Review
'An outstanding debut thriller' - Lancashire Evening Post 'Compton has written an exceptional first novel. Sarah, Genevieve and Shiloh are all flawed and credible characters who are thrust into thorny situations and forced to make difficult moral choices ... There is a dark vein in the story underpinning the suspense, and the denouement is truly shocking and leaves us wondering what will become of them all. Compton is working on a sequel - let's hope she writes fast.' - Manchester Evening News 'How well do you really know the one you love? Jodi Compton raises that disquieting question in her fine debut novel, THE 37TH HOUR (Delacorte, $21.95), an intelligent and challenging thriller that unsettles the mind of its heroine by undermining her faith in her husband. Sarah Pribek, a tall, athletic and seemingly nerveless detective with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department, has been married for just two months to a Minneapolis police officer named Mike Shiloh when he vanishes while on his way to Quantico for F.B.I. training. Ignoring the probability that her sexy, enigmatic spouse has simply walked out on her, Sarah investigates his disappearance as she would any other missing-person case, following a trail that takes her back to his family roots in Utah and reveals a person she never knew. Compton dignifies her characters by treating them like complex adults whose problematical relationships can't be resolved by straightening out a few loose facts. "Everything I knew was wrong," Sarah says, after discovering the "shadow self" her husband couldn't bring himself to show her. With a murderer at large and Sarah working on her own in the dark, the suspense may be killing, but it isn't cheap. It's the profound terror of knowing you don't know a thing.' - New York Times on THE 37TH HOUR 'A dazzling debut ... Watch this writer. She does it all: plots intelligently, writes elegantly, and creates characters who compel attention the old-fashioned way - by making you believe in them.' - Kirkus 'Nail-biter of a debut novel ... Compton skillfully weaves together strands of Pribek's life--her husband's disappearance, her best friend's grief over a murdered daughter, and her own foray into saving a suicidal teen--into a complex, shocking whole. From the first scene--a teenage girl teetering on a railway trestle over the Mississippi--to the harrowing resolution, Compton uses suspense as a powerful propellant.' -- Booklist 'A promising debut from Compton, tautly-written, with strong characters and a healthy dose of twists and turns' - York Evening Press 'The dialogue is sharp, the plotting strong and there is just a hint in the vocabulary of a bit of extra depth.' - Dumfries & Galloway Standard 'An amazingly self-assured debut' - Yorkshire Post 'THE 37TH HOUR is well-written, intelligent, suspenseful and surprising, and this is the first book I've read in a long while that I simply could not put down.' Deadly Pleasure 'nerve-tugging thriller' Peterborough Evening Telegraph -- Peterborough Evening Telegraph 'A gripping piece of storytelling that gets better the deeper the reader gets into it. This could easily hit the bestseller lists. Superb' - Independent on THE 37TH HOUR 'Readers looking for perky heroines with sassy girlfriends and humorous man problems would best be advised to seek their mysteries elsewhere. Compton's world is complicated, shadowy and violent, with little cheer and only the barest traces of hope and resolution. Look for Sarah to appear in a sequel, but don't expect it to be easy for anyone. This is first-class, serious crime fiction.' -- Publishers Weekly 'While portraying depth to both the characters and their emotions, Compton delivers an engaging thriller with hidden secrets being uncovered as you turn each page ... THE 37TH HOUR is one book that deserves the hype.' - Lincolnshire Echo 'Fans of crime thrillers will love Jodi Compton's gripping novel' -- Big Issue 'THE 37TH HOUR by Jodi Compton is an ambitious, well written first novel ... This is a dark ride but a good one.' - Weekend Australian 'A dazzling debut ... Watch this writer. She does it all: plots intelligently, writes elegantly, and creates characters who compel attention the old-fashioned way - by making you believe in them.' - Kirkus 'An intelligent and challenging thriller' - New York Times on THE 37TH HOUR 'A gripping piece of storytelling that gets better the deeper the reader gets into it. This could easily hit the bestseller lists. Superb' - Independent on THE 37TH HOUR 'First class, serious crime fiction' - Publishers Weekly 'Nail-biter of a debut novel ... Compton skillfully weaves together strands of Pribek's life ... into a complex, shocking whole. From the first scene--a teenage girl teetering on a railway trestle over the Mississippi--to the harrowing resolution, Compton uses suspense as a powerful propellant.' -- Booklist
This is Compton's first thriller and it shows. She has some excellent plot lines with a good final twist but unfortunately the writing style is not yet mature enough to support them. Detective Sarah Pribeck is left alone and confused when her husband of only two months disappears en route to FBI training. Since her partner at work is on compassionate leave, following the release of the murderer of her only daughter, Sarah has little back-up during her investigation. Sarah sets to work unofficially around Minnesota and learns more about her husband's background in a few short days than she had in all the years she had known him. These new revelations, however interesting, do not assist in the search for the missing husband. Compton is currently working on another Pribeck novel, which I hope will be strengthened by a better-developed writing style. (Kirkus UK)
Deadly Pleasure
'THE 37TH HOUR is well-written, intelligent, suspenseful and surprising'
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