The Third Rail
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Review
Praise for Michael Harvey 'A magnificent debut that should be read by all' John Grisham 'Michael Harvey has studied the masters and put his own unique touch on the crime novel. A major new voice' Michael Connelly 'Gritty and witty ... a real winner' Kathy Reichs 'Murder, bare-knuckle mayoral politics, and historical catastrophe - in short, the perfect Chicago detective story' Erik Larson
Product Description
The ferocious new novel from the author of The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor finds Michael Harvey at the top of his game in an expertly plotted, impossible to put down thriller set in Chicago's public transit system. Harvey's tough talking, Aeschylus quoting, former Irish cop turned PI, Michael Kelly, is back in another sizzling murder mystery that pits him against a merciless sniper on the loose in Chicago's public transportation system. After witnessing a shooting on an L platform-and receiving a phone call from the killer himself-Kelly is drawn toward a murderer with an unnerving link to his own past, to a crime he witnessed as a child, and to the consequences it had on his relationship with his father, a subject Kelly would prefer to leave unexamined. But when his girlfriend-the gorgeous Chicago judge Rachel Swenson-is abducted, Kelly has no choice but to find the killer by excavating his own stormy past. Stylish, sophisticated, edge-of-your-seat suspense from a new modern master.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Michael Harvey just keeps getting better. If you have not read his books before then i would recommend you do. Start with the 1st Kelly novel- The Chicago Way and you'll be hooked. this one however is the best yet with suspense and twist and turns on each page. can't wait for the next.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has everything in it to make it a great traditional PI story. The Hero Michael Kelly appears to be one of those classical PI:s that solves problems in the criminal underworld of a large US city. The Dialogue is working, the attitude is right and there is a great mix of police, criminals and ladies.
It would have been five stars but for two things. The PI Michael Kelly is not presented in a way that you really get to know him. It is as if you should have had him presented before you started the book so you don't need more information. It is even hard to visualize him in your head since you really do not have more information about him. I read "The Chicago Way" before but that was some time ago so I can't really get a grip on him. One thing that stands out is that he is more willing to bend the law than most PI:s in other authors books. He is also more brutal.
The Other thing that makes you hesitate is that the story itself is very twisted and hard to believe. I don't know if this is a general tendency but if you compare all US made crime TV shows (CSI, The Mentalist etc) you get the feeling that the villains are getting more and more strange and complicated and less and less believable. Same in this book. Too many strange and long jumps in the logic.
But the book reads well and is hard to put down. After finishing it I immediately started on the follow up "We all fall down".
It would have been five stars but for two things. The PI Michael Kelly is not presented in a way that you really get to know him. It is as if you should have had him presented before you started the book so you don't need more information. It is even hard to visualize him in your head since you really do not have more information about him. I read "The Chicago Way" before but that was some time ago so I can't really get a grip on him. One thing that stands out is that he is more willing to bend the law than most PI:s in other authors books. He is also more brutal.
The Other thing that makes you hesitate is that the story itself is very twisted and hard to believe. I don't know if this is a general tendency but if you compare all US made crime TV shows (CSI, The Mentalist etc) you get the feeling that the villains are getting more and more strange and complicated and less and less believable. Same in this book. Too many strange and long jumps in the logic.
But the book reads well and is hard to put down. After finishing it I immediately started on the follow up "We all fall down".
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
53 reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Convoluted and tricky....
27 Mar 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a fascinating, convoluted tale that will definitely keep you reading into the wee hours, but a little advice: read very carefully, because there's a bit of trickery involved that almost verges on unfair. I'm going to let that go now, but I had to get it off my chest.
