end all too quickly.
This was a fast-paced thriller and, although you knew early on whodunit it didn't detract from the tension one little bit. A very enjoyable read although, as with all page-turners, I got to the end all too quickly.
September 9, 2025
‘No Place to Die’ by James L. Thane is incredibly thrilling for what is also a well-written procedural! Usually such mysteries, written in a somewhat deadpan ‘voice’, are not as exciting as regular mysteries or thrillers. But I couldn’t put this novel, book one in the Phoenix detective Sean Richardson series, down! While working on what is turning out to be a serial murder case, he is also dealing with a messy legal battle with his mother in law, Elizabeth, over his wife’s living will. Julie is in a persistent vegetative state, and she left her wishes clear in a living will - she wants to be allowed to die if she has no cognitive brain function. But her mother is suing in court to have Julie’s will thrown out.
I have copied the book blurb:
”On a beautiful winter evening, Phoenix attorney Beverly Thompson is snatched from her home and her husband is brutally murdered. Four more victims quickly fall to the same killer and the case is assigned to homicide detective Sean Richardson. Now Sean must somehow stop an elusive killer with no idea who he is or where he might strike next. And unfortunately, time is running out on Beverly’s desperate struggle to survive long enough to see her husband’s killer captured and brought to justice.”
I felt so much concern for Beverly throughout the novel, never knowing if she would escape or be killed. I was reminded by her ordeal of the novel Room, and readers should be aware this book has one of the terrible abuses - continuous days of rape - the same as is described in ‘Room.’ It is somewhat graphic, but it does not linger. Her kidnapper plans to murder her ten days after he has kidnapped her and killed her husband in front of her. While she is in grief and frightened, she does not plan to go down without giving her kidnapper a fight!
I have copied the book blurb:
”On a beautiful winter evening, Phoenix attorney Beverly Thompson is snatched from her home and her husband is brutally murdered. Four more victims quickly fall to the same killer and the case is assigned to homicide detective Sean Richardson. Now Sean must somehow stop an elusive killer with no idea who he is or where he might strike next. And unfortunately, time is running out on Beverly’s desperate struggle to survive long enough to see her husband’s killer captured and brought to justice.”
I felt so much concern for Beverly throughout the novel, never knowing if she would escape or be killed. I was reminded by her ordeal of the novel Room, and readers should be aware this book has one of the terrible abuses - continuous days of rape - the same as is described in ‘Room.’ It is somewhat graphic, but it does not linger. Her kidnapper plans to murder her ten days after he has kidnapped her and killed her husband in front of her. While she is in grief and frightened, she does not plan to go down without giving her kidnapper a fight!
February 6, 2017
NO PLACE TO DIE is an excellent novel by author James L. Thane, and was very much of interest to me being that it takes place in the Phoenix AZ area, having lived there for eight years starting in '80 followed by two years in Tucson before moving back to MI for personal reasons. (Hopefully I'll be able to return to the Southwest area when I retire, but until then reading about it will have to suffice.)
Beverly Thompson is a successful attorney in the Phoenix area who is attacked and abducted at the home of her and her husband, David. Detective Sean Richardson is assigned to the case, and convinces his superiors to put him in charge of the case in spite of a difficult personal situation he is dealing with that requires much of his time and attention. Carl McClain is a convicted killer and rapist who is seeking out those he sees as responsible for his conviction relating to his trial, and Beverly was his appointed public defender early in her career seventeen years ago.
Events unfold to reveal what has taken place before, during, and after the trial that fuel Carl's determination to exact revenge on those he sees as most responsible for the seventeen years he's spent inside prison along with the loss of his family as a result of his conviction.
While I'm definitely not saying that the author in any way mimicked John Sandford in the writing of this novel, it definitely has the feel of a Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers novel in the sense of the abduction and the profile of the kidnapper/killer, albeit Sean Richardson is a low key hero unlike Lucas or Virgil. Comparison to Sandford is meant as a compliment, and I hope Thane is able to continue writing books of this caliber that will ensure him a long successful career as a novelist.
Next book that I'll be reading by this author is Until Death which is the second book in the Sean Richardson series.
