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The Interrogation
In his latest novel of unrelenting suspense, Edgar Award —winning author Thomas Cook journeys into the darkest corners of the human heart to tell a mesmerizing story of crime and retribution–and the forces that push even good people to the breaking point.
THE INTERROGATION
Albert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable crime. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, but they are certain he is hiding the truth. With less than twelve hours before he must be released, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation.
It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man’s shattered mind–and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate seaside town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy autumn afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, between the innocent and the guilty, between the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave.
Against a gripping backdrop of murder and redemption, master storyteller Thomas Cook probes the uneasy, shifting bonds of family, love, and unbearable loss, proving once again why he is “perhaps the best American writer of crime fiction currently practicing” (Drood Review).
THE INTERROGATION
Albert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable crime. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, but they are certain he is hiding the truth. With less than twelve hours before he must be released, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation.
It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man’s shattered mind–and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate seaside town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy autumn afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, between the innocent and the guilty, between the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave.
Against a gripping backdrop of murder and redemption, master storyteller Thomas Cook probes the uneasy, shifting bonds of family, love, and unbearable loss, proving once again why he is “perhaps the best American writer of crime fiction currently practicing” (Drood Review).
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2002
98 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
Thomas H. Cook
96 books353 followersThere is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Thomas H. Cook has been praised by critics for his attention to psychology and the lyrical nature of his prose. He is the author of more than 30 critically-acclaimed fiction books, including works of true crime. Cook published his first novel, Blood Innocents, in 1980. Cook published steadily through the 1980s, penning such works as the Frank Clemons trilogy, a series of mysteries starring a jaded cop.
He found breakout success with The Chatham School Affair (1996), which won an Edgar Award for best novel. Besides mysteries, Cook has written two true-crime books including the Edgar-nominated Blood Echoes (1993). He lives and works in New York City.
Awards
Edgar Allan Poe – Best Novel – The Chatham School Affair
Barry Award – Best Novel – Red Leaves
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – The Chatham School Affair
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – Red Leaves
Herodotus Prize – Fatherhood
Thomas H. Cook has been praised by critics for his attention to psychology and the lyrical nature of his prose. He is the author of more than 30 critically-acclaimed fiction books, including works of true crime. Cook published his first novel, Blood Innocents, in 1980. Cook published steadily through the 1980s, penning such works as the Frank Clemons trilogy, a series of mysteries starring a jaded cop.
He found breakout success with The Chatham School Affair (1996), which won an Edgar Award for best novel. Besides mysteries, Cook has written two true-crime books including the Edgar-nominated Blood Echoes (1993). He lives and works in New York City.
Awards
Edgar Allan Poe – Best Novel – The Chatham School Affair
Barry Award – Best Novel – Red Leaves
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – The Chatham School Affair
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – Red Leaves
Herodotus Prize – Fatherhood
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
September 7, 2016
Genuinely engrossing tale focusing on several policemen and a suspect in a child's murder. Although there is an element of mystery regarding "whodunnit," I didn't really consider this a mystery/thriller. Rather, "The Interrogation" was a well-written and thoughtful dramatic novel. The characters were rather tragic - Shakespearean sorrow and failure writ small for the common man.
Flashbacks and time jumping in a novel can be very effective - or it can be confusing and irritating if the author doesn't use the conceit with skill. Here, the current murder of a child mirrors the murder of a child years before and the book handily traverses the flashbacks-and-forwards with ease.
Although this book is about heinous crimes and their aftermath, the author doesn't wallow in the gruesome details and one never cringes from the page out of horror. He is far more concerned with the examination of the people who become embroiled in the cases: the detectives, the families of the victims, the suspects.
I recommend this book to anybody who reads thrillers, but is willing to go one step further than the standard formulaic serial killer suspense novel.
Flashbacks and time jumping in a novel can be very effective - or it can be confusing and irritating if the author doesn't use the conceit with skill. Here, the current murder of a child mirrors the murder of a child years before and the book handily traverses the flashbacks-and-forwards with ease.
Although this book is about heinous crimes and their aftermath, the author doesn't wallow in the gruesome details and one never cringes from the page out of horror. He is far more concerned with the examination of the people who become embroiled in the cases: the detectives, the families of the victims, the suspects.
