Customer Reviews

Detective

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've been a fan of Arthur Hailey's books since I was a teenager, especially "Airport" and "Hotel". Many reviews have been written here on Amazon about "Detective", and I'd just like to write one observation. I found the writing in "Airport", "Hotel" and other Hailey books to be somewhat leaden at some points. It brought to mind Rita Mae Brown, who is another of my favorites and who tells magnificent stories, but whose writing seems clumsy at points. "Detective" is written much more smoothly, with more highly believable dialogue and plot structure. I read the book in one afternoon and most of a Sunday, and I recommend it very, very highly.

I am NOT a police dispatcher as one of my fellow reviewers,but I found Hailey's "Detective" a rather engrossing and compelling novel. Known for his grand style of writing, employing several different storylines at once, he brings this to the police procedural genre and overall, I think, brings it off well. The characterizations are well developed, and Malcolm Ainslie is a flawed hero; his bitterness over the Catholic faith, however, is never fully rationalized, and I was sad when at a point where his life was about to end, he still refused to admit God's existence. However, this is what makes Ainslie so complex. He also seems to have a hard time stifling his urge to "roam" in his marriage, and it is his affair with one Cynthia Ernst that propels him into a dark, and complicated vortex. A strong debate about capital punishment also enters the picture as Ainslie is called to a death row inmate's execution for a final confession from a despicable nasty character called "Animal" Elroy Doil. There's some other subplots including the mysterious murder of a wealthy woman's husband; a lot of background into Cynthia's youth; and many other goings on that contribute to the breadth of the novel.
This was Hailey's first attempt at this type of novel, and although as a mystery/thriller, it sets no new territories, it does come off as well-developed and interesting character study about the life of a detective; the wealthy; and the religious.
RECOMMENDED.

I was really drawn into this book. I like the dynamics of the characters. I really liked how the main character went on a spritiual as well as a personal journey to discover his convictions. However, I really felt bad for the Commander having to endure her Fathers foul behavior and not even her Mother stand up for her. I agree with reviewer who stated that this book is not an attack on christianity or catholicism. This character simply lost his faith and had a find it again.

With Detective, Arthur Hailey has pulled together a very entertaining story. As the book opens, Detective-Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie must meet with convicted serial killer Elroy Doil only hours prior to Doil's execution. Their converstation sets the wheels in motion for the intriguing twists and turns that face Ainslie - challenging his analytical skills and personal character. Hailey effectively uses flashback chapters throughout the book to set the context for current events, provide depth for the numerous characters, and to sew the seeds of numerous threads that come together at the end. Having read Airport and Hotel many years ago, it has been quite a while since I had picked up a novel by Hailey. Like those two novels, Detective was a compelling read.

Finally...another Arthur Hailey novel! It has been many years since his last novel first hit the bookshelves, but in truth, I feel it was worth the wait. Many Hailey lovers may be disappointed with this novel. It does not have the surprising and ofttimes scary informative style of say "Strong Medicine", "The Final Diagnosis",or almost any other Arthur Hailey novel, but it is as informative of the life of a police detective as I have read to date.
It is not a deeply suspenseful "whodunnit" as is the majority of the novels about other detectives, but I do not believe that was never intended. This is a novel that takes the life of a detective and exploits it in a very entertaining way. The procedures and fact-finding techniques aren't as surprising as other information found in other Hailey novels, but this is due, in part, to the prolifera of crime novels written by other equally capable hands. That, and true to life court trials (O.J.'s comes to mind) in today's society, have brought all of the techniques and procedures out to a point that even 10 year olds know about fingerprinting and DNA testing. So, although MR. Hailey has included some of this information in the novel, the story is about Malcom Ainslie, a Detective-Sergeant with the Miami P.D.
Mr. Hailey has given Ainslie the personality of a real human being with the failings, feelings and ideals that any of us might have. Making the lead character an ex-priest who doesn't really believe in the followings of any religion anymore, gives us, the reader, an insight into many things that we have never thought of before, and probably never would have with the reverence normally beholden to any religion. Mr. Hailey has come forth with insights and questions about religions that will have even the most devout follower questioning his beliefs. But this is just a minor subplot, and not a topic that runs rampant through the novel, so atheists and agnostics need not worry!
And talking about subplots, Mr. Hailey ! is still the King in this respect. Every event that happens in this novel, although seemingly disjointed at times, deftly becomes entertwined with the others as the novel progresses.

Mr. Hailey has created characters that we can identify easily. We know Cynthia Ernst is a cold and calculating person. We know that Ruby is a very patient, totally professional investigator. We know that Karen is a loving wife and mother. And more! But mostly, we get to know the person known as Malcom Ainslie. He is a person we could like, a person that we can understand. He made his mistakes in his life, admits to himself they were mistakes and moves on. He is a exemplary investigator, oftentimes surprising himself with his insight. One of the best characters Mr. Hailey has ever come up with, in my opinion.

Lastly, the story is one that seems familiar. The overall plot has been used before. The whodunnit part of the novel has been replaced with a "Columbo-esque" style of letting us know who did the deed and having the main character solve the crime using his smarts and good police procedures. Beyond the familiarity, this story is one that has been very well done and is a fresh approach to anything that could be deemed as "done before".

This is a novel that shouldn't be read as a typical crime novel, but rather, as an Arthur Hailey novel of crime! Read in this way, any reader will be captivated instantly (as I was), and entertained beyond any expectations!

Much as in James Michener's more sweeping novels, Arthur Hailey always lards his text with systematic insider research, here seldom seen details about police crime solving. That is good or bad depending on how much uplifting instruction and provocative thought, or immersion in suspense, you seek in a mystery. Actually, we learn all about the crimes long before the ending, so one has to focus on the working out of the many personal relationships and betrayals in this long story. The crimes are old-fashioned but the detection methods are up to date. The story is engrossing, the crimes shocking and convoluted, the killers are fully developed, and the details informative of police lives and outlooks. We shall never see the complex and sympathetic Detective Ainslie again--because Hailey doesn't write series--but, as always in his books, you come away knowing more of how things are run "behind the scenes" and of the attitudes of the team specialists involved.

The plot is a little too pat and the prose flat and distant, but is cumulatively moving. Hailey indulges in flashback tricks, and one can almost see the author's notecards on police procedures, execution, Church history(!), and the failings of the juvenile justice and grand jury systems.

Arthur Hailey is undoubtedly a skillful writer.
His characters are well developed and complex, and the storyline is engrossing.
At last, a book that didn't leave me feeling disapointed or thinking " Yeah, RIGHT " in the end.
Overall, one of the best detective novels I've ever read.

After having read all of the reviews above, I simply want to state that this is a good story -- despite what other people claim is anti-Christian, anti-juvenile criminal, etc. Hailey is not "attacking" these groups -- he is simply telling a story using the protagonist as the conduit to covey these ideas -- whether the beliefs are his or not -- or whether they are only infused into the story for the story's sake. I don't know why people "analyze" the author's "anti-" this and this --instead of simply reading a good detective story. In this country, everyone wants a nice hero, a person without blemish, without adulterous tendencies, without a past free from "sin" or shame. Further, if a happy ending is not given -- God forbid -- the novel is ranked very low. Why don't people read the story purely for the story's sake (it's a good one!) and consider that maybe-- just maybe--there are people out there who behave in this manner -- who have flaws -- who are human. It would give authors much better reviews -- in my opinion -- for their storylines, etc.

Hailey is usual in describing worlds (the automotive in "Wheels", the news' in "Evening news", the planes'in "Airport" , to name a few). Then when you see the title "Detective" you expect a multi person drama, diverse stories to link to one common gist, a big and tiresome book. Not. Not any of these that characterised Hailey who was writting books to become good films or TV series. "Detective" is the book to show us his real potentials. He surely describes a world, but in a more compact way. He presents all the details of a detectives' work and world, but through the process of his story and all these details forward his story. He doesn't present decades of characters, but only a few, in who he delves deep and presents them to us in full aspect, clearly and precisely. Ainsley has the contradiction inside, being previously a priest who lost his faith, but now as a police detective he comes to ask himself again about that faith, as he faces peoples' sins and his strength inside, trying to balance priestly emotions with the cruelty and reality of the field, while he faces the evil and redemption where he never thought of. One of the best anti-hero characters ever described. Then, Hailey's speech is clear, picturous and well laid, with only the flashbacks to ornament it. But these flashbacks tire the reader, since they are a lot, or one flashback is layered over the other, or into the other. This is the only downside of the book, while on the other hand it makes the book a more brain excercise, enhances the psychology factor of his detective story that makes it a detective thriller story. As said the characters are curved deeply, main and side characters and this, in some places, makes the book even warm. Hailey's pictures flow quickly and the plot of the story, while common, is read and followed with a lot of interest. And here Hailey proves to know very well how to use the arc stories: he starts and finishes his circle, with all the threads (or stories! ) he has thrown in the meanwhile and slaps us in the face just before he closes his story, showing exactly that he writes on an arc pattern and bringing up a detail we would never think of possible. Afterwards, presenting us the real guilty, his motive and his actions makes us the readers wonder, how such a carefull person can be uncovered: from a slight detail (not that we wouldn't expect of, but that slight detail comes almost at the end, something that enhances the readers' anxiety). On the other hand, the book is not summoned on a haste, Hailey cares not. The good impression he gave us, is kept till the end. And then, his end, gives us a hint of sin, for the priest who lost his faith and become a detective, cause he's a man after all. A complete novel then from Hailey.

From the time I picked up this book, I have been holding it till the last page was read. Arthur Hailey has a great way with words. He shows the two sides of a hero the intellect and the lust. The book shows how depraved men can get, and how the most respected people can be the most criminally inclined individuals. A breath-taking thriller indeed!