Customer Reviews

No Colder Place (Lydia Chin, Bill Smith Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've finally looped back and read No Colder Place, the only one of S J Rozan's books that I had managed to miss. I was not disappointed . I think what I enjoy so much about this author's work is the perspective that a major female author is once again bringing to the Mystery/Detective genre. Rozan brings a woman's interest in the nuances of interpersonal dynamics, and in No Colder Place, she combines that with her knowledge as an actual working architect. Not every author could get me thoroughly engaged in a murder mystery surrounding a construction site. But this one can - in fact, she actually put me in the gratifying position of feeling knowledgeable about what was happening in and around the construction site. And as always, Bill and Lydia are a wonderfully unique and complex pair of sleuths. I can't help myself - I LIKE these guys!

No Colder Place was my introduction to S. J. Rozan's books (I have subsequently read all of her work), and it's a breathtakingly fine piece of writing. Of her two leading series characters, Bill is, by far, my favorite. This talented, clever, brooding, somewhat lovelorn man is a superb creation. Bill lives; he breathes audibly. When he sits down to his piano to learn a piece of music, you can almost hear the melancholy classical notes pouring into the atmosphere.

In this book, his undercover role as a bricklayer is so real that you can almost feel the ache in his spine and the soreness of his hands. It remains, to date, my favorite of Rozan's books. It has my highest recommendation. This is an author at top form, doing what she does best--giving us the wonderful Bill, deep in his element.

I picked up this book because I heard Dennis Lehane raving about Rozan's writing in an interview. He was right! Atmospheric, almost poetic images -- of a construction site! Convincing characters, too, and good gritty dialogue. And five other books in the series! Can't wait.

As a heavy reader, lover of complex mysteries, and female landscape architect, I was SO looking forward to this book since the author is a woman and an architect. I was so dissapointed and was unable to plod through the heavy, stilted, unnatural conversation. I thought a contemporary book featuring a woman in a traditionally male industry written by a woman who is actually in a traditionally male industry would feature stronger female characters that reflect reality (we work, make decisions, are equals with our partners). I didn't think the characters were realistic at all for contemporary times, conversation was awkward and the women in the book were wimpy dependant characters. It takes a lot for me to put a book down before I'm done, but this was so plodding and awkward and sad.

I had never heard of Rozan before and had chosen this one based on the customer reviews...I was certainly not disappointed! Easy to read and easy into the characters, it was a fun and entertaining book.

Thanks Amazon for the customer reviews... I'm buying other Rozan books!

I didn't bother with this book, although it won the Anthony for Best Novel, because I'm not a construction worker or a New Yorker. Finally a friend demanded that I read it, and am I sorry I waited. Though set on a construction site, this book is about people, motives, and a good complex plot. Don't make my mistake -- read this book now!

This is the fourth Rozan novel I have read (I am reading them in order) and it was very enjoyable. Rozan may not write truly excellent novels (five stars), but she consistently writes very good ones (four stars). This book would rate five stars if it wasn't for a few minor flaws. For example, after a worker is injured, Smith is the only one out of a large crowd of contruction workers who has the sense to apply basic first aid. That seemed a little unbelievable to me. Also, there is a final revelation at the end of the book that I thought would be something major but it wasn't, really. That is nitpicking, however. Bill and Lydia are very entertaining, as always. The other characters are interesting and well-developed, the plot is complex and believable and the dialogue is well-done. In my opinion, Rozan is definitely one of the best mystery writers in the business today.

Private Investigator Bill Smith and his partner Lydia Chin are called on to investigate some thefts and the disappearance of a crane operator at a construction site in Manhattan. Bill poses as a bricklayer while Lydia is placed on-site as an administrative assistant. Within a couple of days of their arrival, several deaths occur and an accident takes out another worker. Bill and Lydia follow the trail through insider dealings, organized crime and just-plain greed.

Nice, breezy read where characters are fairly well sketched and believable. Plot moves briskly and intelligently with no real stretches of imagination.

In this fourth in the series of Smith/Chin investigators, it's time for Bill Smith to be in the spotlight and Lydia to play the supporting role. When asked by an ex-cop who is now a PI, to find out what's going on at a building site in Upper Manhattan, Bill goes undercover as a Mason (actually a bricklayer). The story then revolves around goings on at the site and three murders that occur. The guy that was originally suspected as being in on the scams, ends up dead too, making it tougher to figure out where Rozan is going with the story.

Knowing that SJ Rozan is a professional architect, lends credibility to the talk about what goes on at a large (a forty story) building site. She is not only knowlegable about what each of the 'trades' do, but also in how they relate to each other and the GC (General Contractor). Lastly, it gives her special insight into how scams are operated, and how some are dangerous, while others just mean the building will deteriorate faster and will be shabby in places from the start.

The murders and the back story are really not that novel (no pun intended) nor are they very involving. The true story is the relationship among the different workers on the site; and the way that Bill and Lydia relate to each other. It's a fine story, and makes a nice addition to the series but it's got nothing that differentiates it from lots of other books.

A Bill Smith (as opposed to Lydia Chin) book. I just loved the insider's view of the construction world. The characters were complete and believeable, as Rozan's people always are. A good, complicated plot. Dark and very urban.