I recommend this book to anybody who reads thrillers, but is willing to go one step further than the standard formulaic serial killer suspense novel.
August 4, 2016
The Interrogation by Thomas H. Cook
4.5★'s
[The Interrogation] by Thomas H. Cook
4.5★'s
From The Book:
Albert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable crime. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, but they are certain he is hiding the truth. With less than twelve hours before he must be released, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation. It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man’s shattered mind–and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate seaside town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy autumn afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, between the innocent and the guilty, between the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave.
My Thoughts;
It was basically based in the police stations interrogation room with a small man that was suspected of killing 8 year old Cathy Lake in the park next to the playground. The two veteran police detectives in charge of getting the truth from the suspect had been at it for days and still the man declares his innocence...but they know that he's guilty of something if not the murder of Cathy. From there the story spreads out to include a junk dealer...a small time con man...two trash collectors...and several other police officers that are several degrees of unprofessional...from slightly dishonest and hiding secrets that would put them off the police force if not in jail....to deceitful and highly untrustworthy. How will these people all come together? With an explosion that will rock your mind. This has been an incredible journey through the darkest depths of human nature.
4.5★'s
[The Interrogation] by Thomas H. Cook
4.5★'s
From The Book:
Albert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable crime. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, but they are certain he is hiding the truth. With less than twelve hours before he must be released, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation. It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man’s shattered mind–and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate seaside town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy autumn afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, between the innocent and the guilty, between the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave.
My Thoughts;
It was basically based in the police stations interrogation room with a small man that was suspected of killing 8 year old Cathy Lake in the park next to the playground. The two veteran police detectives in charge of getting the truth from the suspect had been at it for days and still the man declares his innocence...but they know that he's guilty of something if not the murder of Cathy. From there the story spreads out to include a junk dealer...a small time con man...two trash collectors...and several other police officers that are several degrees of unprofessional...from slightly dishonest and hiding secrets that would put them off the police force if not in jail....to deceitful and highly untrustworthy. How will these people all come together? With an explosion that will rock your mind. This has been an incredible journey through the darkest depths of human nature.
January 4, 2025
The interrogation - Thomas h.cook
ಇದು ಯಾವತ್ತಿನ ಥಾಮಸ್ ಕುಕ್ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸೈಕಲಾಜಿಕಲ್ ಡೆಪ್ತ್ ಅಂತಾರಲ್ಲ ಅದು ಬಹುಶಃ ಕಡಿಮೆ.
1950ರ ದಶಕ.ಮೂರು ಜನ ತಮ್ಮ ತಮ್ಮ ದುರಂತ ಗತ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಪೋಲಿಸರಿಗೆ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ಗಂಟೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಶಂಕಿತ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರನ ಬಾಯಿ ಬಿಡಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆ ಇದೆ. ಪಾರ್ಕಲ್ಲಿ ಆಟವಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಹುಡುಗಿಯೊಬ್ಬಳ ಕೊಲೆ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಈ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ.
ಅವರು ಎಷ್ಟು ಬಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದರೂ ಈ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ತಾನು ಕೊಲೆ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದೇ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಅವನ ವಿಚಾರಣೆ ಮಾಡುವಾಗಲೇ ಈ ಪೋಲಿಸರಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದ ವಿಫಲತೆ,ತಮ್ಮ ಗತ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನೆನಪಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಬ್ಬನ ಮಗ ದುಶ್ಚಟಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದು ಸಾವಿನ ದವಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬನ ಮಗಳು ಇದೇ ರೀತಿ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕೊಲೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ ನಾಝಿ ಕ್ಯಾಂಪ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡ ನರಕ ಬಾಧಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಆ ಸಂಜೆಯ ಘಟನೆಯ ಜರಡಿಯಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಇಡೀ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹೇಗಾದರೂ ಸರಿ ನಿರಪರಾಧಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆಯಾದರೂ ಪರವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೇಗ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಒತ್ತಡ ಬೇರೆ.
ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಏನಾಯಿತು? ಅವನೇ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರನಾ? ಅಥವಾ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರೋ ಎಂಬುದು ಕಥೆ.
