Chill of Night [Mass Market Paperback]

John Lutz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

There's a twisted serial killer stalking the streets of New York City, dealing his own perverse version of justice. He kills swiftly and silently, leaving his calling card - a red "J" - on the bodies of his prey. His victims have one thing in common: they've all been jurors in the city's most infamous cases - cases in which the killer was found "not guilty." Overnight, the Justice Killer has the city in a stranglehold. And there's only one man who has a shot at finding him. Homicide detective Artemis Beam made his reputation hunting down serial killers. After getting shot by an armed robber - and stepping on the wrong toes in the NYPD - he's been retired. The city needs him now, and finding the killer is his chance to get back into the life he loves. As the body count climbs and the city's legal system fails, the Justice Killer thinks he's outsmarted the cops. But Beam isn't officially a cop anymore...and he doesn't have to play by the rules.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Against the backdrop of a terrorized city, Lutz delivers a solid thriller with typical skill and style. Ex-NYPD homicide detective Artemis Beam made his reputation by running down serial killers. Now retired—in part because of a gunshot wound, in part his disrespect for the police hierarchy—Beam morosely deals with the inactivity of retirement, tragically complicated by the recent suicide of his wife. When Deputy Chief Andy da Vinci asks for his help in catching a serial murderer dubbed the Justice Killer—each of his victims at one time served as foreman on a jury that acquitted an "obviously" guilty defendant—Beam is lured back to the fold. As the adversary stays one step ahead of the investigation, Beam's team get the feeling that the Justice Killer may be looking to add them to his growing list of victims. Though it's a familiar setup, Lutz breathes fresh life into this genre piece by keeping the suspense high and populating his story with a collection of unique characters that resonate with the reader, making this one an ideal beach read. (Nov.)
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Review

"Lutz is one of the masters of the police novel." -- Ridley Pearson

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786016353
• ISBN-13: 978-0786016358
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing..., November 16, 2006

By 

Tracy L. (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chill of Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read several of this author's previous books and have always enjoyed them. While they can't be considered "great literature", they have always been fun books to read. However, CHILL OF NIGHT is a big disappointment.

I think the problem is that the author seems to be rehashing his same old tried and true formula and it's becoming quite tedious and boring. Retired detective is called upon to catch serial killer who considers said detective to be his nemesis and equal. The detective is assigned a couple of cops to assist in the investigation. These two cops (one is always a woman) are considered to be good, but trouble. The serial killer is so clever and manipulative that he is able to not only manipulate the cops involved in the investigation but can conveniently know where each cop is and what they are doing at any given time, all the while killing more and more people and eluding the cops, who quite frankly aren't doing any real investigating other than sitting around the boss's office dialoging about how they've got to catch this maniac. In the meantime, lets throw in a bunch of meaningless plot points, which ultimately have nothing to do with the story, but does bring the book up to about 500 pages which actually makes it look like there's a lot going on. Oh, and let's not forget to include a couple of love interests, just so that there can be just a bit of meaningless sex to take up a few pages

Where I will give the author some credit is that I think it was a pretty interesting and unique idea for the "Justice Killer" to be going after Jury Forepersons. Unfortunately, he veers from this idea about three-fourths of the way in the book and all of a sudden not only does the killer kill an innocent man recently found not guilty of murder, he also decides to go after the only female cop involved in the investigation, who happens to be involved romantically with someone whom she suspects "might" be the killer, yet has no problem telling him in great detail every aspect of the investigation.

The detective in this story, Artemis Beam, has a sister who is meaningless to the story, but she pops up in a few places. She never refers to her brother by his first name. She only refers to him as "Bro" and in one case, by last name. Okay, I don't know of anyone who would refer to their sibling by last name. There were some other parts of this book that so bordered on stupid that if I were to mention them, I would be giving away "who done it." Also, there are quite a few editing errors in this book. Case in point, around page 80 or so, Beam and Nell have entered the apartment of someone who has just taken off running. All of a sudden a new name, Kane, appears. I'm thinking "Who's this? Did I miss something?" I even went back a couple of pages thinking I just over-looked this new character. Nope. So I keep reading. A couple of pages later, A neighbor show's up. Last name - Kane! A truly disapponting effort.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth the Effort, December 21, 2006

By 

Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chill of Night (Mass Market Paperback)

I read a lot of thriller/crime fiction, and I thought CHILL OF NIGHT was subpar. It's readable, but the plot is standard serial killer stuff, weighed down by a bunch of subplots that have little relevance to the main story.

Put simply, this novel is not tightly written. This novel also has too many characters, leading many of them to be underdeveloped and ultimately uninteresting. I found most of the dialogue kind of flat and repetitious. The ending does have a surprise twist, but I personally found it kind of anti-climactic, and not worth the 450 pages of long build-up.

I was also annoyed by certain continuity errors in this novel that should have been spotted by a capable editor.

Lutz is a capable writer, but I wouldn't waste my time with this particular book. Your typical novel by John Sandford, Robert Parker, Michael Connelly, Sandra Brown, or Lee Child is much, much better than this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling good time....., November 27, 2006

By 

Marilyn Davis (St. Louis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chill of Night (Mass Market Paperback)

In "Chill of Night", John Lutz once again presents the reader with an ever gripping tale of terror about a serial killer. In his "Night" books, Lutz has chosen to create a series of characters--retired detectives, backup detectives--who are well developed and interesting. In "Chill", retired detective Artemis Beam and his partners hunt down a killer whose purported motive is bringing down the justice system which allows guilty killers to go free. There are no gruesome horrors in these killings, but the tension continues to build as the killer broadens his target base and New York City is terrorized. The eventual discovery of the identify of the Justice Killer is a surprise with a twist, with subtle clues presented along the way which were overlooked by this reader, only realized in hindsight. Set aside some time when you start this book--you won't want to put it down.