So. Back to the main event. This is Michael Harvey's third Michael Kelly novel and the first I've been lucky enough to get hold of. Therefore, I don't know what I may have missed in the first two, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It includes a back story about Kelly's life, which is at the heart of the mystery, so I felt that I knew Kelly and understood some of why he is who he is even without reading the first two novels. Perhaps the first two books go even further into setting the stage of his life, and I look forward to reading them to find out. In this one, Kelly is a tough guy who's left the Chicago PD to become a PI, but he maintains his contacts within Chicago's civic system and he utilizes them to good effect. He's also familiar with the seamy side of Chicago and knows his way around the bars and the thugs contained within. In this particular case, he brings in an astonishing array of characters and institutions that play important roles in the complex evil he uncovers. The writing is terse, straightforward, and authentic, with dialogue that rings true. The story moves like lightning, and if you blink, you'll miss where it strikes.
The opening scene wastes no time before the action is launched with seemingly random killings on the L, which our hero somehow seems to be involved in. As bodies begin piling up, Kelly's involvement appears to deepen, and the reader is given glimpses of some very evil perpetrators. Homeland Security, the FBI, and Chicago's finest all converge to decipher the mysterious threats to the city, and Kelly is forced to work through and around the various law enforcement agencies that mostly hinder his progress. As the threats escalate and extend to Kelly's significant other, he becomes convinced that his own personal pain is the primary purpose of all the attacks. But there's a web of greed and larceny that even Kelly doesn't suspect at first, and lives are damaged and lost as the plot thickens. Kelly seems a bit of an aloof character, but his image is mellowed by a sweet pup named Maggie, who seems content to stay home by herself and never go outside for potty breaks, and a love affair with a lady judge who pays a high price for her connection to him.
I would recommend this book to readers who like a complex but ultimately satisfying plot and a setting-dominated story. Chicago is definitely one of the main characters in the book! And suspense is present in abundance. Also, let it be noted that an important incident in the book is based on a true event that occurred on Chicago's L, and that a terrorism report cited in the book is an actual report by the U.S. government.
So. Back to the main event. This is Michael Harvey's third Michael Kelly novel and the first I've been lucky enough to get hold of. Therefore, I don't know what I may have missed in the first two, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It includes a back story about Kelly's life, which is at the heart of the mystery, so I felt that I knew Kelly and understood some of why he is who he is even without reading the first two novels. Perhaps the first two books go even further into setting the stage of his life, and I look forward to reading them to find out. In this one, Kelly is a tough guy who's left the Chicago PD to become a PI, but he maintains his contacts within Chicago's civic system and he utilizes them to good effect. He's also familiar with the seamy side of Chicago and knows his way around the bars and the thugs contained within. In this particular case, he brings in an astonishing array of characters and institutions that play important roles in the complex evil he uncovers. The writing is terse, straightforward, and authentic, with dialogue that rings true. The story moves like lightning, and if you blink, you'll miss where it strikes.
The opening scene wastes no time before the action is launched with seemingly random killings on the L, which our hero somehow seems to be involved in. As bodies begin piling up, Kelly's involvement appears to deepen, and the reader is given glimpses of some very evil perpetrators. Homeland Security, the FBI, and Chicago's finest all converge to decipher the mysterious threats to the city, and Kelly is forced to work through and around the various law enforcement agencies that mostly hinder his progress. As the threats escalate and extend to Kelly's significant other, he becomes convinced that his own personal pain is the primary purpose of all the attacks. But there's a web of greed and larceny that even Kelly doesn't suspect at first, and lives are damaged and lost as the plot thickens. Kelly seems a bit of an aloof character, but his image is mellowed by a sweet pup named Maggie, who seems content to stay home by herself and never go outside for potty breaks, and a love affair with a lady judge who pays a high price for her connection to him.
I would recommend this book to readers who like a complex but ultimately satisfying plot and a setting-dominated story. Chicago is definitely one of the main characters in the book! And suspense is present in abundance. Also, let it be noted that an important incident in the book is based on a true event that occurred on Chicago's L, and that a terrorism report cited in the book is an actual report by the U.S. government.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A Short and Fast Paced Tale With Too Many Non-Credible Assumptions
22 May 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book has a beginning that grabs you from the start. What appears to be a serial killer targets and kills a woman in a Chicago subway within sight of Chicago private investigator Michael Kelly. Kelly gives chase and is set-upon by the shooter or a possible accomplice of the shooter. Kelly is warned and knocked unconscious. Soon after the shooter kills two more people on a subway and then contacts Kelly.
