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Starletta Duvall Mystery #1
Do Not Go Gently
When a vicious serial killer begins targeting African-American professionals, police lieutenant Starletta Duvall, who fits the profile of the murderer's victims, searches for the insatiable madman. Original.
285 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Judith Smith-Levin
7 books17 followersJUDITH SMITH-LEVIN was born in Chicago and has been, at various times, a model, disc jockey, secretary, newspaper reporter, television line producer, and bookstore owner. She has also made history as the first uniformed female patrol officer in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 3, 2017
I have had the entire Starletta Duvall series on my shelves for a while now and had yet to pick one up. I am so glad that I grabbed this one. It was a very quick and enjoyable read that is a little dark and gritty, but no so much so that it was too disturbing. Star (Starletta) is a an interesting and strong character who has followed in her father's footsteps as a detective. She has fought for and won the respect of her fellow officers in a male dominated environment that is harsh, crude, and sometimes cruel. Star is such a likable character. She's not perfect, but she is the kind of woman that you would want as a friend as well as to have your back. Smith-Levin also touches on social issues facing Black women who have successful careers and are looking to have fulfilling personal lives as well. The way that she addresses social issues is done by allowing her characters to have challenges that are realistic and relatable without being preachy. I enjoyed this one very much and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
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You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
December 7, 2014
Many people face challenges when they enter a work place where they are different from their co-workers. Starletta Duvall has generally succeeded as a police lieutenant, but still has to face the fact that some of her unenlightened peers hit on her because she is beautiful or put her down because she is black. Fortunately, she has some good people on her team that she can count on and that don't put gender and race as part of the equation when they look at her. Prime among them is Dominic Paresi.
It's a lazy summer day, the kind where you want to put your feet up on your desk at work and just let the world roll by. But the promise of that kind of day never fulfills itself in most police departments. Star and Dominic answer a call where a woman has been blown away at a family barbecue. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why the killer selected this particular victim, a nice, successful black woman who was about to be married.
Unfortunately, a disturbing pattern soon emerges as several other black, professional women are murdered. These women flaunted their success by driving expensive cars and wearing haute couture. Star finds that she can't be objective about these killings. They literally sicken her, and she is consumed with finding the perpetrator. When a prime suspect is identified, she goes under cover in an effort to trap him. Much to her own revulsion, she finds that he turns her on, that she is a victim of his charisma and charm just as the murdered women may have been.
Smith-Levin has done a smashing job in the development of the character of Starletta. She is tough, yet vulnerable, a multi-faceted woman who will ably sustain a long-running series. The plot moved along nicely, and there was quite an element of suspense as the reader waited in expectation for the perpetrator to reap ever more havoc. Unfortunately, the book faltered at the resolution as Smith-Levin tried to pull off a twisty ending that didn't work for me.
In addition to the wonderful character of Starletta, the relationships in the book are convincingly portrayed and even the secondary characters seemed real. The book could have been unremittingly dark, but Smith-Levin injected humor at just the right moments. I highly recommend this book and look forward with great anticipation to the other books in the series.
It's a lazy summer day, the kind where you want to put your feet up on your desk at work and just let the world roll by. But the promise of that kind of day never fulfills itself in most police departments. Star and Dominic answer a call where a woman has been blown away at a family barbecue. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why the killer selected this particular victim, a nice, successful black woman who was about to be married.
Unfortunately, a disturbing pattern soon emerges as several other black, professional women are murdered. These women flaunted their success by driving expensive cars and wearing haute couture. Star finds that she can't be objective about these killings. They literally sicken her, and she is consumed with finding the perpetrator. When a prime suspect is identified, she goes under cover in an effort to trap him. Much to her own revulsion, she finds that he turns her on, that she is a victim of his charisma and charm just as the murdered women may have been.
Smith-Levin has done a smashing job in the development of the character of Starletta. She is tough, yet vulnerable, a multi-faceted woman who will ably sustain a long-running series. The plot moved along nicely, and there was quite an element of suspense as the reader waited in expectation for the perpetrator to reap ever more havoc. Unfortunately, the book faltered at the resolution as Smith-Levin tried to pull off a twisty ending that didn't work for me.
In addition to the wonderful character of Starletta, the relationships in the book are convincingly portrayed and even the secondary characters seemed real. The book could have been unremittingly dark, but Smith-Levin injected humor at just the right moments. I highly recommend this book and look forward with great anticipation to the other books in the series.
November 27, 2022
I enjoy all tv/movie shows that are police/detective procedurals. Add in psychological suspense and mystery, and that is a winning genre combo for me. I especially enjoy finding that combination in books.
This story delivered just what I wanted, it was fast-paced, had great supporting characters, and a kickass main character. Smith-Levin's writing is smooth, not jumbling a scene with too many unnecessary descriptions or flourishes.
She gave each character a very distinct voice, making it easier for me to picture them in my mind. On top of all the violence and suspense, Smith-Levin was able to inject humor that didn't take away or lessen the severity of the case before the characters but brought more life to the story, making it much more believable.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick read, and I couldn't put it down, reading it late in the evening because it had me hooked. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
This story delivered just what I wanted, it was fast-paced, had great supporting characters, and a kickass main character. Smith-Levin's writing is smooth, not jumbling a scene with too many unnecessary descriptions or flourishes.
She gave each character a very distinct voice, making it easier for me to picture them in my mind. On top of all the violence and suspense, Smith-Levin was able to inject humor that didn't take away or lessen the severity of the case before the characters but brought more life to the story, making it much more believable.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick read, and I couldn't put it down, reading it late in the evening because it had me hooked. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
August 30, 2019
Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller. It’s a police procedural, with a black female as the lead detective. I like Starletta as a main character. She is quite different than other leading detectives as she is more vulnerable than one would expect from a lead detective. The ending though... man, I wish I could say that I saw it coming. The first part of the ending, I saw that. Even predicted that Starletta would surprise me with physical
Combat skills. I hoped that she had it in her. The second part? I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand - definitely didn’t see it coming, would never have even suspected it as a possibility. Because JA definitely acted like they were right, I kind of wonder if the second ending was necessary or if it could have been done differently- like DG took advantage and chose that day to show up. Either way, I will definitely be continuing on with the series!
Combat skills. I hoped that she had it in her. The second part? I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand - definitely didn’t see it coming, would never have even suspected it as a possibility. Because JA definitely acted like they were right, I kind of wonder if the second ending was necessary or if it could have been done differently- like DG took advantage and chose that day to show up. Either way, I will definitely be continuing on with the series!
June 28, 2020
This was an interesting suspense novel, with some unforeseen twists and turns. A pretty good set up — albeit that it’s a little bit dated. Starletta Duvall was a good character and many of the background characters were also really involving. We read this through an audiobook and the reader (Marc Damon Johnson) really was great at accents! His ability to read women was very good and I especially liked the different ways he read individual people of color. In other audio books, readers often use a very high voice for women and I liked that he didn’t do that. He read Starletta’s “Italian stallion” partner perfectly. Other than his spot-on use of accents, though, his style was a bit repetitive. Ultimately, however, the murder & rape descriptions were way way too graphic for me. I like suspense, not a grisly gorefest. For that reason, I don’t think I will continue with the series.
October 1, 2018
I really like this author's mysteries and am looking forward to reading the next two books in the Starletta Duvall stories.
November 17, 2015
******SPOILER AT THE END*******
This book started off very slow but once it picked up, I was pulled in and stuck. I am a fan of sex and gore and this book had both. I was desperate to know how this WHODUNIT tale would unfold but when it did I was highly upset!
I am a writer and a good read to me is one that just makes logical sense and this book started to lose that for me.
1) It was hard to connect with the main character because she had such a cold to hot switch. For instance she talks about being so about her work and not having time for a man yet she's so sensitive and so cold to the advances of any man in the book, There was somewhat of a lesbian vibe coming from her. It was almost annoying how slow she was taking it with Mitchel Grant and then for it to have went NOWHERE by the end of the book. It was annoying really.
2) Many of the characters' existences seemed so forced and extra. They were there but they added no umph to the story for instance, its obvious Jerry A is a racist, so for him to be so friendly to the new guy from from the Victor Store was weird, even if he did talk about him being a 'nigger' to himself, I would think their exchanges would be a little stiffer and the guy had a lot of moments when he was staring at Star randomly but his character literally did nothing in Star's regard.
I did not like the way her father's downfall came out. I did not like how it came from Vee explaining it as if Star was just hearing it for the first time. That irritated me because that could've been a narrator monologue rather than Vee giving a rundown....it was almost an unbelievable exchange.
But the WORST part is yet to come! We understand that Jerry A. takes pictures of the victims and we also understand that the author wanted a WOW moment but it happened in the worst way! There was never a mention of the Glover guy in any other part of the book so for him to come out and be the killer really upset me! It didn't make sense! I hated how he 'explained' his presence at the end of the book.....he told his every move and the PD's every move and it was so unrealistic. This book was basically a revenge from her father's death but the plot does not circle around his death. She's not in counseling for it, there is no link that the turmoil surrounding his death is still valid yet it was. Everything fits Jerry's persona but that flip, I just can't agree was a good idea.
I also hated all of their random road blocks, for instance when Parisi went to Jerry's House and spoke with his Wife and found the shirt, what was the purpose of that entire exchange and expense only to have the blood NOT HELP THEM AT ALL!!!! Waste of pages.
I really wanted to like this book but the ending really blew it for me. and the unfinished circles just pissed me off. All Maureen did was cook, her child was just shipped off....Mitchel and Star never officially hooked up....Parisi went from playboy to wannabe Daddy mode.....it was all too poorly written.
This was a great shot but the there was no follow through.
This book started off very slow but once it picked up, I was pulled in and stuck. I am a fan of sex and gore and this book had both. I was desperate to know how this WHODUNIT tale would unfold but when it did I was highly upset!
I am a writer and a good read to me is one that just makes logical sense and this book started to lose that for me.
1) It was hard to connect with the main character because she had such a cold to hot switch. For instance she talks about being so about her work and not having time for a man yet she's so sensitive and so cold to the advances of any man in the book, There was somewhat of a lesbian vibe coming from her. It was almost annoying how slow she was taking it with Mitchel Grant and then for it to have went NOWHERE by the end of the book. It was annoying really.
2) Many of the characters' existences seemed so forced and extra. They were there but they added no umph to the story for instance, its obvious Jerry A is a racist, so for him to be so friendly to the new guy from from the Victor Store was weird, even if he did talk about him being a 'nigger' to himself, I would think their exchanges would be a little stiffer and the guy had a lot of moments when he was staring at Star randomly but his character literally did nothing in Star's regard.
I did not like the way her father's downfall came out. I did not like how it came from Vee explaining it as if Star was just hearing it for the first time. That irritated me because that could've been a narrator monologue rather than Vee giving a rundown....it was almost an unbelievable exchange.
But the WORST part is yet to come! We understand that Jerry A. takes pictures of the victims and we also understand that the author wanted a WOW moment but it happened in the worst way! There was never a mention of the Glover guy in any other part of the book so for him to come out and be the killer really upset me! It didn't make sense! I hated how he 'explained' his presence at the end of the book.....he told his every move and the PD's every move and it was so unrealistic. This book was basically a revenge from her father's death but the plot does not circle around his death. She's not in counseling for it, there is no link that the turmoil surrounding his death is still valid yet it was. Everything fits Jerry's persona but that flip, I just can't agree was a good idea.
I also hated all of their random road blocks, for instance when Parisi went to Jerry's House and spoke with his Wife and found the shirt, what was the purpose of that entire exchange and expense only to have the blood NOT HELP THEM AT ALL!!!! Waste of pages.
I really wanted to like this book but the ending really blew it for me. and the unfinished circles just pissed me off. All Maureen did was cook, her child was just shipped off....Mitchel and Star never officially hooked up....Parisi went from playboy to wannabe Daddy mode.....it was all too poorly written.
This was a great shot but the there was no follow through.
January 7, 2014
Likeable characters, goofy ending, everyone's oversexed
First the positives:
-likeable characters.
- Do Not Go Gently is well-written, in that it was easy to follow and the characters stayed true all of the way through.
Now, the negatives:
-the ending has such a plot twist that you might as well have had Darth Vader or Charles Manson committing all of the murders - there were as many clues pointing to them as there were to the killer. Really, this comes so far out of left field that no one will see it coming - and I felt like I was the victim of some bad practical joke...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/...
First the positives:
-likeable characters.
- Do Not Go Gently is well-written, in that it was easy to follow and the characters stayed true all of the way through.
Now, the negatives:
-the ending has such a plot twist that you might as well have had Darth Vader or Charles Manson committing all of the murders - there were as many clues pointing to them as there were to the killer. Really, this comes so far out of left field that no one will see it coming - and I felt like I was the victim of some bad practical joke...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/...
Read
November 30, 2017LOVED the surprise ending
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews