Chain of Evidence [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Ridley Pearson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995

Hartford, Connecticut, may just have a serial killer on its streets--a rare chemical has shown up in the blood of several corpses. What Sgt. Joe Dartelli, a genius in the field of forensic medicine, discovers gets under his skin and in his blood--that the killings lead to his mentor, even more of a forensic genius than himself. 2 cassettes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Usually, a police procedural compromises some facet of storytelling. Character development must be sacrificed to pacing and plotting, or forensic detail must be displaced by rapid-fire action sequences. But Sergeant Joe Dartelli is a captivating personality enmeshed in a balanced, suspenseful, and intelligently scripted serial murder mystery.

What makes this mystery so different is that many of its secrets are held within Dartelli's mind. From the opening pages, Joe is haunted by a supposed suicide case, the mysterious "Ice Man," who he suspects could be linked to his old mentor. Afraid of the truth, Joe struggles to explain away a new suicide while we watch the facts unfold within him. As an added treat, Ridley Pearson displays remarkable computer savvy as Dartelli's old flame, Ginny, hacks her way through to some of the most crucial parts of the puzzle. The author is not afraid to linger on small details--a woman's earrings or the temperature of a corpse--but he rarely overindulges in such description. Rather, he has written an excellent piece of fiction that happens to be a police thriller. Pearson, author of such previous works as No Witnesses, has produced a minor suspense masterpiece in Chain of Evidence. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Someone is apparently staging fake suicides in Hartford, Conn. The dead are lowlifes (a child molester, a wife beater, etc.), and, to HPD Detective Joe Dartelli, their fates are eerily reminiscent of a "suicide" he treated strictly by the book three years back in order to protect his mentor, forensic specialist Walter Zeller, who probably staged the death of the serial rapist who killed his wife. Though Zeller is retired and presumably out West, the cases mount, and Dartelli finds himself closing in on his old friend. Just as Dartelli tracks down his prey, however, Pearson's (No Witnesses) new novel takes a dizzying turn that sends it careening into Robin Cook territory. But believable plotting has never been Pearson's strongest suit. Wild plot turns are a predictable hallmark of his work, as are his generic, if appealing, characters, of whom Dartelli is typical: an angst-ridden cop brooding about urban and personal troubles (though his tentative affair with another middle-aged cop adds an appealing note). What Pearson does better than any other current thriller writer is forensic detail, and the plot line here is strewn with forensic clues and puzzles that are as fascinating as any he has created since his classic Undercurrents, with the latest in computer forensic analysis offering added flourish. Featuring bright local color, sound pacing, warm-blooded, if familiar, characters and those fabulous forensic deductions, this stands as one of the best novels yet by this author, the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler Fulbright at Oxford University. $250,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 447 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Pub Inc (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568952686
• ISBN-13: 978-1568952680
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,369,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ridley Pearson (www.ridleypearson.com), the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in Detective Fiction at Wadham College, Oxford University, is the bestselling author of over 35 novels including, Peter And the Starcatchers (co-written with Dave Barry), the young adult novel, The Kingdom Keepers, and two dozen crime novels including: Probable Cause, Beyond Recognition and Killer Weekend (July 2007). His novel The Diary Of Ellen Rimbauer, a prequel to a Stephen King miniseries, was a New York Times #1 bestseller, as was Peter and the Shadow Thieves (#1 for 6 weeks). Ridley adapted The Diary Of Ellen Rimbaurer for ABC Television; it aired in 2003.

Peter and the Starcatchers is to open as a stage play, off-Broadway in March 2011, under Disney Theatrical.

Ridley is a founding member of, and plays bass guitar in, the all-author rock band, The Rockbottom Remainders (www.rockbottomremainders.com), with Dave Barry, Stephen King, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, Amy Tan and Greg Iles. The band has raised over 2.5 million dollars for charities over its 18 year history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Forensic follies, February 20, 2001

By 

AnnaKarenina (St Petersburg, of course) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chain of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

Ridley Pearson comes up with some of the more original serial murder plots - in Chain of Evidence, a legendary forensic scientist turns rogue - or does he? - against those he thinks are helping criminals like his wife's murderer.

Hero cop Joe Dartelli has everything a fiction hero needs - weirdly abusive childhood, the choice of beautiful and brilliant co-worker or beautiful and brilliant ex, ... and an annoying range of physical reactions. In just a couple of pages early on, he:

feels a worming sense of worry twist his gut, feels the constant din of his internal voice nagging, feels his words catch in his throat, his mind reels, the worry burns inside him again, he felt the need to spill his guts, his voice becomes too tight to answer... I kept hoping for someone to put him out of his misery.

The circumstances of the original cover-up aren't that clear, the computer hacking at the end is ludicrously fanciful, and seemingly every location in the book is

described as too dangerous for whites to go after dark, far more so than any book set in NY or LA. In between all this murk, there are also flashes of Mr Pearson's talent as a snappy crime writer. Still, you might want to skip this one, and read Beyond Recognition instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good Ridley Pearson novel., July 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Chain of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

Ridley Pearson really knows his stuff. What he writes is believable and well thought out. I found the book tightly plotted. I like all of his books. The only negative I found was the length. At times it dragged. Too many novels today are overly long and would really benefit from judious cutting. Other than that, good summer (or anytime for that matter) read

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, but not extraordinary, mystery. very exciting, April 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Chain of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

Chain of Evidence is an exceptionally interesting and detailed story in a poorly written book. The plot keeps unwinding in surprising directions, while the forensic and high-tech details are interesting and entertaining. It's a good read, and it would probably make a good movie.

But the attempt to describe the tortured soul of the protagonist never really works. His relationships with women and his former mentor are not credible. His angst winds up feeling like heartburn. If you read novels for characters, skip this one. If you want an exciting plot, buy it now.