5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very robust characters, October 24, 2007
At times I was frustrated with Dark House because it seemed to move a bit more slowly than most thrillers to which I'm accustomed. But eventually I found that to be OK, because Barclay takes her time to thoroughly develop her characters. Other writers of crime novels develop characters, of course, but usually only two or three, and usually the second-tier characters are fairly unidimensional--they're selfish, or stupid, or brilliant, etc., and a single quality tends to define them.
Even the secondary characters in Dark House were complex. With two exceptions, none of the major or even minor characters was without complexity, did not show qualities that were admirable and those that were at times foolish, bullheaded, etc. The stereotypical cop-in-charge-who-blows-the-investigation-because-he's-arrogant isn't in fact stereotypical: sometimes he's that way, but sometimes he sees that maybe he's been too narrow-minded and needs to consider the possibilities that the protagonist, Joe Lucchesi, may be right. And even the two exceptions--the main "bad guys" of the story--were multidimensional if you include their childhood years, during which you see how they were twisted into the sociopaths they eventually became.
It's not rare for an author of a crime novel (e.g., James Patterson's Alex Cross novels) to make me care about the protagonist, and perhaps two or three other main individuals. But I don't recall any other crime novel that permitted me to get to know even minor characters, and that revealed a refreshingly realistic depiction of virtues and flaws in virtually the entire collection of people who populate the book.
Barclay really had me at the end. I did NOT correctly anticipate who the traitor was toward the end of the book. And literally as I turned the last page I was still worried that Barclay was going to indulge in one of those "I've got the readers engaged, now I'm going to sucker-punch them" endings. But she didn't. Good ending. Good job of making me eager to read the next Joe Lucchesi novel.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
character driven cat and mouse thriller, June 10, 2007
As part of official policy following the shooting of a weapon, NYPD police officer Joe Lucchesi goes on leave after he shot and killed kidnapper Donald Riggs, but not before the culprit murdered his victim and her mother. Needing to get away from the city, one year later he takes his wife and their son Shaun to Waterford, Ireland.
However, Shaun's girlfriend vanishes for no apparent reason. Joe assumes Riggs' best friend Duke Rawlins is deeply involved as he believes Katie Lawson was abducted. He explains his theory to the local Garda, but they treat him as if he is a paranoid loose cannon rather than a peer. When they do nothing, Joe begins an investigation that angers the Garda who warn him that he cease and desist or he will be sent home.
This is an interesting relationship drama that includes deep discerning looks at families and at blood pacts that will stun and delight the audience. The story line focuses on how people act with one another as readers see first hand how the Lucchesi family get on with one another and why Rawlins reacts like he does with the death of his best friend Donnie. Fans of character driven cat and mouse thrillers that allow the suspense to simmer will want to read DARKHOUSE.
Harriet Klausner
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best detective novel in ages!, February 12, 2010
This review is from: Darkhouse (Joe Lucchesi) (Kindle Edition)
Being a nursing student and a lover of books, it's hard to fit in the time to read a novel properly. I grab little snippets here and there and they last a few weeks. I went out of my way to finish my studies so that I could spend the whole day reading this story. It is unbelievably written, the characters are realistic and come to life on the pages! I don't normally write reviews, but Alex Barclay deserves every bit of praise for this novel. I am only saddened that it's the only kindle novel available by this author.
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