Darker Than Night

A serial killer preying on seemingly happily married couples. A disgraced detective trying to crawl his way out of the mess his life has become. A teenager with a troubled past living large in a house not his own. A girl trying to break free of the memories of a childhood tragedy.

All these stories and more are wrapped up in John Lutz’s Darker Than Night. To say that Darker Than Night is a book about a serial killer is to say that the London Philharmonic Orchestra is about music. It is, but then it is so much, much more.

After a couple of seemingly unrelated murders, the New York City Police Department realizes it has a serial killer on their hands. But this serial killer’s modus operandi is a little different than your average serial show more killer. This guy stalks his prey, studies them, gets into their lives, and even leaves them gifts that he knows they’ll enjoy. The NYPD knows he has to be stopped and to do so, former Detective Frank Quinn is employed to sniff out the clues and hunt the killer down. Quinn however, is seemingly no saint. He has a past that has driven him so far down into life’s gutter that there seems no way of his overcoming it. But the police department politics that got him into this mess in the first place is the same politics that influenced the decision to put him on the case. The two detectives assigned to partner with him aren’t exactly your knights in shining armor either, both having run-ins with department politics that seem to have put the careers up against the wall.

Interwoven into the serial killer storyline is that of a teenage boy, pushed through the foster care system and seemingly at odds with the world in general. After a couple bring him into their home, his life starts to pick up and seems to be on the mend. He is employed by a kind man who teaches him his trade. But he also gets a little cozy with his foster “mom” until they are discovered by the husband. Driven away from the house, the boy finds a way to return, only to have tragedy strike again.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Darker Than Night is that we get to know each and every character of the book, including the killer, his victims, the detectives, and a few other characters that may or may not have an important role in the plot. This last part is especially what keeps the book intriguing because it leaves the reader guessing as to who or what is working behind the scenes. Just when you think you have it figured out, a plot twist is thrown in that completely throws your theory out the window. Even right down to the end, everything is not what it seems, thus only adding to the mystery and suspense.

The only complaint I might have about the book are the often gratuitous sex scenes. Call me prudish, but these seem a little overplayed and highlighted more than what was sufficient. The book also has quite a bit of language, but this may lend to the feeling that the characters are a little on the unsavory side. show less

A serial killer, The Night Prowler, is murdering married couples in their kitchens. He leaves gifts for the wife that she thinks are being left by the husband as a deadly game of cat and mouse is played out to the final conclussion. Assistant Chief of Police Harley Renz, with a chance for the top job, feels Frank Quinn can solve the case and brings him on as a civilian consultant. Frank feels he has a chance to redeem himself and get his job back. A win-win situation that is not all that it seems. The back story of the "Night Prowler," himself, is intriguingly planted throughout the book, shading the edges and giving it depth.

Their is some romance. The relationship between Quinn and Pearl worked well - their similarities brought them show more together and you feel sure that the very same thing will drive them apart at some point. I thought John Lutz developed their characters and their relationship very well. I also liked the the story line in general, but found it to be a bit repetitive, with every crime being virtually identical. I thought there was room for some slight variations on the part of the killer to provide measured clues that would move the story along a bit. I also was frustrated with the way Quinn's "brothers in blue" so unquestionably abandoned him. The entire case was given to these three maligned individuals, Quinn, Pearl and Fedderman, with little or no support from the NYPD. Other than those minor details, Darkrer Than Night provided all the anticipated suspense, chills, and intrigue that you would expect from this novel. show less

