Laguna Heat

I really enjoyed Laguna Heat. T. Jefferson Parker knows Orange County, where I've lived forever. This book has a top of the line story, great characters, and a real ambience. I am slowly reading through all of Parker's titles. I expect to be thoroughly entertained for quite a while.

This was the first book I read by the author and I couldn't put it down. I have since read all of his books. At first, I thought I loved his books because I was living in Laguna Beach and it takes place there. Now his books are taking place in other areas and I now live in San Diego and still love them.

Having read all T. Jefferson Parker's current novels and loving them, I decided to check out his earlier stuff. Laguna Heat arrived and I started it late one afternoon. Immediately, I was drawn into the storyline; but, even more importantly, I was drawn into the mind and character of Tom Shephard. What a well-developed character Parker has given us here. So much is going on in the life of the former-LA cop...trying to live with a righteous shooting from his early-cop days and coping with a new position and murder spree in his hometown, quiet Laguna Beach. And all his father's old friends are involved someway. Too, he is dealing with the heartbreak of divorce, hanging on for dear life. This was just a great read and one I'm so glad I found. I'm only sorry that some of the other early Parkers are out of print and I can't get them. T. Jefferson Parker has become one of my favorite mystery writers and I look forward to starting his latest, Red Light.

Well this was Mr. Parker's first novel, so I thought it probably wouldn't be too great. Well, I was WRONG! This one is just as good as The Blue Hour and his others. I think Mr. Parker is going to be the next John Sandford and Patricia Cornwell.

It pains me to see only 1 other review in this space. I'm fairly new to T. Jefferson Parker, but to my mind he's better than John Sandford, Jonathan Kellerman, and James Patterson, much better than Robin Cook and Patricia Cornwell, and nearly the equal of Michael Connelly. Obviously he needs some better representation. Laguna Heat is a well plotted mystery with plausible twists and ironies. The characters, especially Tom Shepard, are authentic and finely nuanced, full of human frailties and intriguing historical baggage that unfolds along with the murder investigation. This book never overwhelmed me with its power, but consistently impressed me with its competence. Not a sentence rang false. I will eagerly seek out other Parker titles, and recommend this to any fans of the mystery/detective genre.