Chiefs (Will Lee Novel) (original 1981; edition 2005)

I really don't know why I continued to listen to this for 18 hours! it was about three chiefs of police and the intertwined lives of a small town in Georgia and a serial killer. ( )

Mark Hammer, the reader, is wonderful. This was a good yarn. I thoroughly enjoyed it and even found myself buying fast food lunches to eat in the truck so that I could keep listening. ( )

Written beautifully and definitely worth your time, this book by Stuart Woods takes place in Georgia and spans the time from the 1920's to 1960's. It is a well told story about the police chiefs who are appointed in Delano, Georgia and the surrounding area over a period of many years. The book incorporates commentary about race relations and explores Southern culture and all this occurs while murders are being investigated. I loved this book! ( )

Surprise...I really liked this book. I have only read a few of Woods' other works up to now and was skeptical about this one. It's the best one so far and as a start to a series is simply great. I have no idea where it will lead in the next installment. While different from The Hot Kid, there is a familiar comfortableness that reminds me of Leonard's style, except Woods takes it a bit further and creates supporting characters that are memorable in their own right. The subtexts that are woven in are not just lose threads, but truly capable of standing alone. Looking forward to reading the next one. ( )

This tells the story of three police chiefs of the small fictional town of Delaney, Georgia and their involvement in trying to solve a series of murders. The novel is divided into three parts, each named after a chief. The first, Will Henry Lee, was police chief in the 1920s; the second, Sonny Butts, was briefly chief right after World War II, and the third and final part of the novel deals with the first black police chief, Tucker Watts, in 1963.

I enjoyed the television miniseries of this novel and it proved faithful to the book. This isn't just a mystery. In fact, I wouldn't call it much of a mystery since the identity of the murderer is strongly implied early on--but it is an engaging portrait of a small Southern town over 40 eventful years and a fascinating look at law enforcement and the racial relations of the period as well.

This was over 500 pages and it went all too quickly--often suspenseful and never dull. ( )