| Title | : | Slipping Into Darkness |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0446617474 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780446617475 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 496 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2006 |
Slipping Into Darkness Reviews
-
***4.5 Stars*** Well-written and exceptional detective/crime novel. Intriguing mystery with descriptive writing recommended for fans of Michael Connelly/Harry Bosch.
-
The story had the potential to be intriguing but I couldn't get past the smack-you-upside-the-head symbolism and cute imagery. Also, it's a pet peeve of mine when white middle class authors try to write in AAE or Latino English dialect for their characters of color and wind up, at best, looking ridiculous and clueless and, at worst, horribly insensitive and offensive. Overall, good on the whodunit part and not-so-good on the characterization/dialogue part.
-
Gostei imenso deste livro. Está muito bem escrito, transporta-nos para o mundo interior dos personagens, faz-nos sentir os seus dramas e acompanhar as suas razões. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, mantém a dúvida sobre o verdadeiro culpado até ao final.
-
I agree completely with the blurb from Stephen King on the cover: “One of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time”.
In 1983, Detective Francis X. Loughlin famously obtained a confession from a 17 year old male named Julian Vega for the brutal murder of a gorgeous, young, well liked young doctor named Allison Wallis. Vega was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life for murder.
In 2003, Detective Francis X. Loughlin is fairly rapidly going blind from retinitis pigmentosa. He is still working homicide, and has not told anyone, even his wife, about losing his eyesight. He is trying to hold on to make Detective First before he retires.
Julian Vega has had his conviction vacated by a judge, so he is out on the street. The world is utterly different for him than it was when he went into prison. He has what might be a hair trigger temper. Everything seems set up against him to send him back to prison.
Vega has a good lawyer on his side. Since the conviction was vacated, it’s up to Homicide to reinvestigate the case.
Detective Loughlin looks at Vega as a possible suspect when another young, pretty doctor is murdered. However, the DNA under her fingernails does not match Julian Vega. It’s a match for the victim, Allison, from twenty years before.
Great storytelling aside, this book’s strength is characterization. Every single character is well drawn. All are real people the reader both likes and dislikes. This is a fast, exceptional read; with humor, action, horror, thrills, and disappointments.
Highly recommended. -
How do you find someone who’s not supposed to exist? That’s the detective’s conundrum.
Francis X Loughlin is losing his sight. He's a cop, and because of the genetically acquired retinitis pigmentosa his future on the force looks bleak. He's always been a loner so this means ever increasing isolation.
Two decades before, Francis had been instrumental in the incarceration of Julian Vega for the murder of a woman. Julian has been released following years of legal appeals he orchestrated, and soon thereafter a similar murder is committed. Now, however, the police have access to DNA technology and some very strange links and relationships lead Loughlin to surmise that Julian may have been innocent.
Blauner does a nice job of balancing the assorted POVs. We see Julian struggling to overcome the hostility of just about everyone, each assuming he's guilty and got off on a "technicality." He's somewhat baffled by societal changes having been isolated for more than a decade. The family of the dead girl still feels they haven't received justice, and Francis battles his own feelings about the case as well as the political powers who have everything to gain by hiding what may be the truth. You feel for all of the characters.
Great title with multiple meanings. -
"[...]it's the [...] weirdest case he ever heard of. [...] Girl's dead twenty years and her blood shows up on another body last week."
The setup of Peter Blauner's Slipping Into Darkness (2006) is indeed intriguing. Is the "girl" really dead? Did the murderer store her blood to leave it on another victim? Maybe the lab results are not correct? Another difficult review to write because one needs to be very careful not to divulge a spoiler. In fact, the readers who like the surprise factor in mystery/suspense/crime novels should not read the synopsis on the dust jacket - the publisher provides enough spoilers there. By the way, I have always been wondering why people want to know the entire plot, except perhaps the very last twist, before reading a mystery genre book?
The main part of the story takes place in 2003 but in a flashback to 20 years earlier we read an account of the interrogation of a murder suspect, a 17-year-old boy, conducted by Detective Francis X. Loughlin. The interrogation scenes are quite graphic as we witness the gradual breaking of the boy's willpower and resistance. The detective's maturity and experience make the terms of the duel quite uneven; the scene evokes images of a "duel" between a hunter armed with a high-power rifle and a deer tied to a tree trunk. Naturally, the boy is convicted of murder and sent to prison.
