Arizona Dreams [Import] [Hardcover]

Jon Talton (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd (January 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0709082509
• ISBN-13: 978-0709082507
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Desert Noir, September 4, 2006

By 

David W. Foster (phoenix, arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arizona Dreams (Hardcover)

Like many of the finest examples of noir, Talton's novel has a firm sense of locale: in this case, Phoenix, Ariziona. Talton, like his narrator, grew up in Phoenix, and like his narrator, he returned from elsewhere to reconnect with his roots. One of the characters in Arizona Dreams (someone who did not grow up in Phoenix) repeats the often-heard cliche that Phoenix has no stories to tell (this in implicit contrast to all of the lore--so much of it Hollywood and tourist industry bunk--that Arizona presumably has to tell). But Talton and his narrator know better, and some of the most important stories to tell about Phoenix (and other sunbelt cities) concern the crime, corruption, and multifaceted chicanery that are integral parts in the engine driving the phenomenal growth of the area in the past fifty years. The Chamber of Commerce and its allies (which include the real estate and construction industries at the very least) never tell the stories relating to the human and environmental cost of such growth, but this is the story Talton's excellent novels have to tell. Working with the novelistic device of a cold-case investigator and murder as the the most dramatic face of that human cost, Talton, with a fine sense of narrative irony, tells the stories so many of the Sun Belt residents do not want to hear in their pretense that there are no stories to tell. One added note of interest: Talton is a business editorial writer for the Arizona Republic, and one of the great delights of his four novels lies in perceiving the links between his newspaper columns and his detective novels.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was NOT disappointed!!, August 31, 2006

By 

H. J. Redpath Jr. "Skip" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arizona Dreams (Hardcover)

This is Jon Talton's fourth book of the David Mapstone Mystery collection that I now have.

I was NOT disappointed with this newly released mystery with the "History Shamus", Deputy David Mapstone.

A very interesting, enjoyable read with twists and turns til the final surprise ending.

Concrete Desert, Camelback Falls, Dry Heat, and now Arizona Dreams. All were great reads.

I cannot wait for the next in this series.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Mapstone yet!, July 29, 2007

By 

scifiguy57 "scifiguy57" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arizona Dreams (David Mapstone Mysteries) (Paperback)

"Even-numbered Mapstones don't suck" seems to be the pattern developing with Jon Talton's series. I found the first Mapstone disappointing, the second one quite an improvement, and the third one so-so. But now Talton has hit his stride and produced a thriller that really thrills, and a plot that holds together right up to the climax, tying together the loose ends without those "And now, Mr. Bond, before I kill you, I will explain my whole master plan" set-pieces that spoiled some of the previous novels.

Talton is also getting better at breathing life into his characters. Lindsay in particular becomes much more interesting, with revelations about her family and her past that David Mapstone had no inkling of. Sheriff Peralta puts in an appearance, but instead of being the ever-present father figure, he becomes less sympathetic and an impediment to Mapstone's investigation - which makes for a more interesting story.

What I really like is that Talton delves more deeply into Phoenix's real-estate-driven and Enron-like economy which is based on lies and denial - the idea that there will always be an infinite supply of cheap real estate and free water, and an endless stream of unskilled workers coming here to happily work minimum-wage McJobs to keep the whole house of cards going. Thanks to the extreme fringe-right politicians who keep getting elected here (the Tom Earley character strikes me as a spot-on depiction of notorious bloviator JD Hayworth), "planning" is a dirty word synonymous with socialism and totalitarianism. And so Phoenix stumbles into the future with no clue how to handle its explosive growth, no political will to make hard but necessary decisions. It's a perfect breeding ground for criminals and scam artists like the ones portrayed in this book.

I haven't read the fifth Mapstone yet, but I hope Talton hasn't rested on his laurels but is continuing to do what this novel does: in the entertaining guise of a detective thriller, hold up a mirror to contemporary Phoenix.