With a possible panic on his hands the Chicago Mayor tells Kelly to not take the shooter alive. The FBI is involved in the case led by a female agent. As the plot unfolds, everything seems to center around a church and a train incident that happened to Kelly when he was a youth.
The book itself is short and fairly fast paced. A lot of things bothered me a about it though. The FBI is made to look like a bunch of bumblers and the Chicago PD is shown to be inept too. Kelly seems to have a computer guy helping him out that is way more sophisticated than the FBI techs. The book also borrows from current events such as the scandals happening in the Church and the threat of terrorist attack in the subways. If each major city depended on someone like Kelly alone to save them then there would be a whole lot more incidents. The best that I can give this book is three stars.
With a possible panic on his hands the Chicago Mayor tells Kelly to not take the shooter alive. The FBI is involved in the case led by a female agent. As the plot unfolds, everything seems to center around a church and a train incident that happened to Kelly when he was a youth.
The book itself is short and fairly fast paced. A lot of things bothered me a about it though. The FBI is made to look like a bunch of bumblers and the Chicago PD is shown to be inept too. Kelly seems to have a computer guy helping him out that is way more sophisticated than the FBI techs. The book also borrows from current events such as the scandals happening in the Church and the threat of terrorist attack in the subways. If each major city depended on someone like Kelly alone to save them then there would be a whole lot more incidents. The best that I can give this book is three stars.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
superb Windy City Noir
24 April 2010
Format:Hardcover
In Chicago, at the Southport L Station, Robles sees the woman alone by the stairs and fires a shot into her temple. Soon afterward he slices the throat of building manager Halter who welcomed him as a new tenant as Robles prepared for his next shoot. From the room's window he fires at a passing train exploding a passenger's head. Soon following that spree, the sniper kills three commuters on Lake Shore Drive, but failed to assassinate former cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly's girlfriend Judge Rachel Swenson.
CPD and FBI work the case, but Chicago mayor John J. Wilson hires Kelly off the books as the sleuth is actively involved as the killer taunts him via cell phone. Soon the sleuth believes there are two culprits working in harmonious synchronization while also wondering if somehow the murder spree is not quite as random as assumed; perhaps even going back three decades to when as a tweener Kelly survived an elevated train tragedy.
The third Kelly Windy City Noir (see The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor) is a superb thriller that grips the audience with the first shot fired and never slows down until the final confrontation. The story line effortlessly switches from Kelly's first person viewpoint starting with a gun butt to his head and a profound third person look into the heads of deadly duet. The Third Rail is a fabulous Chicago cat and mouse investigative tale that never wastes a twitter of a moment even with a great twist that turns Kelly into a city hero though he never fires the key shot.
Harriet Klausner
CPD and FBI work the case, but Chicago mayor John J. Wilson hires Kelly off the books as the sleuth is actively involved as the killer taunts him via cell phone. Soon the sleuth believes there are two culprits working in harmonious synchronization while also wondering if somehow the murder spree is not quite as random as assumed; perhaps even going back three decades to when as a tweener Kelly survived an elevated train tragedy.
The third Kelly Windy City Noir (see The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor) is a superb thriller that grips the audience with the first shot fired and never slows down until the final confrontation. The story line effortlessly switches from Kelly's first person viewpoint starting with a gun butt to his head and a profound third person look into the heads of deadly duet. The Third Rail is a fabulous Chicago cat and mouse investigative tale that never wastes a twitter of a moment even with a great twist that turns Kelly into a city hero though he never fires the key shot.
Harriet Klausner
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