Customer Reviews

Black Dog

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked this up because I was in one of those "in between" points in one's day. Interesting title; interesting cover. That was about as far as it went. I became so tired of Jimmy Parisi talking to himself, repeatedly, his black dog, his girlfriend's death years ago, his nearly racist tirades, his friend Doc, Red, his wife, his son's depresssion, his depression, I wanted to kill myself.

Too many problems. On top of all of this, a serial killer who drains blood (a little Starsky and Hutch, no?) and then additionally, tortured animals. It's almost as though, how can I say this? It's almost as though Mr. Laird has lined up any number of plots and checks them off as he covers them. Good father who wasn't there for his son; good father whose wife died suddenly and he struggled on courageously; good cop who loses his mentor to retirement and it's too much to tell him how much he misses him. But none of those issues grabbed me, because they were superficially raised and then put away. I would think if one or two or three of those issues were addressed and then really examined and resolved over 20 or 25 chapters, it would have been more satisfying.

Finally, there is any number of diatribes about Catholics. Being anti-catholic is one thing; it's America. Have you listened to Michael Moore lately? But to be malicious and spiteful in your attacks, not very sporting, eh mate? I gave it 3 stars because of the superlative physical descriptions of one of the greatest cities in America. But Jimmy Parisi ain't no Spenser. Not yet. But I will read Mr. Laird again. Larry Scantlebury

Thomas Laird's writing is certainly an acquired taste, at best. The second I picked up this book, my first thought was "Why the hell am I reading this?" The answer was simple enough- Mr. Laird's ideas and insight into the character's minds are crazy, yet seductive and intriguing. The book has grip- that is, to say, it literally turns the reader into the character. I am me, yet I am also Jimmy Parisi. Sick and impossible, but true. I found myself throwing the book at the nearest wall, or trying to kill it in other useless ways, whenever Jimmy had a new problem and I could feel his adrenaline while he was on the trail. Every jump, every twist, every heartbeat- they were all my own. I sometimes found myself shivering from the cold Jimmy felt, or weeping with him for his wife and son. Laird isn't shy, I'll give him that. He doesn't ease the reader into anything, just pushes them right into the ice-cold water... then holds them under.

BLACK DOG, the third in the Jimmy Parisi series, goes the deepest into the heart of the series' protagonist. Parisi is near burn-out, but catching The Count has become a personal obsession for the Chicago detective. There is another murder to be solved as well--that of an Inner City senior citizen. The oldster's killing is deemed 'low profile', but Jimmy doesn't think so, and nothing is as it seems. So he fights on to find The Count and the Inner City killer. Parisi is fighting for his own life as a cop. BLACK DOG is an intense crime novel, filled with characters who really are characters, and the book is also a super-charged thriller.

BLACK DOG gives the reader a look at the new Ross Macdonald of crime fiction, and a look at the new Lew Archer--Jimmy Parisi. The WASHINGTON POST (4/25/04) says"Laird is a skillful practitioner of the classic police procedural...The language and especially Parisi's voice are perfectly pitched to evoke working-class Chicago in all its ethnic intensity. This is a winning book about a winning character who earns our admiration for his gimpy middleaged weariness and perseverance." BLACK DOG is a superior crime novel from the author of SEASON OF THE ASSASSIN and CUTTER.