ಥಾಮಸ್ ಎಚ್ ಕುಕ್ ಕಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರ ಅಥವಾ ಅಪರಾಧಿ ಯಾರು ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಓದುವವರಿಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟಾಗಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವೆನಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಆ ಪುಟ ಬರುವಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ನಾವೂ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳ ಜೊತೆ ಸಾಗಿ ಅವರ ಮನೋ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ,ಅವರ ಯೋಚನೆ,ಅಪರಾಧಿ ಭಾವ ಇವೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ನಮ್ಮದಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುತ್ತೇವೆ.
ಗುರಿಗಿಂತ ಪಯಣ ಸುಂದರ ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಇವನ ಕೃತಿಗಳ ಹೆಗ್ಗುರುತು.
ಆದರೆ ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಭಿನ್ನ.ಇದು ಇತರ ಪತ್ತೇದಾರಿ ಕೃತಿಗಳ ಹಾಗೇ ಇದೆ.
ಇದು ಯಾವತ್ತಿನ ಥಾಮಸ್ ಕುಕ್ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸೈಕಲಾಜಿಕಲ್ ಡೆಪ್ತ್ ಅಂತಾರಲ್ಲ ಅದು ಬಹುಶಃ ಕಡಿಮೆ.
1950ರ ದಶಕ.ಮೂರು ಜನ ತಮ್ಮ ತಮ್ಮ ದುರಂತ ಗತ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಪೋಲಿಸರಿಗೆ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ಗಂಟೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಶಂಕಿತ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರನ ಬಾಯಿ ಬಿಡಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆ ಇದೆ. ಪಾರ್ಕಲ್ಲಿ ಆಟವಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಹುಡುಗಿಯೊಬ್ಬಳ ಕೊಲೆ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಈ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ.
ಅವರು ಎಷ್ಟು ಬಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದರೂ ಈ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ತಾನು ಕೊಲೆ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದೇ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಅವನ ವಿಚಾರಣೆ ಮಾಡುವಾಗಲೇ ಈ ಪೋಲಿಸರಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದ ವಿಫಲತೆ,ತಮ್ಮ ಗತ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನೆನಪಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಬ್ಬನ ಮಗ ದುಶ್ಚಟಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದು ಸಾವಿನ ದವಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬನ ಮಗಳು ಇದೇ ರೀತಿ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕೊಲೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾಳೆ.ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ ನಾಝಿ ಕ್ಯಾಂಪ್ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡ ನರಕ ಬಾಧಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಆ ಸಂಜೆಯ ಘಟನೆಯ ಜರಡಿಯಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಇಡೀ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹೇಗಾದರೂ ಸರಿ ನಿರಪರಾಧಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆಯಾದರೂ ಪರವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೇಗ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಒತ್ತಡ ಬೇರೆ.
ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಏನಾಯಿತು? ಅವನೇ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರನಾ? ಅಥವಾ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರೋ ಎಂಬುದು ಕಥೆ.
ಥಾಮಸ್ ಎಚ್ ಕುಕ್ ಕಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಕೊಲೆಗಾರ ಅಥವಾ ಅಪರಾಧಿ ಯಾರು ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಓದುವವರಿಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟಾಗಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವೆನಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಆ ಪುಟ ಬರುವಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ನಾವೂ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳ ಜೊತೆ ಸಾಗಿ ಅವರ ಮನೋ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ,ಅವರ ಯೋಚನೆ,ಅಪರಾಧಿ ಭಾವ ಇವೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ನಮ್ಮದಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುತ್ತೇವೆ.
ಗುರಿಗಿಂತ ಪಯಣ ಸುಂದರ ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಇವನ ಕೃತಿಗಳ ಹೆಗ್ಗುರುತು.
ಆದರೆ ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಭಿನ್ನ.ಇದು ಇತರ ಪತ್ತೇದಾರಿ ಕೃತಿಗಳ ಹಾಗೇ ಇದೆ.
March 10, 2021
I ended up skipping the difficult bits since I'm allergic to any whiff of child abuse and pedophilia. The actual interrogations were interesting and effective, and the personalities and relationships between the cops were unusually appropriate, but the solution didn't seem much more than a gimmick and I'm so over reading about little dead girls. 2 1/2 stars.
