The Debt Collector: Unabridged [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Lynn S. Hightower (Author), Liza Ross (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

Home invasion - the kind of call every homicide cop dreads. Cincinnati detective Sonora Blair is called to a small house at the end of a cul-de-sac, and finds the brutal decimation of an average American family - deeply in dept. A high-profile search brings two ex-convicts, both murdered in prison within twenty-four hours of their apprehension. Evidence points to a third man at the murder scene - a man called the Angel, a man who runs a collection agency that can turn a debt into you worst possible nightmare.

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

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sonora Blair returns in a case that pushes the Cincinnati detective closer to her emotional edges and allows Author Lynn Hightower to probe more deeply into her heroine's psyche than she has in her four previous suspense thrillers. This time the divorced mother of two investigates a home invasion in which an entire family striving to hold onto its tenuous grasp on the middle class is brutally murdered, except its youngest member, a 4-month-old infant. But before the baby's mother expires, she manages to whisper one phrase to Sonora: "The Angel came." Was it a heavenly messenger that comforted Joy Stinnet as she lay dying, or a more sinister visitor? Sonora's partner Sam doesn't put much faith in the deathbed declaration, but Blair isn't certain. As she investigates what turns out to have been a savage visit from a couple of thugs collecting on a bad debt, she gets a lead on the killers from an unlikely source: a retired cop with a reputation as a hero and a close connection with her own boss.

Although she's seen her share of murders, this case exacerbates all of Blair's fears for the safety of her own kids and the security of their surroundings. Hightower's skillful depiction of her protagonist's emotional vulnerability, especially the guilt every single mother feels about shortchanging her kids for her career, invests this well-paced mystery with particular resonance and showcases the author's increasingly multidimensional characterizations. The Debt Collector is a good read in a series that gets better with every new book. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of this gut-wrenching police procedural from Shamus Award winner Hightower (Satan's Lambs, etc.), Cincinnati homicide cop Sonora Blair and her partner, Sam Delarosa, must investigate a dreaded "home invasion." At the crime scene, they find dead three members of the Stinnet family, father Carl and two children. Then Sonora discovers the wife, Joy, nearly disemboweled under a bed clutching her unharmed baby girl and repeating the "Hail Mary." The dying Joy claims the "Angel" saved them. This nearly undoes the tough but vulnerable cop, who has her own problems as a widow with two kids. When two suspects are picked up, Barty Kinkle and Lanky Aruba, everyone is relieved, except for Sonora, who believes the "Angel" is real and at large. Kinkle is about to make a deal, but he's killed while being transferred from jail. At the same time, Sam is badly wounded. When Aruba is shot dead through his psych ward window, Sonora becomes more than ever convinced that a third person was involved. As Sonora engages in an increasingly dangerous duel of wits in her pursuit of the phantom angel, Hightower builds the suspense to an almost unbearable pitch. The domestic concerns of police and victims, Sonora's budding romance with Sam's ER doctor and her rock-solid partnership with Sam offer relief from the gore.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Soundings Ltd (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860428002
• ISBN-13: 978-1860428005
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A scintillating police procedural, October 13, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Debt Collector (Hardcover)

She has been a homicide detective for many years working many ugly cases yet she remains steady on her job due to her inner strength and abilities. Sonora Blair is also a single mother raising a teenage son and an adolescent daughter. Though she would do anything for them, she knows something is missing in her life that leads her to the edge of the abyss like none of her cases has ever done. She cannot eat or sleep and has no social life since her last relationship ended seven months ago.

Ironically, her latest investigation wakes Sonora up to what is going on in her psyche. She and Sam (her partner) are investigating the butchery of a family in their home. The prevailing opinion among her peers is that two killers committed the brutal crimes. Sonora believes a third person was also there. That individual rescued the only survivor, a baby. As she and Sam make inquiries, Sonora meets a legendary retired cop, who sends her down a path that seems to wrap up the case. However, Sonora still has professional (and personal) doubts that the case is solved.

THE DEBT COLLECTOR is a dark, disturbing, yet mesmerizing police procedural novel that illustrates the toll police work has on an officer's soul. Readers who prefer happy endings need to look elsewhere as this story line sticks to the blues till the end of the novel and beyond (an aftertaste lingers). The audience who relishes a gut wrenching reality check in their plots will owe a debt of gratitude to talented Shamus Award winner Lynn Hightower.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pacy and thrilling, October 10, 2000

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Debt Collector (Hardcover)

This is a tale of an horrific house break-in and a very gory murder of almost an entire family.It seems to have taken place for no apparent reason,and it takes a very feisty woman detective to sort it all out.Lynn Hightower sets a cracking pace and maintains your interest for the entire book.This is a very good ,fast read, with aspects of hidden agendas and enough psychological twists to keep you guessing up to the last.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little boring, but good read all together, December 14, 2000

By 

"rca8269535" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Debt Collector (Hardcover)

The debt collector starts out with a gory crime scene which is done very well. I think the author goes a little overboard in trying to give the characters "character". Some of the dialog is just downright corny, but hey, some people like corny. Sonora, our heroine detective does her job well and is a bit on the independent/rebellious side. Unfortunately the killer does not get to go to the electric chair, oops, I shouldn't give that away, but his conclusion is still interesting.