Customer Reviews

Ladies of the Night

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Populated with dead-on characters and sharply focused, a late-into-the-night page turner, LADIES OF THE NIGHT is John Westermann's finest novel to date. I know I said this about his last novel, THE HONOR FARM, but the simple truth is that the guy keeps getting better and better. Which, as a colleague and a competitor, I really hate. Westermann has the uncanny ability to set an evocative mood with a single short parapgrah. He shifts from character to character, and from scene to scene, without ever losing sight of the trail. His books exude authenticity; his descriptions of Long Island politics in LADIES OF THE NIGHT are enough to make Al D'Amato take confession. Buy this one in hardcover. Ten years from now, you'll want to read it again.

Nassau County Police Comissioner Frank Murphy knows that the worst type of case is not a drug-related showdown or getting in the middle of a domestic dispute. The worst police case is anything involving politics and the political parties. This is what faces Frank and his staff when a high ranking republican vanishes just a few weeks before election day. Frank assigns two of his mentally toughest cops, Maude Fleming and Rocky Blair, to investigate what happened to Elizabeth Lucido, deputy to County Executive Martin Daly (who trails in the polls).

The first thing the cops learn is that politiicans only talk when their handlers and spin doctors tell them that cooperation reflects a positive trend for them in the polls. The second thing they learn is that the missing person was having a heated affair with Jackson Hind, the democratic opponent to Martin. As the two kick butt cops dig deeper, they run up against what is perhaps the last great political machine in exixtence, run by Boss Cammeroli, who will not let a few police officers interfere with his dealings.

LADIES OF THE NIGHT could only be written by dark satirist John Westermann, who writes the the most humoous (but deadly serious) police procedureals on the market today. His current tale has the usual powerful descriptions of police officers, making them feel genuine. At counterrpoint, Mr. Westermann makes delicious fun of politicians, who appear more like the toon-villain from WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT than anyone else. Anyone who enjoys a touch of cynicism within a well sculptured story line needs to try any Westermann novel because this is one author who combines a superb police procedural while taking a bite out of crime in a satirically humerous way.

Harriet Klausner

Author John Westermann is a writer and once was a police officer, so he has inside knowledge of how a novel of this kind (mystery/thriller) should work. He writes well, he plots well; but he commits two cardinal sins in his novel. First, he fails to give us a point-of-view and, because he does not do so, (Secondly) he never makes us give a damn about any character in his scenario. When an author does this, no matter how fascinating the facts of his plot may be (and in this novel they are not interesting) we "trudge" through the book instead of being swept along by the writer. Long before the end of the story I was bored and tired of the plot, the people, and of Westermann's inability to make me care, even a little. On the other hand, if you have insomnia - here's your cure!

I SAT DOWN TO READ A GOOD MYSTERY BUT INSTEAD IT IS A POLITICAL BOOK CRITICAL OF REPUBLICANS AND GLORIFYING DEMOCRATS.
IT IS A BOOK WITHOUT "DEVELOPED" CHARACTERS AND WITHOUT A "DEVELOPED" STORY.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A GOOD READ--GOOD MYSTERY, SAVE YOUR "TIME AND MONEY". DEFINITELY "NOT" WORTH IT.
RATING SHOULD BE "LESS" THAN 1 STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!