Beverly Thompson is a successful attorney in the Phoenix area who is attacked and abducted at the home of her and her husband, David. Detective Sean Richardson is assigned to the case, and convinces his superiors to put him in charge of the case in spite of a difficult personal situation he is dealing with that requires much of his time and attention. Carl McClain is a convicted killer and rapist who is seeking out those he sees as responsible for his conviction relating to his trial, and Beverly was his appointed public defender early in her career seventeen years ago.
Events unfold to reveal what has taken place before, during, and after the trial that fuel Carl's determination to exact revenge on those he sees as most responsible for the seventeen years he's spent inside prison along with the loss of his family as a result of his conviction.
While I'm definitely not saying that the author in any way mimicked John Sandford in the writing of this novel, it definitely has the feel of a Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers novel in the sense of the abduction and the profile of the kidnapper/killer, albeit Sean Richardson is a low key hero unlike Lucas or Virgil. Comparison to Sandford is meant as a compliment, and I hope Thane is able to continue writing books of this caliber that will ensure him a long successful career as a novelist.
Next book that I'll be reading by this author is Until Death which is the second book in the Sean Richardson series.
March 11, 2018
Revenge at its Worst
An intense manhunt in Phoenix, for a killer on the loose. This was a good police procedural, for a debut. Well done, Jim.
An intense manhunt in Phoenix, for a killer on the loose. This was a good police procedural, for a debut. Well done, Jim.
July 30, 2010
This debut novel delivers everything devout readers of suspense and police procedural novels would expect — a tightly wound plot, crisp pacing, unerring authenticity and a few key characters in whom we feel invested.
I gobbled it up over a couple of nights because I just had to know how it would end — even though, halfway through, I knew there was only one way it COULD end. But because I cared about the dilemma and about the characters, I was content to settle for being in suspense about only the minute details of the resolutions.
The story: Gary McClain, recently freed after 17 years for a murder he didn't commit, decides to take his bloody revenge on the judge, jury, prosecutors, cops and witnesses who helped put him away. Key to his plot is the kidnapping of Beverly Thompson, who served as his lawyer. Meanwhile, Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson and his cohorts scramble to find the link between the slayings and prevent more — and, they hope, to find Thompson still alive.
I'm not usually a fan of police procedurals, as they often fall in love with the minutiae of police work at the expense of plotting and proper pacing, but Thane manages to have it both ways — he revels in the details but never fails to use them to keep the action moving forward.
What really works well here, however, is the relationship between the kidnapper and his victim. In a twist I haven't seen anywhere else, Thane pulls off a neat case of Stockholm Syndrome in reverse, getting the captor to empathize with his victim to the point that we're not 100% sure he's going to follow through on his plan to kill her once he's worked through his payback list. The tension beneath the talk in the scenes between the two is rendered with great skill.
Thane also does a good job of getting us to understand how it's perfectly reasonable that innocent people sometimes get put away. If I'd been on McClain's jury, I would have voted to convict as well.
Perhaps it's a testament to how well McClain and Thompson are developed as characters that it seemed to me that Det. Sean Richardson was much less compelling. Basically, he's your standard-issue tough-guy good guy. The few scenes in which his character is meant to developed, independent of the hunt for McClain, feel like contrivances. The Cop With The Tragedy In His Past™ as an archetype has been done to death, no pun intended, and supplying him with a couple of straw-man, one-note nemeses in a reprobate fellow cop and a shrewish mother-in-law don't really help build my sympathy — or empathy — for him. If he's to succeed as a series character, he needs to be better organically developed; I want to know who he is when he's just in everyday circumstances, not just when the deck is stacked in his favor as he goes up against cardboard evil.
But in the greater scheme of things, "No Place To Die" succeeds marvelously at what it sets out to do. It is a slick, satisfying entry in the suspense genre, and a superbly self-assured effort from a first-time author. I'm eagerly looking forward to James Thane's sophomore effort.
I gobbled it up over a couple of nights because I just had to know how it would end — even though, halfway through, I knew there was only one way it COULD end. But because I cared about the dilemma and about the characters, I was content to settle for being in suspense about only the minute details of the resolutions.
