The Blue Hour

First class crime fiction. Would have given it a full five star rating except for those eleven paragraphs. I will say only that they are consecutive. If you have a search in mind as you pick up the book it shouldn't be hard to find them. Or to enjoy the story. Mr. T Jefferson Parker is one helluva writer.

The Blue Hour. T. Jefferson Parker. 1999. I have seen this author’s books for years in libraries and book stores but this is the first Parker I have read and it won’t be the last. Tim Hess, a retired detective who is battling lung cancer, is called by into service by the sheriff to help identify a serial killer. He is paired with Merci Rayborn, a young female detective who has chip on her shoulder and who is determined to make a name for herself. At first there are no bodies, no clothes, and no bones, just blood and purses. Hess brings the experience to the case that Merci lacks and Merci brings energy and determination. They gradually begin to trust each other as they search for a truly vicious murderer in the woods and malls of show more California. This is not for the fainthearted. Parker is an excellent writer and I’ll read more of his works. This is the first of a series of novels featuring Merci Rayborn. show less

I liked the serial killer storyline and I liked the character Tim Hess; but I couldn't stand Meri Rayborn. She was an obnoxious character and I just couldn't connect with her. And that ending!?! That was a terrible ending. Who does that?!?!

This was about what you'd expect from a police procedural about a serial killer preying on young women in Southern California. Detective Tim Hess is semi-retired and undergoing chemo for cancer when the sheriff pulls him in to work with Merci Rayborn, an ambitious deputy over forty years his junior. I could just see Clint Eastwood playing Hess--the dynamic between him and Rayborn reminds me of the one in the film In the Line of Fire, and the novel features a partnership that turns into romance. Rayborn is what I've come to find is a cliche in the mystery genre--the female cop with a reputation as someone impossible to work with. To be fair to Parker, Rayborn had a lot to put up with in her former partner, and it's not a matter of her show more just having a chip on her shoulder.

This was an OK book if you devour this kind of fiction like peanuts. It flowed well, well-paced, the kind of novel you can open and escape for a few hours, but not one that left much of an impression. show less

This was a disappointing start to a series. The relationship between Rayborn and Hess was just too predictable from the outset and was therefore anti-climatic. The character of the 'dual bad guy' really needed some development as there were gaping holes in how he 'evolved' from past to current day and even something as simple as a motive was missing. The epilogue, though not officially presented as such, was really the most interesting pages of the entire book. It offered up a most annoying bit of information that should have been expanded on, while still managing to give a slight twist to the outcome of Rayborn and Hess.

Good detective book, with an unlikely pairing. First of three starring Merci Rayborn. Personalities galore.

This is the first in the Merci Rayborn series. Tim Hess is a retired cop who's hired to work with Detective Rayborn to find a serial killer. There are some kind of half-baked plot things going on here that were not too satisfying but over all it was ok.