Detective is about a Homicide cop who is investigating what turns out to be serial killings in Miami. Malcolm is a middle aged cop who happened into the field after losing his faith as a priest where he had obtained a PhD in religion and had a widely acclaimed book on the subject. He is good at his job partly due to his intellectual approach to solving crimes although he is under promoted due to a previous love affair gone bad. This book was quite good. It seems predictable up to a point, but there are several twists in the story at the end. Half of the book is written in flashback style to explain he back plot, then flash forward to the current time where the serial killer is about to be executed and asks to see Malcolm for absolution and/or confession before he dies. The problem is that Malcolm is no longer a priest which causes ongoing dilemmas for the now cop. What the serial killer reveals in his final moments confirms Malcolm’s initial feeling about a particular murder which he now must revisit. I really enjoy Arthur Hailey’s novels, I had already read Hotel. I preferred this novel due to the thriller, edge of your seat aspect. At about three quarters of the way through the book I didn’t want to put it down until I had finished reading to the end. The book is well written and believable compared to other cop dramas and would make a good movie. ( )

Detective is a pretty straight-forward novel about, imagine this, a detective. Basing my review from the title, I would not have gone very high, but I was pleasantly surprised when I read the book.
The novel primarily follows Malcom Ainslie, a 40-something year old homicide detective, as he tries to solve the mystery of a series of killings. The killings are very brutal and bloody, with some odd things at each scene. One particular scene, of a high society couple, seems to be different somehow though. When the accused serial killer goes to the electric chair, he confesses to Ainslie which bring about many more questions.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it went quite quickly. It was an easy read, so no high literature here, but well worth the time. The way it was written didn't really leave any questions on how or what happened, so depending on the reader, that might be a disappointment. So in this case, the ending was predictable, but that worked out fine. ( )

"Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie of the Miami police homicide department is about to take a well-earned family holiday when he is called away on an urgent mission. A criminal on Death Row with only a few hours to live before being sent to the electric chair has requested that Ainslie hear his confession. Will Elroy ""Animal"" Doyle finally confess to the series of grisly double murders for which Ainslie hunted him down? Or, as Ainslie is a former Catholic priest, does the convicted man's desire to ""confess"" have a totally different meaning?
Detective is vintage Arthur Hailey. Chillingly authentic, it is a page-turning thriller of drama and suspense by one of the world's bestselling novelists."