The story: Gary McClain, recently freed after 17 years for a murder he didn't commit, decides to take his bloody revenge on the judge, jury, prosecutors, cops and witnesses who helped put him away. Key to his plot is the kidnapping of Beverly Thompson, who served as his lawyer. Meanwhile, Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson and his cohorts scramble to find the link between the slayings and prevent more — and, they hope, to find Thompson still alive.
I'm not usually a fan of police procedurals, as they often fall in love with the minutiae of police work at the expense of plotting and proper pacing, but Thane manages to have it both ways — he revels in the details but never fails to use them to keep the action moving forward.
What really works well here, however, is the relationship between the kidnapper and his victim. In a twist I haven't seen anywhere else, Thane pulls off a neat case of Stockholm Syndrome in reverse, getting the captor to empathize with his victim to the point that we're not 100% sure he's going to follow through on his plan to kill her once he's worked through his payback list. The tension beneath the talk in the scenes between the two is rendered with great skill.
Thane also does a good job of getting us to understand how it's perfectly reasonable that innocent people sometimes get put away. If I'd been on McClain's jury, I would have voted to convict as well.
Perhaps it's a testament to how well McClain and Thompson are developed as characters that it seemed to me that Det. Sean Richardson was much less compelling. Basically, he's your standard-issue tough-guy good guy. The few scenes in which his character is meant to developed, independent of the hunt for McClain, feel like contrivances. The Cop With The Tragedy In His Past™ as an archetype has been done to death, no pun intended, and supplying him with a couple of straw-man, one-note nemeses in a reprobate fellow cop and a shrewish mother-in-law don't really help build my sympathy — or empathy — for him. If he's to succeed as a series character, he needs to be better organically developed; I want to know who he is when he's just in everyday circumstances, not just when the deck is stacked in his favor as he goes up against cardboard evil.
But in the greater scheme of things, "No Place To Die" succeeds marvelously at what it sets out to do. It is a slick, satisfying entry in the suspense genre, and a superbly self-assured effort from a first-time author. I'm eagerly looking forward to James Thane's sophomore effort.
February 12, 2011
Maybe it's because I live in Phoenix, where this novel is set...but whatever the reason, I thought this was a nice blend of procedural and noir. It rolls at a fast clip as troubled Phx Det Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie McClinton work to find the link between seemingly random killings and a missing attorney. A strong sense of place lifts this book up a notch above the average thriller. Phoenix is often passed over in the noir realm but this one stakes its claim. It goes right up there with The Name of the Game is Death.
March 30, 2015
Fast paced detective action thriller. Easy read and filled with Phoenix locale feel and mature police (Homicide)protagonist. You fall into the action immediately and the time is ticking for a rescue!
August 9, 2014
This book has rescued me from the series of Tough Books by Famous Authors that I have subjected myself to recently! I had fun reading this book. And not just because it is my first book read totally on a Kindle with no reliance on a physical, paper book. While reading this book may not have made me a better person, it has made me a happier person for the past few days. The best thing I can say about No Place to Die is that I read it over just a few days and am immediately beginning the second book in the series Until Death also by James L. Thane.
No Place to Die has been a slightly elusive book for me and has remained stubbornly on my TBR shelf due to my fondness for the author. But then I begin to fall into the Kindle trap and the book is available to borrow for free from Kindle Unlimited. I join a free trial of that marketing ploy and download the book with great pleasure. Then all I have to do is try to figure out a time to read it during the 30 day window of opportunity of my trial subscription. I don’t expect to actually pay for this service, at least not right away, since I have a number of Kindle books I have already bought over the past several months as I emotionally approached my union with the Kindle enterprise!
So I hope you won’t take what I am going to say the wrong way, Jim! I want to read your books for free. And to put the icing on the cake, my eleven year old adopted daughter has chosen this time of her life to begin to write her first book! No kidding. It is just started and she is letting a few of us read it as she progresses. It is a story of girlfriends (a little older than she is) and starts out with some immediate action – running away from home and a possible killing of a sibling – that draws you into the story. So I have just read the first chapter of her story and was quite impressed. (Well, she is my daughter so that is at least part of the equation!)
