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Lethal Rage: A Mystery
“When an organized drug gang starts selling crack dyed black, Division 51 of the Toronto Police gets the brunt of the action, and street cop Jack Warren and his partner face the ugly realities of crime in their city. Verdict: Pilkey, a veteran of Division 51, writes with authority in this first of a planned trilogy. His characters ring true, and the gritty side of Toronto shows. For lovers of hard-boiled police procedurals.” – Library Journal
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 3, 2010
It was okay. Honestly, I only I kept reading because it was set in Toronto or it would have been DNF'd. In part because I didn't care about any of the characters (main and secondaries), and I didn't get caught up in the mystery such as it was. Also, at some point it felt like all minorities were portrayed in an very unflattering/negative way, with few exceptions.
March 15, 2020
Very good
Loved it. This was a page turner. Jack’s a good character but I’m wondering about his attraction to Jenny and would an honorable man do that? Just a thought. Great first novel.
Loved it. This was a page turner. Jack’s a good character but I’m wondering about his attraction to Jenny and would an honorable man do that? Just a thought. Great first novel.
December 21, 2014
To gain experience, Jack, a young Toronto police officer, has recently transferred downtown to 51 Division, known for its drugs and prostitution. A new crack (Black Crack) has been introduced by a drug dealer who is trying to take over the area. It becomes the mission of the officers of 51 Division to find and stop him.
51 Division is a lot different than what Jack is used to but he's loving it! His wife, Karen, and her parents, though, aren't. Karen thinks 51 Division is too dangerous and wants Jack to transfer out of it. Her parents have never made it a secret that they don't think Jack is good enough for their daughter. Needless to say, this causes tension at home.
What attracted me to this book is that it's set in Toronto and makes no secret that it is. As Jack and his fellow officers were racing around the east end of the downtown core, I knew exactly where they were. Plus I like mysteries.
This is the first book I've read by this author (it's the first in a series) and I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style ... it's written in third person perspective with the focus on Jack). I thought the pace moved along well. The author is a cop and had spent many years in 51 Division so writes from experience. Even though the story is fiction, it was interesting to get the insight into the life of a cop, both on the job and at home. As a head's up, there is violence, adult activity and a lot of swearing.
I liked Jack. Despite what his in-laws may think, he is intelligent and driven. He enjoys being a cop and making the city a better place. It was interesting to watch him evolve to become more hardened the longer he was in 51 Division. There are officers who are supporting characters and despite their different personalities and quirks, most were hardworking and loyal to each other.
I'd recommend this book and look forward to reading others by this author.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2014/12...
51 Division is a lot different than what Jack is used to but he's loving it! His wife, Karen, and her parents, though, aren't. Karen thinks 51 Division is too dangerous and wants Jack to transfer out of it. Her parents have never made it a secret that they don't think Jack is good enough for their daughter. Needless to say, this causes tension at home.
What attracted me to this book is that it's set in Toronto and makes no secret that it is. As Jack and his fellow officers were racing around the east end of the downtown core, I knew exactly where they were. Plus I like mysteries.
This is the first book I've read by this author (it's the first in a series) and I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style ... it's written in third person perspective with the focus on Jack). I thought the pace moved along well. The author is a cop and had spent many years in 51 Division so writes from experience. Even though the story is fiction, it was interesting to get the insight into the life of a cop, both on the job and at home. As a head's up, there is violence, adult activity and a lot of swearing.
I liked Jack. Despite what his in-laws may think, he is intelligent and driven. He enjoys being a cop and making the city a better place. It was interesting to watch him evolve to become more hardened the longer he was in 51 Division. There are officers who are supporting characters and despite their different personalities and quirks, most were hardworking and loyal to each other.
I'd recommend this book and look forward to reading others by this author.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2014/12...
May 11, 2012
What causes a good cop to turn bad? If that line is ever crossed, is it possible to turn back? Do the ends ever justify the means? If a person has never been forced to wrestle with the temptation to cross that line, is that "goodness" or is it simply "good luck"?
These are only a few of the questions that Lethal Rage left me thinking about. It is definitely not your typical police procedural; many police procedurals portray the officers as moral superheros who never face the temptation to tap-dance around the law in their determination to enforce it.
Jack Warren was a good cop who had never been confronted with this temptation to break the law in order to enforce it, until he is assigned to Toronto's highest-crime district. Suddenly, his job is about breaking up knife fights and tracking drug dealers, rather than writing traffic tickets; and slowly, his attitude begins to change. And when he finds himself helpless to prevent a tragic murder from taking place right in front of him, he is catapulted into a moral no-mans-land where wrong begins to appear right.