Now, 20 years later, the convicted murderer is released on technicality. While he is trying to have the conviction vacated, with the help of a streetwise lawyer working pro bono, Det. Loughlin is trying to put the murderer back behind the bars. The battle between the detective and the convict constitutes the main narrative axis of the plot. There is another murder and intriguing connections between the two cases emerge.
Unfortunately, as usual in the mystery genre, the plot gets less and less plausible as it unfolds. One of the best setups that I can remember slowly degenerates to become a disappointing denouement. The author uses some tired clichés of the genre, for instance, the 'rare disease cliché' or the sudden appearance of a person from the past. The penultimate conversation, instead of being powerful and dramatic as the author undoubtedly planned, sounds contrived and ridiculous.
On the plus side, there is a touching thread that involves Zana, a Kosovar young woman from Prishtinë. The reader will find some cool passages, for instance"'Pretty sharp, lady,' he said.
The author writes well, and the novel is very readable. Had the author conceived a solution worthy of the outstanding setup, it would have been an excellent novel of suspense. Even with all the implausibility I am recommending it.
'A lot of things become much more obvious in this world when you have a vagina.'
He nodded, acknowledging the universal truth of this [...]"
Three stars. -
The best contemporary writer I know. As if Cormac McCarthy had written Les Miserables. This is my second read of Blauner and I don’t know how to tell you how great this guy is with the written word. I can read his paragraphs and return immediately to read them again for more pleasure. I ask, is there anyone as good? One example from hundreds— As a main character stands at an apartment window musing and staring out into the NYC night, Blauner writes: “A passing bus below sighed, sagging with the loneliness of late night riders.”
-
Nel 1983 Julian ha 17 anni. È figlio di un portiere portoricano ma ha lavorato duramente per migliorare la sua vita e tra poco partirà per il college.
Francis ha 29 anni, un periodo difficile alle spalle e fa il poliziotto.
Un giorno Francis attesterà Julian per l'omicidio brutale di una giovane dottoressa, determinando per sempre il suo futuro.
20 anni dopo i due si ritrovano: Julian è libero, la sua condanna è stata annullata per un vizio procedurale ed intenzionato a dimostrare la sua innocenza nel merito.
Francis,invece, cerca in ogni modo di trovare prove che stabiliscano definitivamente e al di là di ogni ragionevole dubbio la responsabilità penale di Julian.
Chi la spunterà?
Giallo ben congegnato e coinvolgente. Affronta anche tematiche di estrema attualità, quali il razzismo e la superficialità di alcuni esponenti delle forze di polizia.
Da leggere per gli amanti del genere. -
Ah, I loved 'The Intruder.' So original. So far, this one is not disappointing. If Stephen King says it's the best he's read in a long, long time, I'll take his word...
It is great. I can hardly put it down, but I must. :) Blaunder writes so well. He's one of those authors who always chooses the right verb-- the most interesting one and the best description of his characters. When I read other books alongside his, I'm struck with how "wordy" they are in comparison.
Ok, I'm done with it. It was good... some of the writing is great, but it was not as good as 'The Intruder.' :) -
Samar-samar dalam ingatan, saya pernah mengikuti kisah yang ini. Entah di sinopsis, film, atau kisah nyata di serial Law n Order, atau justru cuma de ja vu. Entahlah.
Seorang remaja tak bersalah dijatuhi hukuman 25 tahun penjara dengan tuduhan pembunuhan. Ketika mendapat pembebasan di usia 37, ia telah kehilangan segala sesuatu termasuk keluarganya. Dengan sisa keyakinan yang ia miliki, ia coba telusuri kembali kasusnya. Pelaku kejahatan yang sebenarnya pun terungkap dan ia akhirnya memperoleh hidupnya kembali. -
I hadn't read anything by Peter Blauner before, so I decided to give this a try. It's an interesting story, but it's fairly obvious early on who the real criminal is. I was disappointed that it was as easy to figure out as it was. Also, as Marissa pointed out, much of the Spanish street talk sounds unnatural, somewhat forced at times. It would have been better to have left it out.
-
The suspense had me scared xxxxless!! Set my teeth on edge. Could not put it down, although I wanted to throw it against the wall a few times. Stephen King is right: Best crime novel I have read in a long, long time!!!!
-
A wonderfully gripping thriller/mystery...very well-written.
-
My first Blauner book and a great read. Good storyline about DNA and Peter writes so well. Enjoyable.
-
Great book if you are into mysteries. Keeps you guessing until the end. A fast read since you don't want to put it down.