It is in that context that I start your book, Jim. And, like Mei Mei’s, your story gets into the action right away and I am hooked. I have been reading William Faulkner and Thomas Wolfe recently and feel like I need some relief. No Place to Die seems like it might offer that relief and I am so happy that it is present right this minute to offer that. Seems like there are going to be multiple points of view in the book to entertain. Maybe your writing skills will help me offer some positive suggestions to the young writer in my life! So we are starting off at a good place, Jim!
I love mystery books that meld in social and historical issue. Early in this book a couple of the issues are: brain death and early native American settlement of the Phoenix area to spice things up. The dilemma of innocent victims and even criminals who are innocent and air pollution come in later. Some action, some causes, some humor. Very appealing to me in my relatively dull life. And short chapters – one of my favorite things in a book from which I am seeking entertainment.
Thane has lots of small touches of detail in his writing. He describes the room where his victim is held captive but also the lunch menu of the detectives:
I really don’t have any experience reading books of authors I know slightly on Goodreads. I think Thane is a nice guy whose head and heart and politics are all in the right place as far as I am concerned. I like what he writes about people and places in the book. He seems very focused on mysteries from my casual observations of him on GR. I’d rank him as a fine humanist from my brief exposure to him here. If he is reading this, he is likely wondering how many backhanded complements I might be able to fit into a short review and smiling to himself.
In the story the kidnapped woman is being held prisoner and raped. She forms a relationship with the rapist – and he with her. I wonder how a male author could put himself in the mind of this woman. Since I am really a novice at reading mysteries, I have no depth of experience in even thinking about this kind of thing. At one point he home cooks her a nice meal, sits at a card table and eats with her drinking beer and they talk. The experience of trying to imagine that circumstance boggles my mind. He buys her clothing after he had ripped hers off to rape her – including underwear. Can I wrap my mind around that? No, I can’t. This is a world that is pretty far out for me. But I am mostly just along and enjoying the ride.
Sometimes fiction raises real non-fiction issues. In No Place to Die we experience police who use inappropriate violence and display questionable ethics. Should we just understand that this is the way the world of criminal justice sometimes works? Or should I just chill and enjoy this murder mystery for the fiction that it is? I must admit that I want my heroes to be a little better than average most of the time. The lead homicide detective in the series, Sean Richardson, does seem to strive to meet that test though failing to achieve perfection.
This book is my first independent excursion into the land of my new Kindle Paperwhite. The author has been a Goodreads friend for a couple of years. He has more than a thousand friends and I always figure that is a result of doing business as a published writer. But in spite of being just one of over fourteen hundred friends, I actually feel like I somehow get some personal attention from Jim. Other friends seem to have had the same experience. I cannot imagine how he can not only occasionally Like one of my reviews but sometimes actually make a comment. I should be so attentive with hundreds of friends! Glad to have read your first book, Jim. I am looking forward to reading the second one starting right now!
No Place to Die has been a slightly elusive book for me and has remained stubbornly on my TBR shelf due to my fondness for the author. But then I begin to fall into the Kindle trap and the book is available to borrow for free from Kindle Unlimited. I join a free trial of that marketing ploy and download the book with great pleasure. Then all I have to do is try to figure out a time to read it during the 30 day window of opportunity of my trial subscription. I don’t expect to actually pay for this service, at least not right away, since I have a number of Kindle books I have already bought over the past several months as I emotionally approached my union with the Kindle enterprise!
So I hope you won’t take what I am going to say the wrong way, Jim! I want to read your books for free. And to put the icing on the cake, my eleven year old adopted daughter has chosen this time of her life to begin to write her first book! No kidding. It is just started and she is letting a few of us read it as she progresses. It is a story of girlfriends (a little older than she is) and starts out with some immediate action – running away from home and a possible killing of a sibling – that draws you into the story. So I have just read the first chapter of her story and was quite impressed. (Well, she is my daughter so that is at least part of the equation!)
It is in that context that I start your book, Jim. And, like Mei Mei’s, your story gets into the action right away and I am hooked. I have been reading William Faulkner and Thomas Wolfe recently and feel like I need some relief. No Place to Die seems like it might offer that relief and I am so happy that it is present right this minute to offer that. Seems like there are going to be multiple points of view in the book to entertain. Maybe your writing skills will help me offer some positive suggestions to the young writer in my life! So we are starting off at a good place, Jim!
I love mystery books that meld in social and historical issue. Early in this book a couple of the issues are: brain death and early native American settlement of the Phoenix area to spice things up. The dilemma of innocent victims and even criminals who are innocent and air pollution come in later. Some action, some causes, some humor. Very appealing to me in my relatively dull life. And short chapters – one of my favorite things in a book from which I am seeking entertainment.
Greater Phoenix stretches some forty-five miles from north to south and sixty miles from east to west, in a valley originally settled by the Hohokam Indians about three hundred years before the birth of Christ . For reasons not entirely clear— perhaps because fourteenth -century air-conditioning units were so notoriously difficult to service and maintain— the Hohokam abandoned the valley early in the fifteenth century, and it then remained largely empty of population until the first white people settled here in the 1860s.
Thane has lots of small touches of detail in his writing. He describes the room where his victim is held captive but also the lunch menu of the detectives:
In Maggie’s case, “lunch” consisted of a small garden salad with a simple oil and vinegar dressing on the side, accompanied by a refreshing cup of soy milk. Apparently deciding to live life in the fast lane, she ordered chocolate soy milk rather than vanilla, which was her usual choice. I was less confident than she that we’d be eating again any time soon and so ordered a Coke, a medium-rare hamburger, and a side salad of my own.
I really don’t have any experience reading books of authors I know slightly on Goodreads. I think Thane is a nice guy whose head and heart and politics are all in the right place as far as I am concerned. I like what he writes about people and places in the book. He seems very focused on mysteries from my casual observations of him on GR. I’d rank him as a fine humanist from my brief exposure to him here. If he is reading this, he is likely wondering how many backhanded complements I might be able to fit into a short review and smiling to himself.
In the story the kidnapped woman is being held prisoner and raped. She forms a relationship with the rapist – and he with her. I wonder how a male author could put himself in the mind of this woman. Since I am really a novice at reading mysteries, I have no depth of experience in even thinking about this kind of thing. At one point he home cooks her a nice meal, sits at a card table and eats with her drinking beer and they talk. The experience of trying to imagine that circumstance boggles my mind. He buys her clothing after he had ripped hers off to rape her – including underwear. Can I wrap my mind around that? No, I can’t. This is a world that is pretty far out for me. But I am mostly just along and enjoying the ride.
Sometimes fiction raises real non-fiction issues. In No Place to Die we experience police who use inappropriate violence and display questionable ethics. Should we just understand that this is the way the world of criminal justice sometimes works? Or should I just chill and enjoy this murder mystery for the fiction that it is? I must admit that I want my heroes to be a little better than average most of the time. The lead homicide detective in the series, Sean Richardson, does seem to strive to meet that test though failing to achieve perfection.
I knew that I was going to be in deep shit for punching out Doyle— almost certainly I was facing a suspension and disciplinary action. I deeply regretted the former, and could only hope that whatever punishment I’d face would at least be delayed until after the McClain case was resolved. But I did not for a moment regret reacting as I had in response to Doyle’s crude remark. The bastard had gotten exactly what he deserved, and no matter the consequences, I’d never apologize for giving it to him.
This book is my first independent excursion into the land of my new Kindle Paperwhite. The author has been a Goodreads friend for a couple of years. He has more than a thousand friends and I always figure that is a result of doing business as a published writer. But in spite of being just one of over fourteen hundred friends, I actually feel like I somehow get some personal attention from Jim. Other friends seem to have had the same experience. I cannot imagine how he can not only occasionally Like one of my reviews but sometimes actually make a comment. I should be so attentive with hundreds of friends! Glad to have read your first book, Jim. I am looking forward to reading the second one starting right now!