May 18, 2020
For a little over 200 pages, this was very good. It moved at a brisk pace, and I cared about the characters and I cared about the mystery. But then, somewhere along the way, it felt like Thomas H. Cook lost a little control, lost a little of the feel.
Towards the end a lot of things started happening at once - action and more action, motivations were shown and then suddenly dropped, a subplot used to reveal something important was quickly extinguished - and the twist, when it finally came, hinged on seemingly sheer coincidence. A character that had been mentioned only in passing throughout the book suddenly became integral in the last few pages, which seemed almost a cop out to me. Seemed almost akin to introducing a character really late on and pinning it on them.
Unfortunately, this left me feeling a bit "meh" at the end, and left me thinking that this was the smallest city I had ever seen. A bit of a shame, because all the lead up to this, otherwise, had been great.
Towards the end a lot of things started happening at once - action and more action, motivations were shown and then suddenly dropped, a subplot used to reveal something important was quickly extinguished - and the twist, when it finally came, hinged on seemingly sheer coincidence. A character that had been mentioned only in passing throughout the book suddenly became integral in the last few pages, which seemed almost a cop out to me. Seemed almost akin to introducing a character really late on and pinning it on them.
Unfortunately, this left me feeling a bit "meh" at the end, and left me thinking that this was the smallest city I had ever seen. A bit of a shame, because all the lead up to this, otherwise, had been great.
June 16, 2019
Another winner - this one is different from the others I’ve read by Cook. Detectives, but not the run of the mill junk - a great twisty plot. This guy is magic with words.
April 13, 2013
The '50s setting is wonderfully evoked, as are the characters - both the detectives and the incidental cast - and the story slowly comes together over the course of one night, before a couple of sharp twists and an ending that you think is going to dissipate pull together in a satisfyingly unexpected final page. If The Interrogation had been written in the years in which it is set, Hitchcock would have made this into one of his best films; it has the sharp and suspenseful clockwork of Hitchcock's best work, and a slowly ratcheting suspense that keeps you reading. My first Thomas H Cook book, but certainly not my last.
June 24, 2011
This is one of my favorite authors but not one of my favorite books. Cook is always intriguing but I found this one a little forced with coincidence. Nothing is ever as it seems in his books, and that is true here as well. I liked the way the story 'braids' together in short snippets from various POVs. It might seem jerky to some, but by receiving a little info at a time, you can definitely feel like a part of the whodunit in the same way the cop characters must seek out clues.
May 26, 2012
Intense – a police investigation in 1952 has 24 hours before they have to release a guy they strongly suspect killed a child. They have no solid evidence, and the guy is very difficult to pin down. Many undercurrents, much frustration, and a very surprising twist at the very end.
February 9, 2016
This is a great story! The setting allows for many aspects of the suspicion and treatment of the suspect to work in ways they wouldn't today. A complex look at the two detectives and the times; a plausible and surprising twist that the reader gets but the detectives don't; another twist at the end.
September 19, 2010
This guy writes some of the darkest crime fiction out there, and does it disturbingly well.
May 13, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this intense thriller. The ending was a total surprise.
November 12, 2017
Noir .....
Suspenseful, quick, smart. It is well written and cleverly thought out. Great weekend read, or a flight across the country.
Suspenseful, quick, smart. It is well written and cleverly thought out. Great weekend read, or a flight across the country.
April 20, 2018
A good read, well written with a surprise ending! I will be adding another book by him to my "want to read" list.
June 15, 2018
I've seen this described as a thriller, but I felt it was really more of a drama. Well-written and thoroughly engaging.
April 24, 2023
A police story about happenings in a small town in August 1952. A girl child has been murdered and the police have got their man, but there's not much evidence to keep him in custody. After this last night of interrogation they have to let him go if anything new comes up or he doesn't confess.
The captive doesn't speak much, they don't even know his name. He is a homeless man without history or future, obviously with mental issues. He's a good scapegoat or he's guilty. The interrogators are convinced on the latter. But they need evidence.
The story spreads outside the interrogation room and many shady characters mix the picture even more. The detectives are not clean and immaculate in their actions either; the investigation isn't quite unbiased - and in the background the clock is ticking and the bosses want results.
The reader knows more than any of the policemen involved and when the answers start to reveal it is more and more clear that part of the information will remain concealed forever.