-
Peter Blauner’s Casino Moon was an unexpected hit with me last year. Richly created characters all down-on-their-luck in loser-town Atlantic City. I enjoyed it from start to finish and thought I had discovered a new voice.
I tried twice to read his Lourdes Robles series but I couldn’t get into it. Everything that popped in Casino Moon felt lank there: the characters, the setting, the mystery, etc. Slipping Into Darkness was the one I really wanted. No less than Stephen King hailed it as one of the best books he’d read in a long while. So when I saw it on sale at a used book store, grabbing it was a no brainer.
It has some of the hallmarks at what made Casino Moon great but maybe that was a one-hit wonder for Blauner. The mystery has its dramatic moments but a disappointing reveal. The characters aren’t nearly as exciting (more on that in a moment). The run through New York City is fun but nothing too inspired.
I think the big thing with this one is how the narrative rotates mostly around the cop and suspected criminal. The criminal character is fine. Whatever. The cop…I dunno. Maybe I’m just allergic to police characters in the wake of this national moment. Maybe I’m exhausted from cliched cops. But I hated his scenes. Absolutely hated them. It had nothing to do with him as a character. Blauner’s writing is not bland. I just…another ex-alcoholic whose been on the job too long and has a Messiah Complex as a detective. Maybe it’s where I am right now but given that his POV is about 50% of the book, it just wasn’t working for me.
So yeah, it had its moments and I get why King likes it but I’m sad to report that Blauner might just be a one hit wonder with me. -
Julian Vega è un ragazzo di 17 anni che viene accusato di aver ucciso una giovane dottoressa che vive nel suo stesso palazzo, viene processato e condannato ad una pena che va dai 25 anni all'ergastolo.
Tutto giusto, se non fosse che Julian Vega è innocente.
20 anni dopo esce per una cavillo, il processo è da rifare. Da quì il libro segue 2 diverse narrazioni, abbiamo l'uomo indurito , arrabbiato e ormai solo al mondo che cerca di riabilitare il suo nome e provare la sua innocenza.
Dall'altra parte abbiamo l'investigatore che ha fornito le prove ( una messa ad arte) che hanno permesso l'incarcerazione del ragazzo, e che cerca di risbatterlo dentro.
Il libro ha un finale dolce amaro, ma in effetti è una sensazione che ho provato per tutto il tempo, un libro molto scorrevole ed intrigante. -
So I bought this one at a used bookstore on a total whim because I liked the title. I instantly thought of the classic song the band War (it made me happy when the author did eventually reference the song)! I never heard of Peter Blauner before and I must say, I like his style except for maybe a few over the top analogies and similes. I do appreciate the salty "real life" language of the characters; you really get to know and understand them! All in all, I'm glad I picked this one up. I will be reading more Blauner in the future for sure!
-
Na contra capa fala de um desfecho inesperado para esta história. E podem crer que é! Thriller policial com bom andamento e que acima de tudo traz para a história partes científicas que servem realmente de base ao desfecho inesperado. Quem gosta deste lado mais científico, na abordagem a policiais vai sem dúvida apreciar este livro.
-
per Time Mag. recommendation; 2006, wrong boy (17-yrs. old) sent to prison x 20-years for murder of young MD resident; great character development/intrigue…well worth the Time…recommendation; hardback via Berea Library, 386 pgs.; read Nov, 2008 in less than 24-hrs.!!; also THE INTRUDER, bestseller + SLOW MOTION RIOT winner of Edgar Allan Poe Award for 1st novel.
-
plot twist-nya bagus, sayang transisinya kurang pas. satu elemen itu bisa ngurangin dua bintang ya.
anyway, buku ini berhasil membuat mimpi gue di 4 hari terakhir jadi suram dan mencekam, detail penggambaran latarnya ciamik lah. -
this one is an amazing story. a case that looks like a case in the past. and the DNA found was the old case victim. one-or two-perfect crime that finally make sense. what we know is not what happened. how a perfect life a boy once had, one mistake from someone could lead to his destruction.
-
Sayang sekali tidak dibeberkan motif pelaku dengan lengkap, bagaimana masa lalunya atau sebagainya. Namun saya terobati dengan detail-detail yang entah kenapa menentramkan, yang menggambarkan latar tempat dan suasana dengan sangat indah.
-
Gak sebagus ulasan para kritikus
-
juvenile, foul language. couldn't take it.. abandoned early.
-
A very solid, quick read. Developed a little slower than I hoped though. Would definitely recommend.