January 1, 2016
This is a book from a generous author who warmly likes other peoples' reviews and doesn't place any pressure on one to read & review his own work.
In light of all the books I had managed to read last year I thought the time had come to embrace a new author and read James' book. I'm not sure if he was aware as he hasn't prompted me to finish it and give him a constellation of stars.
Breaking into 2016 I am pleased it is the first book I have finished in this New Year. Thane is true to his own reading and has produced a wonderful novel in the police proceedural genre I absolutely love.
His location is Phoenix and within the fictious police department he has created a number of interesting cops in his detective squad. In reading it I feel the depth and range of the author's own reading and the respect he has for his own literary heroes and TV shows from Block to Dragnet.
However, that said, it isn't just a pastiche or a fan's attempt to gatecrash this successful format. Indeed what I liked most was the freshness of his ideas and plot. The usual short chapters enable the pace to be maintained and there was a potential for another twist every few pages.
The use of a hostage enabled the reader to see a wider aspect and get into the psyche of the killer; the killings are brutal and I liked the contrast between firing a gun and tossing a salad.
A genuine thriller that shows the life of crime and the dedication of law enforcement. Good and ill can damage any life and loved ones but how we react determines finally how we live with ourselves. The gap between good and evil can be very thin and the path chosen not always certain. Could you kill? What would you do to survive? This is a terrific book that by not passing too much judgement in its pages allows the reader to fully engage with the story as it unfolds.
In light of all the books I had managed to read last year I thought the time had come to embrace a new author and read James' book. I'm not sure if he was aware as he hasn't prompted me to finish it and give him a constellation of stars.
Breaking into 2016 I am pleased it is the first book I have finished in this New Year. Thane is true to his own reading and has produced a wonderful novel in the police proceedural genre I absolutely love.
His location is Phoenix and within the fictious police department he has created a number of interesting cops in his detective squad. In reading it I feel the depth and range of the author's own reading and the respect he has for his own literary heroes and TV shows from Block to Dragnet.
However, that said, it isn't just a pastiche or a fan's attempt to gatecrash this successful format. Indeed what I liked most was the freshness of his ideas and plot. The usual short chapters enable the pace to be maintained and there was a potential for another twist every few pages.
The use of a hostage enabled the reader to see a wider aspect and get into the psyche of the killer; the killings are brutal and I liked the contrast between firing a gun and tossing a salad.
A genuine thriller that shows the life of crime and the dedication of law enforcement. Good and ill can damage any life and loved ones but how we react determines finally how we live with ourselves. The gap between good and evil can be very thin and the path chosen not always certain. Could you kill? What would you do to survive? This is a terrific book that by not passing too much judgement in its pages allows the reader to fully engage with the story as it unfolds.
June 26, 2017
I wanted to try this Goodreads author and found this book available on Kindle Unlimited. It was well paced/plotted and was perhaps the first Phoenix-placed crime book for me.
Reading a book like this does give me pause over my decision to read books from this genre since I truly prefer historical fiction and somehow accept murder in other eras with less emotional reaction.
This book requires being able to stomach the reading of repeated and detailed rape scenes, so reader be warned.
I did finish the book because the young homicide detective with a dying wife draws the sympathy with good old-fashioned manipulation. Pretty sure I can guess there is a follow up with a couple of the main characters coming together---but then any reader of the book would guess the same, I think. Perhaps I'm wrong.
On The Plus Side: The psychology of being held captive for a length of time was of interest and worth the read.
Reading a book like this does give me pause over my decision to read books from this genre since I truly prefer historical fiction and somehow accept murder in other eras with less emotional reaction.
This book requires being able to stomach the reading of repeated and detailed rape scenes, so reader be warned.
I did finish the book because the young homicide detective with a dying wife draws the sympathy with good old-fashioned manipulation. Pretty sure I can guess there is a follow up with a couple of the main characters coming together---but then any reader of the book would guess the same, I think. Perhaps I'm wrong.
On The Plus Side: The psychology of being held captive for a length of time was of interest and worth the read.
