Detective
by Arthur Hailey
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A death row confession propels a homicide detective into an investigation that will tear Miami apart in #1 New York Times-bestselling author Arthur Hailey's electrifying thriller. Detective-Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie, a former Catholic priest, is about to start his vacation when a call comes in from death row. Before serial killer Elroy Doil is taken to the electric chair, he wants to make a full confession to the cop who put him away. To close the books on additional murder cases in which show more Doil is a suspect, Ainslie drives four hundred miles to Florida State Prison. Although Doil confesses to ten other homicides, he insists that he didn't commit the crime for which he will be executed the following day: the grisly slaying of a city commissioner and his wife. In his search for the real killer, Ainslie will discover that the upper levels of Miami's government - including some of his closest colleagues - are more corrupt and dangerous than he ever imagined. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Good read. Excellent plot, many characters of which a few are outstanding; lots of action, great writing. Detective Malcolm Ainslie uses his background as a priest and his natural curiousity to investigate a series of brutal murders against older couples.
Hailey provides lots of personal info about Ainslie and the main characters which help develop the plot and keep the novel moving. But it is a bit run on.
Hailey provides lots of personal info about Ainslie and the main characters which help develop the plot and keep the novel moving. But it is a bit run on.
Arthur Hailey is a talented writer, but this novel about a priest turned cop was slow and, at times, almost dull. Some chapters read like a detective manual for beginners. Detective Malcolm Anslie is portrayed as an educated, savvy, and caring public servant with a lovely family, but I found him confusing. In the story, he is a by-the-book detective, yet he sabotages his career by having a yearlong affair with a co-worker who becomes his senior at work. It was difficult for me to reconcile his behavior with his character's work ethic. The plot was complicated and far-fetched. Commissioner Cynthia Ernst was damaged yet brilliant, but her simple stupidity became her undoing, which I found unrealistic.
If you enjoy long books, than this certainly is one for you. I enjoyed this book very much, there weren’t too many characters, so I wasn’t confused about who I was reading about.
This is a very SAD story in many places.. the character Cynthia was revealed in all of her glory, but with much explaination of why she did what she did.
It gave a true meaning of what the dedicated men and women go thru each day to catch the bad guys and how it affects their personal lives and the tolls it takes on them and their families.
If you are Catholic and enjoy reading about priests who have left the priesthood, than this book is certainly for you. How does one loose their faith and how others look upon you once you have left the priesthood.
A great show more book that looks at the many evils that there are in the world and how it affects many generations of evil that follows.
This book is a BOTM at Snag A Read For Free. Come check us out and see how you can read this book for FREE from our library. show less
This is a very SAD story in many places.. the character Cynthia was revealed in all of her glory, but with much explaination of why she did what she did.
It gave a true meaning of what the dedicated men and women go thru each day to catch the bad guys and how it affects their personal lives and the tolls it takes on them and their families.
If you are Catholic and enjoy reading about priests who have left the priesthood, than this book is certainly for you. How does one loose their faith and how others look upon you once you have left the priesthood.
A great show more book that looks at the many evils that there are in the world and how it affects many generations of evil that follows.
This book is a BOTM at Snag A Read For Free. Come check us out and see how you can read this book for FREE from our library. show less
We know who done it early in this novel but the taut suspense lasts until the end. It’s a testament to Arthur Hailey’s story-telling skill.
Hours before his execution, Elroy Doil demands to see the policeman who arrested him. Detective sergeant Malcolm Ainslie is a former priest about to go on a family holiday. But he goes to Doil, suspected of killing 14 people and convicted for four.
Doil confesses to all the murders – except one, the parents of Cynthia Ernst, Ainslie’s boss. Ainslie is having an affair with Ernst.
Ainslie’s managers don’t share his belief that Doil didn’t kill the Ernsts. Ainslie – with the help of Ruby Bowe – proves them wrong. They show the Ernsts’ murder was copy-cat but there were several show more critical inconsistencies. We know who the killer is long before the arrest at the story’s climax. But Hailey’s weaves various story threads fraught with conflict maintains the tension. These various sub-plots culminate in a climax that has an unexpected twist.
Hailey was in his mid-seventies when he wrote Detective, his last novel. It has all the hallmarks of the author’s work, the epitome of the procedural. I read a few of his other novels – Hotel and The Moneychangers – in the seventies. They are spell-binding stories. Critics say Hailey’s characters are superficial and his writing style formulaic. But he is a great story teller; if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have sold about 160 million books translated into 38 languages.
