Last Lullaby

Michael Connelly move over and make room for Denise Hamilton. Hamilton, a former Times reporter turned novelist--like Connelly--sets her novels against the backdrop of the City of the Angles, Los Angeles, California. Along with a Times reporter, Eve Diamond, the multi-cultural city serves as a fascinating character in Hamilton's novels, a gritty and ever changing protagonist, which she depicts with a skill that hasn't been seen since the days when Philip Marlowe cruised those dark and mean streets in Raymond Chandler's magnificent novels of the golden age. Although Hamilton's excellent writing is reminiscent of days gone by, the plot of "Last Lullaby" is as fresh as tomorrow's headlines and a hell of a lot more fun and exciting. Advice for those who crave terrific mysteries and outstanding entertainment, buy her books!

Denise Hamilton, a Los Angeles-based reporter turned novelist, is one of the brightest new talents to enter crime fiction over the last few years. With her third book, Last Lullaby, she once again confirms that promise with a gripping, action-packed work that ought to bring her books to a much wider audience. After two fascinating explorations of L.A.'s ethnic subcultures, this time Hamilton has produced a more conventionally directed mystery that is focused on an intense story about child abductions and the underground market for overseas adoptions. As with the author's first two novels, Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond pursues the investigation and her own conflicted emotions about motherhood, as well as her concern for a lost child, drawing her deep into a dangerous situation. Diamond is one of the best characters in a currently ongoing series. She is sympathetic and believable, and generally acts with intelligence and reason, qualities unfortunately rare in the modern mystery. She also has the right mix of street smarts, sass and vulnerability to draw the reader's interest and concern.Reviewed by David Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times

Denise hamilton is getting better with each book.I love the character of Eve Diamond and the authenticitywith which she is written. Last Lullaby starts out in an airport with Evedoing a story on the state of security. In a matterpf pages all hell has broken loose. In the aftermath a child is found, the people who were with here are missingor dead.As Eve searches for answers she finds herself getting deeperand deeper into a myatery and deeper into trouble.The pacing in this book is amazing and has such a wonderful flowthat I felt I was being pulled foward by it. And even afterfinishing scenes stayed with me.An outstanding book.Jon Jordan - author of Interrogations a book of author interviews

Reading an Eve Diamond novel is like going on a ride at Disney. You truly believe you are experiencing every twist and turn in the plot until the ride ends and you realize how much you enjoyed the delusion. Hamilton's Los Angeles is as grity and tough as it is intimate and vulnerable and her protagonist reflects the City in which she grew up. In this episode Eve is trying to rescue an infant who is a pawn in some unknown scheme involving Asian drug trafficking, the INS, and a reknowned human rights attorney. Eve doggedly pursues this story while also grappeling with her feelings for her current lover and a past lover who has mysteriously reappeared in her life. We can"t help but root for this gutsy heroine as she follows confusing leads to a deadly conclusion. I would give more than five stars to this entire series if I could. Read them all!!

Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond wants out of the boring suburban beat that she covers; her goal being real news. In her endeavor to prove to the editors that she is more than fluff, Eve follows US Customs Agent William Maxwell on his job at LAX. Suddenly the Los Angeles airport turns into a war zone. When the dust clears, three are dead including an Asiatic mother whose apparent husband vanished and the two-year-old girl she held in her arms abducted by apparently the INS.Eve believes the INS snatched the toddler with plans to deport the kid. She decides to track down the missing child to try to learn why the killings occurred. However, as she makes little headway Eve soon realizes that other people, deadly and hostile, also seek to locate and snatch the kid. The few clues Eve uncovers lead to Serey Rath, who Eve trails in hopes of learning the truth. However, her personal life begins to interfere with her professional investigation as her former lover Tim Waters and her current beau Silvio Aguilar (see SUGAR SKULL) pull her in several directions, but mostly away from solving the case of the missing child.Though the subplots at times overwhelm the prime theme of how far a parent goes for their child, fans will want to take this LA joy ride with Eve. The story line is exciting as Eve struggles between her suddenly complex personal life and her need to find the lost child before the wrong people capture the little girl. LAST LULLABY is a diamond of an investigative tale that the audience will enjoy even while parents will ponder the key question.Harriet Klausner