The Lightning Rule: A Novel [Hardcover]

Brett Ellen Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2006

They say lightning never strikes the same spot twice. Detective Martin Emmett is about to prove the exception to the rule. It is the summer of 1967 and Newark, New Jersey is in the grip of a heat wave that is bringing the city’s simmering racial tension to a boiling point. Banished to desk duty, his career on the line, the young detective is offered a chance at professional redemption if he can quickly and quietly solve the murder of a black teenage boy whose mutilated body has been found in a subway tunnel. The investigation leads Emmett to a terrible discovery: the dead boy is just one victim in a string of sadistic murders in which the killer uses his victims as prey in a twisted game of cat and mouse. As Emmett struggles to put together the pieces of the grisly crimes, the riots are unraveling the city. Newark is under siege and the killer has seized his next victim. While the riots engulf Newark, crippling the city with chaos and bringing the police force to its knees, Emmett must find the killer before the next hunt begins. With The Lightning Rule, critically acclaimed author Brett Ellen Block returns with an explosive novel of suspense, politics, and racism. THE LIGHTNING RULE is a fierce story about the raging battle to restore morality to a city being attacked from within.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A flawless historical backdrop underpins Block's second novel (after 2004's The Grave of God's Daughter) about a rookie Newark, N.J., homicide cop, Martin Emmett. Mistrusted by his superiors and unable to solve the first murder case assigned to him, Emmett has been shunted off to man the records room. On the eve of the 1960s riots, Emmett is handed a second case—a make or break opportunity. Emmett quickly gets an inkling that the murder of a healthy young black man, mutilated and dumped in a sewage tunnel, may not be an isolated killing, but hard evidence is lacking. Corrupt cops, mobsters, racists (white and black) and the riots complicate his investigation. Block's serial killer, whose exploits are described episodically, stretches credulity, as do some of her minor characters, particularly an engaging juvenile suspect who at times acts too adult for his years. Still, Block dramatically depicts the attitudes and the economic and social forces that created the tinderbox that was Newark, the match that lit the fuse and the resulting firestorm. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Block's evocative third offering (after The Grave of God's Daughter, 2004) is set in late 1960s Newark, New Jersey, where the real-life arrest and subsequent beating of a black cab driver launched days of deadly race riots. As the novel opens, Martin Emmett, a white detective in the city's predominantly black Central Ward, has been relegated to desk duty for protecting the identity of a critical witness. Emmett, who abandoned his pursuit of the priesthood to become a cop, already has plenty on his plate: he's caring for his brother, Edward, wheelchair bound and bitter after serving in the Vietnam War. The detective sees a chance for professional redemption when his sergeant quietly assigns him the case of a young black teenager found dead in a subway tunnel. The murder, it turns out, is no isolated incident, but part of a racist predator's carefully orchestrated plan. The mystery angle here pales in comparison to Block's vivid portrayal of a city where racial tensions have escalated from a steady simmer to a raging boil. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060525061
• ISBN-13: 978-0060525064
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,820,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Police/Psychological Thriller, December 12, 2006

By 

Susan Senowitz - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lightning Rule: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book has it all- an historical perspective on the riots of Newark, a police officer conflicted by his feelings for the church and his family, a twisted, psychotic killer and a riveting mystery. The main character captivates you as you feel his pain while he wrestles with his internal conflicts throughout the story. You will not be able to put this book down.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Demands Your Attention!!!!!!!!, December 23, 2006

By 

Amazon Com "Reading With Sunglasses" (South Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lightning Rule: A Novel (Hardcover)

So many books lately follow the same plotlines and just fill in their stories with different names. Ms Block brings a fresh story, plotline, and anti hero that is impossible to put down. I love books that tell you a story then leaves you with something to think about. I would love a sequel to this book. I want to know so much more about Detective Emmett and I want to go on more crime solving capers with him. This would make a great movie!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't sleep at night, this book was so good, January 19, 2007

By 

Sarah Leonard - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lightning Rule: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished this book...it was fantastic! The way Brett developed the killer in particular was masterful, he was so real to me...and creepy. She set each scene so well, you are always right there filled with suspense at what will happen next. An excellent book, such a treat to read.