One can decide whether the justice is done in the end or not - at least the bodycount has risen.
Kuulustelu
LIKE 2003
The captive doesn't speak much, they don't even know his name. He is a homeless man without history or future, obviously with mental issues. He's a good scapegoat or he's guilty. The interrogators are convinced on the latter. But they need evidence.
The story spreads outside the interrogation room and many shady characters mix the picture even more. The detectives are not clean and immaculate in their actions either; the investigation isn't quite unbiased - and in the background the clock is ticking and the bosses want results.
The reader knows more than any of the policemen involved and when the answers start to reveal it is more and more clear that part of the information will remain concealed forever.
One can decide whether the justice is done in the end or not - at least the bodycount has risen.
Kuulustelu
LIKE 2003
October 16, 2017
A good thriller written in a different way to most crime novels. Told in "real time" & flashbacks it covers a twelve hour period in which the prime suspect in the murder of a young girl is being interviewed. It's also set in the 1950's so it's back to basics as regards the crime work...no computers or complicated forensics here!
Three desperate cops are trying to find the murderer of 8-year-old Cathy Lake but their prime suspect Albert Jay Smalls isn't giving anything away. The cops, Cohen, Pierce & Burke have 12 hours to find out what happened to Cathy & the story moves at an agreeable pace towards a satisfactory conclusion...although the outcome for some of the characters was not what I was anticipating.
All-in-all, an entertaining read that I enjoyed much more than I was expecting to.
Three desperate cops are trying to find the murderer of 8-year-old Cathy Lake but their prime suspect Albert Jay Smalls isn't giving anything away. The cops, Cohen, Pierce & Burke have 12 hours to find out what happened to Cathy & the story moves at an agreeable pace towards a satisfactory conclusion...although the outcome for some of the characters was not what I was anticipating.
All-in-all, an entertaining read that I enjoyed much more than I was expecting to.
October 4, 2025
I mean 3.5 stars actually. First the positives; I loved the story, the ambiguous conclusion, it depicts life more accurately than the HEAs that I've read in other crime fiction. I like the multi-layered characters, all gray and coming from a difficult period in history. That detail also made the story seem real and plausible. However, I didn't much care for the sudden jumps in the story or the back and forth of the time, it was annoying sometimes and was jarring the rest of the times. I would have loved the book more if it wasn't structured like running against time, or the stereotypes created with men in power.
I would still recommend the story.
I would still recommend the story.
January 16, 2022
I liked this mystery thriller a lot. I had seen a movie that was inspired by this book and that is what drove me to read this. While the book did not include the aspect of the film I most enjoyed, I did enjoy this story. The book kept you off balance much like an interrogation would. While I didn’t really connect with any of the characters I thought the characters were interesting. This was a solid mystery, kept me engaged, and was a quick read.
May 6, 2020
Great read
I alwzys enjoy his books have read every one i think his writing has moved from earliter ti es on east coast to more current times the mystery remains unsolved til the end as usual.
I alwzys enjoy his books have read every one i think his writing has moved from earliter ti es on east coast to more current times the mystery remains unsolved til the end as usual.
November 21, 2025
Magnificent
the writing is superb, a dazzling vehicle for this well constructed, well developed, most original thriller, in which every character lives a poignant reality.
I strongly recommend it to anyone who relishes a rich text, a tortuous plot, characters who feel deeply....
the writing is superb, a dazzling vehicle for this well constructed, well developed, most original thriller, in which every character lives a poignant reality.
I strongly recommend it to anyone who relishes a rich text, a tortuous plot, characters who feel deeply....
February 16, 2017
Qué desespero con los personajes de este libro, dios míoooo.
March 10, 2018
A look at what can go on in an interrogation taking place over a short period of time.
August 5, 2018
Unlikeable bumbling idiots running an investigation fueled by their own prejudice an incompetence and stupidity. What a complete waste of time.
December 26, 2019
Moved slow covered same conversation over and over left unanswered questions
September 20, 2020
This man mastered story telling, believability and twist endings.
October 19, 2021
Not a book I enjoyed. There were just too many twists and at the end I almost didn't care who killed the little girl.
July 23, 2023
Sólo logré llegar al final para comprobar lo que pensé desde el principio…
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