[b:Detective|124922|Detective|Arthur Hailey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1180796910s/124922.jpg|1605806] show less
Hours before his execution, Elroy Doil demands to see the policeman who arrested him. Detective sergeant Malcolm Ainslie is a former priest about to go on a family holiday. But he goes to Doil, suspected of killing 14 people and convicted for four.
Doil confesses to all the murders – except one, the parents of Cynthia Ernst, Ainslie’s boss. Ainslie is having an affair with Ernst.
Ainslie’s managers don’t share his belief that Doil didn’t kill the Ernsts. Ainslie – with the help of Ruby Bowe – proves them wrong. They show the Ernsts’ murder was copy-cat but there were several show more critical inconsistencies. We know who the killer is long before the arrest at the story’s climax. But Hailey’s weaves various story threads fraught with conflict maintains the tension. These various sub-plots culminate in a climax that has an unexpected twist.
Hailey was in his mid-seventies when he wrote Detective, his last novel. It has all the hallmarks of the author’s work, the epitome of the procedural. I read a few of his other novels – Hotel and The Moneychangers – in the seventies. They are spell-binding stories. Critics say Hailey’s characters are superficial and his writing style formulaic. But he is a great story teller; if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have sold about 160 million books translated into 38 languages.
[b:Detective|124922|Detective|Arthur Hailey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1180796910s/124922.jpg|1605806] show less
Detective has all the elements one would expect from a novel by Arthur Hailey - a close-up view of the workings of an industry, this time the Homicide division of the Miami Police Department, some memorable characters, and a compelling story that binds everything together and keeps the reader engrossed. Though there was a bit too much detailing and some predictable turns of events, I could not put this novel down, sleeping late in the nights and getting late for the office in the mornings for the past few days... This one is another satisfying read from one of my favourite authors!
Years and years ago, I read Hailey's Airport and then Hotel and then Wheels and then I forgot about him. His special insight into the industry of his focus is now turned to the business of homicide. And he does an excellent job. Elroy Doil is hours away from the electric chair. He was convicted of one double murder and suspected of many others. He has requested to talk to Detective Malcolm Ainslie before he dies. The book covers the past and the present of this horrible killing spree. The only downside is that Hailey never writes sequels. I'd like to read about Ainslie again…
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 show more 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. show less
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 show more 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. show less
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Author Information
87+ Works 9,142 Members
Television film writer Arthur Hailey was born in England in 1920, where he was a decorated pilot in the RAF from 1939 to 1947. When he was 27, he emigrated to Canada where he served in the RCAF in 1951. Hailey was best known as author of over twenty television plays. His first, Flight into Danger (1956), was conceived on a business trip when he show more imagined what would happen if the pilots became unable to land the plane and he had to step in. Drawing on his professional history but with no experience in the publishing industry, he blind-mailed his script and it was accepted. While the TV-movie genre made his reputation as a writer, Hailey has gone on to write a number of novels, including In High Places (1962), Hotel (1965), Airport (1968),The Moneychangers (1975), Strong Medicine (1984) and Detective (1997). All his novels have been published in foreign-language editions, and many have been adapted for the screen. He died of a suspected stroke in 2004. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Detective
- Original title
- Detective
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie; Elroy Doil
- Important places
- Miami, Florida, USA
- Related movies
- Detective (2005 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Life resembles the banquet of Damocles;
the sword is ever suspended.
—Voltaire - Dedication
- To the Memory of
Stephen L. (Steve) Vinson
Sometime Detective-Sergeant (Homicide)
Miami Police Department
Adviser and Good Friend
Who died, at age fifty-two, shortly
before completion of this book<... (show all)/b> - First words
- At 10:35 P.M. on January 27, Malcolm Ainslie was halfway to the outer door of Homicide when a phone rang behind him. Instinctively he paused to look back. Later, he wished he hadn't.
- Quotations*
- Het leven is gelijk het gastmaal van Damocles; het zwaard hangt immer boven ons. (Voltaire)
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Please come."
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 738
- Popularity
- 37,724
- Reviews
- 14
- Rating
- (3.71)
- Languages
- 15 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 54
- ASINs
- 6
