Violent Crimes

I certainly enjoyed this work by Hugh Holton with its many characters, subplots and time periods. I have to give Hugh kudos for being able to jump between time periods without losing you. It helps that he dates the section prior to reading it but it also helps that what he brings up from the past is relevant to what is going on in the present. Some writers get carried away and go off on a tangent and Hugh doesn't do that.In this novel Larry Cole has a major role with some of his history explained which I found to be enlightening. The bad guy is of course a looney but aren't they all... he is revealed way in advance but that's okay because you find out a lot more about him to still make him interesting as the book goes on. You will find yourself talking back to the book.... wishing characters would do the right thing... you just get involved. I love it when a writer can get me involved as opposed to my looking at it from twenty feet above. It's always a good sign that there is good character development with some humor thrown in and you certainly get that here.I live in Chicago and one of the joys of this book is that the author is dead on in his description of the city. He doesn't change street names, buildings or how the city functions just to make his book work. All the "EL stops" are correct for instance and if you know the city well you will be able to place yourself physically in the area he is describing which makes it all the better.

See my review of "Presumed Dead."

Holton puts Inspector Larry Cole into a complex web facing a nemesis returned from an 18 year old rape/murder. The nemesis has become worthy of Cole's attention by using stolen military hardware to create terrifying destruction. Holton's weaving Chicago PD politics into the novel is better done than his attempts to get the personal lives of his characters into the book. The series is still a fine one, and this book keeps up the tradition.

I'm a first time reader of Hugh Holton and was extremely pleased with Violent Crimes. I'm an avid reader of Patricia Cornwell, Sidney Sheldon, Sue Grafton, etc... and this book was by far the best book I've ever read. I was on the edge of my seat virtually the whole time I was reading it. Hugh Holton has a way of writing in such detail that you can visualize the crimes and almost feel the pain of the victims. I highly recommend this one and can't wait to read more of Hugh Holton's other titles!