Darker than Night by John Lutz.
This was an author that I had never heard of until he was recommended to me by another reader. From the very first page I was intrigued, and in some cases, horrified by what was happening.
The book centres on a serial killer known only as The Night Prowler by the police, with his reasons for slaying couples being hidden well by the author, revealing little by little as the book develops.
Frank Quinn is a disgraced NYPD cop brought back to look almost independently at the work of this killer by Harley Renz, Assistant Chief of Police. Renz has his eyes on the top job, as does Vince Egan, who also wants to keep Quinn out of things for reasons of his own. Quinn is given the services of his former colleague, show more Fedderman, and his new sidekick, Pearl Kasner.
A number of couples are murdered with the methodology gradually becoming clearer. Also involved is a removal man with sadistic sexual tendencies, a back story in Kansas with the runaway son of an executed murderer, a psychologist attempting to deal with a client who tells her very little, and an alleged rape by Quinn.
Lutz handles these different facets of his story very cleverly with the reader feeling almost as though they are a fly on the wall in each scene. Emotions of characters are fully explored, with the puzzlement of some of the intended victims adding to the tension of the story.
Needless to say the ending is very satisfactory, although the perpetrator’s identity did take me by surprise, especially as the seeds sown by the author had me believing that it was another character entirely.
Very clever, very crafty, very well crafted.
4.5 stars. show less

Review by Jeremy Taylor

Darker Than Night is the fourth book in a series of six by prolific thriller novelist John Lutz. The “Night” series features six stand-alone novels connected by a common theme: serial killers and the attempt to stop them.

Lutz, who has written more than forty novels in a career now well into its fourth decade, has clearly learned a thing or two about writing thrillers along the way. Darker Than Night hooks the reader from, quite literally, the first page and rarely lets up in intensity until the final chapter. The plot is complex and multilayered—something of a rarity in the genre—and features interesting characters (especially the villain), dramatic crime scenes, and believable police work.

Lutz does an show more excellent job of presenting the story through the point of view of a large cast of characters, some of whom are killed off fairly quickly but nevertheless have an interesting perspective to add to the reader’s experience. A particularly interesting series of scenes shows a man whom the reader assumes to be the villain undergoing psychological therapy. The scenes feature realistic dialog and give an interesting perspective not only on the psyche of a killer but also the reaction of the city, interpreted through the therapist’s eyes, to the killings.

For much of the novel, the story switches between the present-day hunt for the Night Prowler, as the nighttime killer terrorizing Manhattan has been dubbed by the media, and the past life of an artistic young man who, having been adopted into a dysfunctional family, slowly devolves into a killer. As the tension builds in both stories, the reader can’t help but draw conclusions about how the two plots must be related, but Lutz does a masterful job of concealing till the very end exactly what those ties are. Lutz does a good job with his characters as well, giving them backgrounds and motives that make them come alive.

Unfortunately, in spite of the good writing and careful pacing, there is much to be concerned about in this book. In both the past and present storylines, the protagonists engage in rather explicit sexual affairs. Foul language is minimal, but the depictions of the Night Prowlers murders are quite graphic—more so than necessary even for a book about serial crime. The book contains no spiritual dimension or even any uplifting themes to speak of.

Darker Than Night could have been a stand-out book in a crowded genre; the quality of the writing makes Lutz an author worth reading, and—at least on a purely literary level—the book is entertaining and compelling. It’s too bad the gratuitous content makes this book impossible to recommend.

(http://www.cerebralexchange.com/books/reviews.asp?book=240&host=1) show less

If you have read any of Lutz's books with Quinn, Pearl, and Fedderman you probably already know a little about their relationships. This story starts off with the first time they team up to solve serial murders in New York. The characters are a little shallow in places but the mystery is worth putting up with them. Some of the relationships seem a bit illogical and reactions a tad unbelievable. But as always Lutz has created a fascinating protagonist. My only complaint is one I have with both of the books I've read by Lutz; he rushes the ending. There are the usual surprising plot twists but even with that the story seems to be hurried along. I can still recommend "Darker Than Night" because it is creative and it did hold my interest. show more [b:Darker Than Night|849197|Darker Than Night (Frank Quinn, #1)|John Lutz|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1387959988s/849197.jpg|506660] show less

This book was just okay. I don't much care for serial murder mysteries, because usually there's no mystery, just suspense.

I'm going to try this series. This was a serial killer suspense; which I'm not crazy about; the character are okay. We'll see.