February 10, 2015
Beverly Thompson, an attorney specializing in medical malpractice, enters her garage anticipating the end of a long day. Her comfortable thoughts end abruptly. A black-clad figure rolls under the closing garage door and subdues her at gunpoint. He kills her husband David, and for good measure also kills the family dog, before abducting her. A random crime? Possibly — until she hears his ugly whisper: “ 'Hello, Beverly. It's very nice to see you again.'” It's the last thing she hears before succumbing to the chloroform.
The story gets off the starting block quickly. All of this occurs in the space of the first few pages. The same pages also convey a sympathetic portrait of the Thompsons. Beverly and David had only been married for a little over two years. In their final phone conversation, she apprises David that she is just leaving work, and David cheerfully starts dinner, promising to chill a martini for her arrival home.
A tightly choreographed police procedural set in Phoenix, Arizona, alternates with tense scenes of Beverly's abductor, Carl McClain in this brisk thriller. McClain has murdered an elderly woman named Alma Fletcher in addition to David Thompson. The story follows McClain as he stalks and murders other victims. The reader is left to puzzle over his motives, since his backstory is revealed only gradually.
The detectives assigned to the Thompson case are Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie McClinton. Their investigation is narrated in first person by Sean, and it proceeds with an efficient economy of detail, from the first brusque phone call ordering Sean to the crime scene to the deployment of the Crime Scene Response Team, to Sean and Maggie's walk-thru of the house. They weigh standard scenarios. Domestic or Intruder? Their speculation falters, however, at the question: Why was David killed but Beverly abducted? When they learn that the bullets that killed David match those that killed Alma Fletcher, they are further stymied. Intensive interrogations fail to reveal any connection between either of the Thompsons and Alma Fletcher. Hand-wringing by the chain of command, ignited by the press and public outcry, adds to the pressure on Sean and Maggie.
Author James Thane brings his characters to life with deft strokes. Sean and Maggie have an easy camaraderie reflected in their banter. Maggie gives a candid appraisal of her disintegrated marriage: “ 'I think the fact that I was a woman in a uniform with a gun and a pair of handcuffs really turned him on. But the man liked his dinner, his sex, and his social life to be right on schedule. And once I made detective and the hours became increasingly unpredictable, it upset the balance of his whole world. He thought that cops and robbers should work a sensible nine-to-five schedule just like everybody else.'” Sean's relationship was quite the opposite, but a tragedy has now engulfed him in a difficult and stressful situation. Other characters add texture to Sean and Maggie's world. The investigation team is saddled with a disruptive slacker who is counting down the months until retirement. His presence occasions some colorful exchanges.
An interesting dynamic of chance propels the plot. Carl is a criminal who leaves nothing to chance. He stalks his victims, ascertaining their routines. At a convenience store, he is careful to evade the security cameras. A broad-brimmed cowboy hat obstructs the view of his face, and he is careful to keep his head lowered. The police investigation for all its methodical proceedings, inches forward through quirks of chance. A witness takes notice of an unfamiliar van being parked in front of her house. The husband of a victim stumbles on an old newspaper clipping and brings it to the police.
This was a satisfying crime narrative with just the right touch of character development, and enough local color to project a sense of locale. The plot is not convoluted and there are no profundities — just an enjoyable and entertaining work of fiction.
The story gets off the starting block quickly. All of this occurs in the space of the first few pages. The same pages also convey a sympathetic portrait of the Thompsons. Beverly and David had only been married for a little over two years. In their final phone conversation, she apprises David that she is just leaving work, and David cheerfully starts dinner, promising to chill a martini for her arrival home.
A tightly choreographed police procedural set in Phoenix, Arizona, alternates with tense scenes of Beverly's abductor, Carl McClain in this brisk thriller. McClain has murdered an elderly woman named Alma Fletcher in addition to David Thompson. The story follows McClain as he stalks and murders other victims. The reader is left to puzzle over his motives, since his backstory is revealed only gradually.
