Customer Reviews

Exchange Alley

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

 

 

I spent a week of backing up, losing which russian character with simular names were which, what the main characters name was and came away totally confused. How "exchange alley" in New orleans or Lee Harvey Oswald became even a part of this book was to entice readers to a subject that wasn't really relevent. I was left in a cloud of confusion at the end with no justice for the evil doers.

99 cents? You cannot be serious, as the famous tennis player might say. Intrigue, action, a riveting plot, fascinating characters, and writing that jumps off the page. You're almost willing to believe that Walsh lived the events. He knows his stuff; no filler here. Odds are you're going to want to read more from this author.

Good writing, lots of plot twists, but in the end it was a pointless long book marred by unneeded extremely graphic violence. As another reviewer noted, the author never ties the book's title to the story other than a few offhand references. Things that should be explained aren't, and when I finished the book I felt that I had nothing to show or value for the time taken to read it. And yes, the typhos were extremely irritating.

I have read several of Michael Walshes books, see http://www.amazon.com/Hostile-Intent-Michael-Walsh/dp/0786020423/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 and http://www.amazon.com/Early-Warning-Michael-Walsh/dp/0786020431/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3. There are common character in this and the other books, which make for great reading. Walsh really knows how to plot and is terrific in making you feel that you have learned something new every few pages. Although the hero, Detective Francis Byrne, feigns ignorance, he often reveals a great knowledge of history, art, religion, and literature. In addition, each characater is, if not fully three dimensional, at least a complex two dimensional character. Each character has their own voice, which makes it easy to feel the book come alive.

I appreciate the 99 cent price on the kindle version, but be warned, there are more than a few frustrating typos that I wish could have been cleared up. Even a word processing grammar checker would have found most of them.

I read this through to the end - it starts out as an interesting cross between police procedural and international espionage novel, then ends up in almost a "Manchurian Candidate"-like family melodrama. Although the author is very knowledgeable, and weaves in all sorts of interesting allusions, and is a much more creative writer than you find in your general airport bookstore, the whole novel is somewhat of a tease, files never revealed, the title location (Exchange Alley, New Orleans)never visited, certain potentially intersting sexual liaisons between main characters that are raised as potentials but never consummated. Kind of an odd book overall. But I give it four stars, and, like I said, I read it through.

Walsh's first effort is an engrossing piece that weaves Oswald, the CIA, KGB, the Mole Theory, the Holocaust, and the more exotic sexual mileu of modern New York into a neat plot as hot-headed Detective Francis Byrne tries to unravel the killing of a Danish diplomat. Part thriller, part police procedural, and all great writing. The history and tradecraft are accurate, the plot never lags, and the reader is defied to guess the ending before arrival, probably in the wee hours of the morning. This one is VERY tough to put down.

This book is not for reading piecemeal. I found it most confusing because of the series of plot lines that we followed, slipping back and forth between. Nothing unusual there. I'm not certain but we were mostly moving through time lines that eventually brought us to the "present". The author was perhaps too clever with this device. Did he write the multiple stories and then just cut and paste them together? I have never read chapters that changed timelines every paragraph as they did at the end. There was a lot of bigoted characters -- at first I thought the author himself might be reflecting his own thoughts -- but the the characters were just mostly unsympathetic. No one was clearly heroic. First novels are a mixed blessing. I am happier with my current Cornwell.

Shrouded by international intrigue, graphic violence and a dense plot, Exchange Alley is a wild ride though an ugly world. Our hero is ambitious NYPD Homicide Lieutenant Francis X. Byrne who discovers his own personal hell as he tries to solve the case of a dead Danish consulate employee. From its fresh take on the Kennedy assassination to its portrayal of a family gone bust, Walsh's brilliant first novel is both disturbing and totally absorbing