20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Frigid Dive into the Deepest Abyss, January 23, 2008
This review is from: Cold Streak (Paperback)
Laura has lost it all. In one strange and tragic night her husband and daughters were brutally murdered as she worked late at the office. The news sent her into a downward spiral of depression and regret. It became all the more intense when she knelt in the blood of her husband's last struggle. Unable to cry, unable to release the pain or share it with others she folds herself into a coiled rage ready to explode as soon as the time is right. Tugged by wisps of memories, her feet move her in whatever direction the pull dictates so long as it leads her closer to understanding what happened and who was responsible.
All the while her inner torment grows, until its grip is unbearable. The only thing keeping her from unloading a pistol in her mouth or diving off the top of a building is the belief that she will be guided to find and destroy the people who did this, but she'd better hurry. Two detectives assigned to the case get swept up in the same spell of happenstance. Fate finds these three individuals crisscrossing the most dangerous parts of the city as well as the darkest parts of the own lives in search of each other and the truth.
One of the curious talents developed by some writers is the ability to take the reader into a place that cannot be reached by other means. In Cold Streak, Lewis Aleman takes us deep into the mind of a woman who has been pushed over the edge. We get to hear her rambling, nightmare driven rationalizations, we get to feel her torment in vivid detail and share in her quest for vengeance.
What starts as a straightforward murder mystery changes form as Laura's vigilance turns one unsightly crime scene into a spree of gruesome killings that would more appropriately belong in a horror novel. Then just as her job is about to be completed a supernatural element seeps its way into the plot making you question everything that once appeared so clear.
If you are fan of multi-layered metaphors then Lewis's hold-your-breath style of descriptive writing will keep you swimming in his creative vocabulary for hours. His elaborate prose is topped off with a hint of philosophy about the everyday kinks inherent in each character as well as useful insights into facets of modern culture.
My only criticism is that this 268-page story is an involved read. It carries the weight of a book twice its size. For those who love to get lost in the depths of a consuming tale, Cold Streak is a frigid dive into the deepest abyss of psycho-maniacal madness.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grabs you from the get-go!, July 30, 2008
This review is from: Cold Streak (Paperback)
Aleman uses his descriptive talents from the very first paragraph to express every detail in such a way that you feel that you are standing in the middle of each scene. At times you can literally smell the stench of the more chilling scenes while completely empathizing with Laura's plight and her internal struggle for retribution and redemption. You will also smile and cheer on the budding romance in the book that is perfectly intertwined with the story.
Murder, gore, good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell, romance & love.....what more could you ask for in a single book?
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderfully dark, suspenseful, and poetic, December 22, 2007
This review is from: Cold Streak (Paperback)
What would you do if your family were murdered? Aleman explores this question in a fast-paced, character-driven, gothic-style story that doesn't seem to follow any of the rules. What you expect to have as the climax of the novel comes in the first third of the book, making you thirsty to see what he's got up his sleeve. While mostly dark, there are moments of humor that are truly funny and lines that border on poetic. Two or three scenes are pretty gory, and the voice that haunts Laura creates some disturbing images. Andarus and Irene's constant bickering had me literally laughing out loud. (I have to side with Irene and say that you can't use 'confront' like that.) There are enough literary references to satisfy an avid bookworm like myself, but the novel never feels weighed down with them. People who enjoyed China Mieville's King Rat will find themselves drawn into the dark side of Riverview. The ending is vaguely reminiscent of Great Expectations, yet much more satisfying. What more could you want?
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