The detectives assigned to the Thompson case are Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie McClinton. Their investigation is narrated in first person by Sean, and it proceeds with an efficient economy of detail, from the first brusque phone call ordering Sean to the crime scene to the deployment of the Crime Scene Response Team, to Sean and Maggie's walk-thru of the house. They weigh standard scenarios. Domestic or Intruder? Their speculation falters, however, at the question: Why was David killed but Beverly abducted? When they learn that the bullets that killed David match those that killed Alma Fletcher, they are further stymied. Intensive interrogations fail to reveal any connection between either of the Thompsons and Alma Fletcher. Hand-wringing by the chain of command, ignited by the press and public outcry, adds to the pressure on Sean and Maggie.
Author James Thane brings his characters to life with deft strokes. Sean and Maggie have an easy camaraderie reflected in their banter. Maggie gives a candid appraisal of her disintegrated marriage: “ 'I think the fact that I was a woman in a uniform with a gun and a pair of handcuffs really turned him on. But the man liked his dinner, his sex, and his social life to be right on schedule. And once I made detective and the hours became increasingly unpredictable, it upset the balance of his whole world. He thought that cops and robbers should work a sensible nine-to-five schedule just like everybody else.'” Sean's relationship was quite the opposite, but a tragedy has now engulfed him in a difficult and stressful situation. Other characters add texture to Sean and Maggie's world. The investigation team is saddled with a disruptive slacker who is counting down the months until retirement. His presence occasions some colorful exchanges.
An interesting dynamic of chance propels the plot. Carl is a criminal who leaves nothing to chance. He stalks his victims, ascertaining their routines. At a convenience store, he is careful to evade the security cameras. A broad-brimmed cowboy hat obstructs the view of his face, and he is careful to keep his head lowered. The police investigation for all its methodical proceedings, inches forward through quirks of chance. A witness takes notice of an unfamiliar van being parked in front of her house. The husband of a victim stumbles on an old newspaper clipping and brings it to the police.
This was a satisfying crime narrative with just the right touch of character development, and enough local color to project a sense of locale. The plot is not convoluted and there are no profundities — just an enjoyable and entertaining work of fiction.
December 27, 2015
I loved it!!! Detective Sean Richardson of the Phoenix PD and his partner Maggie catch a strange case when a woman's husband and dog are murdered in their garage and she is abducted. Beverly Thompson had been a public defender 17 years ago, so green and inexperienced that she lost the case of a man Carl McClain falsely accused of murdering a prostitute 17 years earlier. Carl had spent 17 years of a sentence with no possibility of parole hatching a revenge plan to kill the judge, prosecutor, cops assigned to the case, 12 jurors, and the public defender who failed him. He had just been freed when DNA evidence proves another man did it (and it is turned in by a woman who knew). So suddenly McClain is free, has the money from selling his mom's house, and under various aliases is the move getting revenge.
This is a police procedural which I love because you get to know who the killer is and watch detectives as they try to solve the case while watching the killer commit more and more crimes. That is every bit as thrilling as not knowing who did it. McClain has killed some jurors (yet spared one who has Alzheimer's), the judge, and the prosecutor. He has Beverly imprisoned in a run down house he rents under an assumed name where he both cooks her restaurant quality meals and brutally rapes her.
You'll also be amazed at all the working pay phones in Phoenix. I haven't seen one in 20 years anywhere in the cities in the USA including Phoenix yet that city seems to have them everywhere. The book is excellent and very well written. I only wish there were more books in this series! I like the characters and the writing style and would like to see a lot more where this came from.
This is a police procedural which I love because you get to know who the killer is and watch detectives as they try to solve the case while watching the killer commit more and more crimes. That is every bit as thrilling as not knowing who did it. McClain has killed some jurors (yet spared one who has Alzheimer's), the judge, and the prosecutor. He has Beverly imprisoned in a run down house he rents under an assumed name where he both cooks her restaurant quality meals and brutally rapes her.
You'll also be amazed at all the working pay phones in Phoenix. I haven't seen one in 20 years anywhere in the cities in the USA including Phoenix yet that city seems to have them everywhere. The book is excellent and very well written. I only wish there were more books in this series! I like the characters and the writing style and would like to see a lot more where this came from.
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