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Lt. Hastings #15
The Pariah
When San Francisco detective Frank Hastings discovers that a series of killings is linked to Elton Holloway, the son of a leading television evangelist, he finds his own life in danger
Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Collin Wilcox
57 books3 followersAka Carter Wick
Collin Wilcox was an American mystery writer.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, his first book was The Black Door (1967), featuring a sleuth possessing extrasensory perception. His major series of novels was about Lieutenant Frank Hastings of the San Francisco Police Department. Titles in the Hastings series included Hire a Hangman, Dead Aim, Hiding Place, Long Way Down and Stalking Horse. Two of his last books, Full Circle and Find Her a Grave, featured a new hero-sleuth, Alan Bernhardt, an eccentric theater director. Wilcox also published under the pseudonym "Carter Wick".
Wilcox's most famous series-detective was the television character Sam McCloud, a New Mexico deputy solving New York crime. The "urban cowboy" was played by Dennis Weaver in the 1970-1977 TV series McCloud. Wilcox wrote three novelizations based on scripts from the series: McCloud (1973), The New Mexican Connection (1974), and The Park Avenue Executioner (1975).
Collin Wilcox was an American mystery writer.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, his first book was The Black Door (1967), featuring a sleuth possessing extrasensory perception. His major series of novels was about Lieutenant Frank Hastings of the San Francisco Police Department. Titles in the Hastings series included Hire a Hangman, Dead Aim, Hiding Place, Long Way Down and Stalking Horse. Two of his last books, Full Circle and Find Her a Grave, featured a new hero-sleuth, Alan Bernhardt, an eccentric theater director. Wilcox also published under the pseudonym "Carter Wick".
Wilcox's most famous series-detective was the television character Sam McCloud, a New Mexico deputy solving New York crime. The "urban cowboy" was played by Dennis Weaver in the 1970-1977 TV series McCloud. Wilcox wrote three novelizations based on scripts from the series: McCloud (1973), The New Mexican Connection (1974), and The Park Avenue Executioner (1975).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 6, 2019
I just finished reading The Pariah by Collin Wilson, which is the 15th or 16th book in the Lt. Frank Hastings series of San Francisco police procedural novels. I'd previously read Twospot, which was a crossover with the Nameless Detective, somewhere much earlier in the series.
I was quite surprised how different the writing style was. I don't know if that's because this was written 10 or so years later or because Wilson had been trying to match the style of the Nameless Detective books.
In any case, though I thought the writing is this book was good--probably better than any of the other mysteries I've read lately--it was more a true crime book than a police procedural. Somewhere between 50% and 75% of the book was spent in the viewpoint of the criminal or his family.
That really didn't interest me, because I barely got to know the detective (Hastings) or his police officers. It also meant that I got very little San Francisco color.
I dunno if this was an aberration for this book or the style of the Hastings novels, but it's left me a bit off of wanting to read the others.
I was quite surprised how different the writing style was. I don't know if that's because this was written 10 or so years later or because Wilson had been trying to match the style of the Nameless Detective books.
In any case, though I thought the writing is this book was good--probably better than any of the other mysteries I've read lately--it was more a true crime book than a police procedural. Somewhere between 50% and 75% of the book was spent in the viewpoint of the criminal or his family.
That really didn't interest me, because I barely got to know the detective (Hastings) or his police officers. It also meant that I got very little San Francisco color.
I dunno if this was an aberration for this book or the style of the Hastings novels, but it's left me a bit off of wanting to read the others.
Displaying 1 of 1 review