Jack is fighting a war on two fronts: the hunt for the drug lord, and his own inner battle with himself, to find his moral compass before it is too late. The combination made this a compelling story, one that I found impossible to set down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, suspenseful read with a thought-provoking twist.
These are only a few of the questions that Lethal Rage left me thinking about. It is definitely not your typical police procedural; many police procedurals portray the officers as moral superheros who never face the temptation to tap-dance around the law in their determination to enforce it.
Jack Warren was a good cop who had never been confronted with this temptation to break the law in order to enforce it, until he is assigned to Toronto's highest-crime district. Suddenly, his job is about breaking up knife fights and tracking drug dealers, rather than writing traffic tickets; and slowly, his attitude begins to change. And when he finds himself helpless to prevent a tragic murder from taking place right in front of him, he is catapulted into a moral no-mans-land where wrong begins to appear right.
Jack is fighting a war on two fronts: the hunt for the drug lord, and his own inner battle with himself, to find his moral compass before it is too late. The combination made this a compelling story, one that I found impossible to set down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, suspenseful read with a thought-provoking twist.
March 24, 2010
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche Such is the dilemma of Jack Warren, Toronto police officer. Transferred from a division in which his days were filled with parking tickets and misdemeanors to a beat in the part of town where every call is an exercise in survival, Jack feels that he is finally making a difference. However, there are rumors about how Division 51 changes cops for the worse, and the line between justice and vengeance becomes very blurred as Jack is thrown into a manhunt head-first.
I don't usually mark hard-boiled police dramas as my favorite type of fiction, but I must admit that I was drawn into the story, wondering what would become of Jack. He wasn't a character that I immediately liked, but over time, I came to understand him better, and rooted for his success.
I felt that this book could have done with some stronger female characters, and a bit more fleshing out, but overall I did enjoy it. The writing was straightforward, no-nonsense - fitting for the tough neighborhoods Jack roamed.
I would be curious to discover how much of Lethal Rage was drawn from author Brent Pilkey's personal experience, as he spent 15 years in the 51 Division he describes.
I received an ARC of this book for review purposes from ECW press.
I don't usually mark hard-boiled police dramas as my favorite type of fiction, but I must admit that I was drawn into the story, wondering what would become of Jack. He wasn't a character that I immediately liked, but over time, I came to understand him better, and rooted for his success.
I felt that this book could have done with some stronger female characters, and a bit more fleshing out, but overall I did enjoy it. The writing was straightforward, no-nonsense - fitting for the tough neighborhoods Jack roamed.
I would be curious to discover how much of Lethal Rage was drawn from author Brent Pilkey's personal experience, as he spent 15 years in the 51 Division he describes.
I received an ARC of this book for review purposes from ECW press.
July 22, 2013
I enjoy this authors books. I find his portrayal of the actions of police officers to be a more realistic nature than what is normally written about. He is not afraid to show how the thinking process of a hardened police officer is different from what the public understands. Their actions may seem harsh at times but these officers don't have the luxury to assume that every call is a minor disturbance that can be disarmed easily. The potential for danger literally lurks everywhere and Brent Pilkey makes it a point to show that. I have read all 3 of the books so far and look forward to the next one.
April 5, 2010
By looking at the cover, I figured this book to be an on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of story. It wasn't that, but what I did get, I liked.
The story follows the life of a city police officer, and though the author changed the story and calls it fiction, I live close to the city and believe most of the stories are closer to truth. I love the setting in which the author wrote it too. He writes it like a journal entry. That adds a good effect to the story.
Not the most amazing book I ever read, but one I will pass around.
The story follows the life of a city police officer, and though the author changed the story and calls it fiction, I live close to the city and believe most of the stories are closer to truth. I love the setting in which the author wrote it too. He writes it like a journal entry. That adds a good effect to the story.
Not the most amazing book I ever read, but one I will pass around.
January 5, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a hard edged, realistic look at the work real cops do as opposed to fictional ones. Pilkey takes us on a ride along through the worst streets of Toronto, normally known as Toronto the Good. In this cop's world, it's not so good. But it is exciting and provides us nonstop action as we watch Jack Warren go from idealistic cop who works in a low crime area to Division 51 where drug dealers hold more power than the cops where he is in danger of sliding to the dark side.
Recommended to fans of Southland and those who like a true police procedural.
Recommended to fans of Southland and those who like a true police procedural.
January 29, 2015
Sorry, I won't give an extra star because the book is by a Canadian and the novel set in my hometown. I got through the first third of this book which is basically "A Month in the Life of a Uniformed Cop" interspersed with lots of marital sex description that is unnecessary and boring. Judging by other reviews I suppose something starts happening sometime but I wasn't interested enough to wait around to find out. So, an ignominious end on the DNF pile!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews