- Hardcover: 311 pages
- Publisher: Crown Pub; First Edition edition (April 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0517572818
- ISBN-13: 978-0517572818
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,973,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
New York Times
‘Sensational … heroically balances the philosophical drama with the puzzle-narrative of a legal whodunit … Amazing’
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
'Sensational ... heroically balances the philosophical drama of a man's crisis of faith with the puzzle-narrative of a legal whodunit ... Amazing' New York Times 'Utterly entertaining ... One is tempted to say the words "Move over Scott Turow" and stop there ... Succeeds on a level that touches us more deeply than the ordinary thriller' Washington Post Book World 'An incisive portrait of corruption at high levels, of powerful men who will go to sickening lengths to keep their power ... Harrison's sense of timing and character is deft, and he creates suspense by bringing together men whose ambitions and fears inevitably must clash. What he does best, however, is show us, very eloquently, the pain and occasional small triumphs of being human' San Francisco Chronicle 'Suspenseful and unpredictable to the very last page' Chicago Tribune
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a great read and will keep you hooked as the ADA Peter Scattergood tries to manage horrific murders, corruption, drugs,sexual desire and his failing marriage, whilst slowly slipping deeper and deeper into trouble...Can he rescue anything by the end of it? Believe me if you've ever had times when you are losing control, you'll know just a little of what he's going through..a stylish, often brutal thriller, which will draw you in right to the end.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A good book with a mediocre ending
25 Nov 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I've read all but one of Colin Harrison's books. I love his blunt style, and I usually have a hard time putting the them down once I've started reading. I've often started reading, expecting to stop after 1/2 and hour, only to look up at the clock and realized its been well over an hour.
However, that being said, these books have all been ruined by a mediocre ending that leaves you saying, "Well, that was certainly anti-climactic."
Was it bad enough to put me off his other writing? Not at all. It didn't stop me from buying all of his books. It's just a small quibble.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Sticking Pins In Dolls
5 May 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Devotees of Voodoo will be happy to note that Colin Harrison's new novel once again brings us a protagonist whom the author slowly destroys. Mr. Harrison uses up a whole quiver of needles while sticking them in his character of Peter Scattergood. Peter's an upstanding, decent assistant district attorney who is assigned a case involving the murder of the mayor's nephew. Peter investigates the murder, and comes up with more leads than the police. Is the criminal investigation the main plot of the story? Perhaps not. Peter's wife has left him and he is disconsolate; he needs to win her back. He tries unsuccessfully to mend the relationship, and, to our dismay, turns into a stalker. What a paradox as his legal ethics begin conflicting with the unethical behavior in his personal life. He becomes seriously deluded in his belief that his marriage will be saved.
Colin Harrison frequently presents us with extremely fallible humans. They tend to persist in following a bad turn along one of life's roads. Reason falls victim to rationalization. You want to slap Peter Scattergood in the face, and hear him say, "Thanks, I needed that." So once again we have a Harrison novel in which it is hard to identify with those who live in its pages. For those who do like CH, however, this is another rewarding read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
"The process of becoming a lawyer was narrowing and honing him."
3 Nov 2008
Format:Paperback
This dense novel is layered with emotional baggage and a difficult case hampered by special interests and the manipulation of the legal system. Philadelphia ADA Peter Scattergood is finishing a murder case, achieving a pyrrhic victory for the parents of a slaughtered girl when he is approached with an offer he cannot refuse: the new mayor's nephew has been murdered and the mayor wants a swift resolution. Not yet suspicious of his boss's rationale for choosing him to head the legal aspect of the case, Scattergood is caught in a deep personal dilemma, his marriage fracturing under the demands of his career and a wife whose insecurities cause her to question the direction of their life together. At the crux of the novel is Peter's mental state, an increasing obsession with his wife, Janice, and the life he senses is slipping away permeating every facet of his anguished existence.
Given to overthinking, what is a powerful and precise legal mind doesn't serve Peter well in his marriage. Constantly assessing and reassessing motives and actions, Peter is hampered by an emotional gulf, unable to break free from habits that now inhibit his spontaneity. Losing himself in the details of his cases, Peter is unable to control his thoughts or actions, tracking Janice's whereabouts since she moved out of their home. Terrified that their time out will become a permanent estrangement, even a divorce, Scattergood cajoles Janice, hoping to worm his way back into her good graces. Meanwhile, the murder of the mayor's nephew takes on more ominous tones, a second murder, a questionable police response time and the early arrest of a suspect. The case has resolved too easily, Peter deeply troubled by the methodology of the detectives at the crime scene and a pervasive presence by his boss, Hoskins.
Following Janice, engaging a divorce attorney and attempting to uncover the specifics kept from him regarding the murders, Peter is bogged down by emotional despair, sluggish in his responses and childish in his desperate urgency to win Janice back. It is this unstable mental terrain that sets the tone in this engaging mystery, a quagmire of inappropriate actions and an increasingly stressful work environment- not to mention an ill-timed affair that wreaks more havoc on the embattled protagonist. A driven man struggling to retain his moral center, Peter finds himself humbled, the careful construct of his world crumbling under the assault of unexpected emotions and the manipulation of his case by others. A terribly flawed character, Scattergood is a man of the times, a character study of contemporary society, where the moral and the expedient do not always coexist. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
Given to overthinking, what is a powerful and precise legal mind doesn't serve Peter well in his marriage. Constantly assessing and reassessing motives and actions, Peter is hampered by an emotional gulf, unable to break free from habits that now inhibit his spontaneity. Losing himself in the details of his cases, Peter is unable to control his thoughts or actions, tracking Janice's whereabouts since she moved out of their home. Terrified that their time out will become a permanent estrangement, even a divorce, Scattergood cajoles Janice, hoping to worm his way back into her good graces. Meanwhile, the murder of the mayor's nephew takes on more ominous tones, a second murder, a questionable police response time and the early arrest of a suspect. The case has resolved too easily, Peter deeply troubled by the methodology of the detectives at the crime scene and a pervasive presence by his boss, Hoskins.
Following Janice, engaging a divorce attorney and attempting to uncover the specifics kept from him regarding the murders, Peter is bogged down by emotional despair, sluggish in his responses and childish in his desperate urgency to win Janice back. It is this unstable mental terrain that sets the tone in this engaging mystery, a quagmire of inappropriate actions and an increasingly stressful work environment- not to mention an ill-timed affair that wreaks more havoc on the embattled protagonist. A driven man struggling to retain his moral center, Peter finds himself humbled, the careful construct of his world crumbling under the assault of unexpected emotions and the manipulation of his case by others. A terribly flawed character, Scattergood is a man of the times, a character study of contemporary society, where the moral and the expedient do not always coexist. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
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