- Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.; Reissue edition (Oct 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345397827
- ISBN-13: 978-0345397829
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 11.4 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 999,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"Emerson is carving his own special niche among a new generation of private-eye writers....He writes lean, muscular prose to carry his fast-moving action."
--The Washington Post Book World
A curious couple offers Seattle private eye Thomas Black a strange proposal: play guardian angel to an unlikely stalking victim named Billy Battle, a brooding ex-con with a psychotic history of unproven murder and mayhem. Hot on Billy's trail is the man who helped send him up the river, and who just may want Billy dead for his own peace of mind.
It's a case that puts Black in the hospital partially paralyzed, plagued with memory loss and a monstrous sense of doom. And when menacing phone calls from a maniacally laughing stranger begin to haunt Black, he can't help but wonder if the last, wicked laugh will be on him. (
"EMERSON'S BIGGEST, DARKEST NOVEL YET, a clangorous three-alarmer that'll leave you wound tighter than Billy Battle...Hair-raising."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Earl Emerson writes with the richness and grace of a poet. This guy is good, and THE PORTLAND LAUGHER is the best book yet in the Thomas Black series!"
--Robert Crais
--The Washington Post Book World
A curious couple offers Seattle private eye Thomas Black a strange proposal: play guardian angel to an unlikely stalking victim named Billy Battle, a brooding ex-con with a psychotic history of unproven murder and mayhem. Hot on Billy's trail is the man who helped send him up the river, and who just may want Billy dead for his own peace of mind.
It's a case that puts Black in the hospital partially paralyzed, plagued with memory loss and a monstrous sense of doom. And when menacing phone calls from a maniacally laughing stranger begin to haunt Black, he can't help but wonder if the last, wicked laugh will be on him. (
"EMERSON'S BIGGEST, DARKEST NOVEL YET, a clangorous three-alarmer that'll leave you wound tighter than Billy Battle...Hair-raising."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Earl Emerson writes with the richness and grace of a poet. This guy is good, and THE PORTLAND LAUGHER is the best book yet in the Thomas Black series!"
--Robert Crais
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In Portland Laugher, Emerson uses his cavalier style of writing to develop a sinister cast of characters caught in a fatal game of cat-and-mouse. But who's chasing whom?
More than a cleverly woven story, Portland Laugher intertwines its twisted plot with the bittersweet emotional complexities. On all fronts, this book kept me spellbound until its devastatingly brilliant conclusion.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Thomas Black is the perfect Northwest Detective
27 Oct 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This was the first book I read by Earl Emerson. As a Portland resident and a Tacoma native I was able to identify with Emerson as he weaves his plot from Seattle to Portland. Thomas Black is the perfect character for this and the other books in the series. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Black has the feel of a Northwest detective. Living in the U Dub district in Seattle, Black is depicted as a down to earth guy trying to earn a living as a private detective. Emerson draws from his own knowledge of the Northwest as a Seattle firefighter and a Tacoma native in unraveling the plot. Many of the characters he creates are unique and present a great composite of Northwest life styles. A great read and terrific climax.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Mystery -- keeps you wondering "who done it?"
30 Oct 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I bought this book in the Portland airport just before a flight back home. Usually I pick up a book for reading on a flight, and when done leave it for either the airline people or another passenger to pick it up -- but not this one. I was hooked from page one and when finished I kept it and loaned it out to others as a highly suggested read.
This was my first Emerson novel; what is interesting is how it shows that he (the author) had developed his ability to paint characters richly as well as handle plots with more dexterity than in his earlier novels, which I sought out to read after this one. I also have read books he's written since this one (except his latest, "Catfish Cafe"), and feel this is his best effort -- both in the Thomas Black series (this book features Thomas Black) and in the Mac Fontana series.
If you are an Emerson fan and haven't read this one, by all means read it. If you've not read any Emerson books yet, make this your first one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Intricate, clever, and disturbing. . .
3 July 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In Portland Laugher, Emerson uses his cavalier style of writing to develop a sinister cast of characters caught in a fatal game of cat-and-mouse. But who's chasing whom?
More than a cleverly woven story, Portland Laugher intertwines its twisted plot with the bittersweet emotional complexities. On all fronts, this book kept me spellbound until its devastatingly brilliant conclusion.
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