The Dark City [Paperback]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1990

When a Chinese immigrant stands trial for the murder of a young woman, Judge Daniel Barr knows that the legal deck is stacked against the defendant. Even the man's court-appointed attorney is incompetent. Now, an ominous suggestion that the real killer is a jury member sends shivers down Barr's spine, and, with the help of a Vietnam vet and former detective, he sets out to uncover the truth National author publicity. .

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

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Halfway through the San Francisco trial of a Chinese immigrant accused of murdering a socially and politically prominent young woman, the presiding judge gets an anonymous tip: the real killer is on the jury. (Wasn't this a movie starring Cher?) Thanks to the crisp writing and legal knowledge of magazine journalist Malcolm C. MacPherson, what could have been a ludicrous jaw-dropper becomes instead an almost believable and totally engrossing courtroom adventure. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

MacPherson (In Cahoots, 1994, etc.) offers a lively, if gimmicky, San Franciscobased legal procedural that leavens the requisite sleazy sensationalism with a Dickensian delight in oddball characters, class warfare, and courtroom arcana. With his black nylon robes swirling around him, neophyte Superior Court Judge Daniel Barr's only hope is that he doesn't become another Lance Ito. Facing him beyond the bench is Feng Shao-li, an illegal alien who has only contempt for American jurisprudence and who's now accused of fatally stabbing Holly Hawkesthe lovely niece of US Senator Stanton Hawkesduring a streetcorner robbery in Chinatown. Just about everybody is screaming for Feng's bloodexcept his defense attorney, ``Sweet Tommy'' Lovelace, an overly conciliatory slob, and the judge's father, State Justice Henry Barr, who seems to know more about the case than he can reveal. During an early adjournment, Judge Barr gets an anonymous note informing him that Feng is innocent and that Holly's killer is actually sitting on the racially balanced jury. Former journalist MacPherson uses this ploy to examine how easily jury selection can be rigged, and then turns his reporter's eye on the cultural and social barriers that polarize the city's upper crust, of which Hawkes and Barr are members in good standing, from the city's mostly Asian underclass. Rather than recuse himself or declare a mistrial, Judge Barr embarks on some clumsy amateur detective work that plunges him into an oddly clichd Chinatown, where he discovers, predictably, that Holly's killing was arranged to cover up nasty goings-on involving the Senator himself. A la Richard North Patterson's sexy San Francisco legal melodramas, MacPherson adds a romantic complication: Barr, a widower with a son, must decide if his inamorata Jenny, who also works for Senator Hawkes, is Ms. Right. A flashy opening gives way to a routine, albeit tangled, legal yarn that's redeemed by a quirky cast and a wide-eyed fascination with courtroom chicanery. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam Books (Mm) (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553185152
• ISBN-13: 978-0553185157
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,671,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Macpherson's Stereotypical Depiction of the Chinese, July 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadlock: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Deadlock" offers an intriguing premise but fails because of Mapherson's weak storywriting and ignorant and offensive social assumptions about the Chinese community, both of which become irritating to a decent plot. A jury member is suspected to be the real killer. This is an engaging idea, but unfortunately Macpherson twists it between incredulous character relationships. San Francisco's Cardinal happens to be childhood friends with the richest and most famous senator and a supreme court judge -- all of whom are involved in unraveling the murder case. This would not be so annoying to read except for Macpherson's style of writing. To say the least, I expected some of the sentences and dialogues to have been penned by high school mystery writer, incorporating boyhood perceptions and fantasies about what the elite lifestyle might be like. Women are depicted in secondary roles throughout. By far, the most offensive trademark of "Deadlock" is Macpherson's grossly ignorant vision of the Chinese community in San Francisco. I have not read anything more offensive to the heart of anyone human -- something Macpherson seems to fear the Chinese actually are. His writing carries a fixation on the Chinese in the worst stereotypes. Macpherson denies the existence of any socially acceptable Chinese American in San Francisco. All Chinese characters are either hideously dissimilar, impossibly evil, purely corrupted, or demeaning to American society. I cannot fathom that anyone as ignorant about a segment of the population would dare to write about them, because to do so would be an incomplete and generally bad venture. But Macpherson achieves a most offensive piece of writing by doing this. Even in this story's most plot-intriguing moment, Macpherson writes in a staunch ignorance obvious to any reader aware of the Chinese as human as anyone else.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacklustre, September 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadlock: A Novel (Hardcover)

The synopsis sounded exciting enough but I was disappointed when I started reading it.Characters did not have much depth.The plot was fairly predictable after a while and all I wanted to do was to skim through the book to confirm my conclusion.I was also disappointed with the portrayal of the Chinese community in the book as its perception is that they are made up of gangs and thugs and Chinatown is a dangerous place to be in especially for a white person.As a Chinese,I was certainly unhappy with the unflattering image given to the Chinese characters in the book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! WHAT A LITERARY ROLLERCOASTER RIDE!!!!!, March 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (marvelous marin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadlock: A Novel (Hardcover)

Being a native born San Franciscan, this was an added treat....(it's Grant AVENUE not street)...only fault I could find with this page-turner!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!! Couldn't put it down....characters are marvelous...fully fleshed out, plot was quite different than the run of the mill legal thrillers....suspense was good....wish there were about 150 more pages....keep on writing, Malcolm....but FASTER!!!!!! I loved reading the background on this book....fascinating....thanx for such a wonderful read....all of you readers out there....get this book fast....you'll find yourself and total treat and a new author to follow!!!!