Ash Levine, the top detective in the LAPDs elite Felony Special Squad, is called out to solve the murder of two young black men found shot to death in a Venice alley. The case is a high priority because one of the victims is the son of City Councilman Isaac Pinkney, a frequent critic of the LAPD. Searching for the killer throws Levine into the world of Los Angeless Russian Mafia, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and Middle Eastern archeologists. Ashs history as a child of a Holocaust survivor gives him a unique perspective on murder, redemption, and justice. His background as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, and his relentless, single-minded focus on his investigations make him a thoroughly absorbing character. As Ash closes in on the killer, the investigation becomes increasingly complex - and personal. Ash soon discovers that he is not just an investigator, but a target.
Midnight Alley: An Ash Levine Thriller
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"...a fast and intriguing read that will keep you hooked for hours..mystery fans will want to check out." -- Fiction Addict
Booklist Starred Review!
"Recommend this superb novel to fans of crime thrillers and police procedurals..." -- Booklist, Starred Review, February, 2012
"Wow! Corwin is a former LA Times reporter and really knows his stuff and I can't wait to read more..."
-- Best Sellers World
"The second Ash Levine police procedural (see Kind of Blue) is an action-packed thriller that soars...'Rambowitz'" -- The Mystery Gazette
"Mercy! This high-octane thriller captures the whorl of L.A. and leaves the reader wanting more." Los Angeles Magazine, April 2012 -- Los Angeles Magazine
Booklist Starred Review!
"Recommend this superb novel to fans of crime thrillers and police procedurals..." -- Booklist, Starred Review, February, 2012
"Wow! Corwin is a former LA Times reporter and really knows his stuff and I can't wait to read more..."
-- Best Sellers World
"The second Ash Levine police procedural (see Kind of Blue) is an action-packed thriller that soars...'Rambowitz'" -- The Mystery Gazette
"Mercy! This high-octane thriller captures the whorl of L.A. and leaves the reader wanting more." Los Angeles Magazine, April 2012 -- Los Angeles Magazine
About the Author
A native of Los Angeles, Miles Corwin is former crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Corwin is a best-selling author whose previous books include The Killing Season, And StillWe Rise, and Homicide Special.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not up to the bar set by the first book, I'm afraid... 3 ˝ stars, maybe
July 17, 2012
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed the debut of LAPD detective Ash Levine in Miles Corwin's Kind of Blue in 2010, rating it a solid four stars.
I'm afraid that Corwin wasn't quite able to maintain the same level of accomplishment with this second offering.
Levine is still a pretty interesting character, what with his unique experience as an Israeli paratrooper and all; the pacing is still very good; and it was entertaining to get some insights into Levine's pretty complicated personal life.
Where the book loses points is in the unbelievable and overly complex issue of HOW the Maguffin of the piece -- a rare and extremely valuable archeological treasure (no spoiler, this is revealed very early in the story) -- got from Iraq to Los Angeles.
Somehow or another, a lowly GI managed to get his hands on the piece, and smuggle it out of the country during the Iraq War, and this crucial bit of info -- HOW he got it out of the country -- is never explained. I guess we're just supposed to take it on faith.
Well, I'm afraid that's a real problem for me. As far as I know, ET swooped down and transported it for him. Probably more believable than the idea that a high school-educated kid from the South Central part of LA, serving as a low-ranking enlisted man in the Army, had the sophistication and knowledge to carry off such an amazing accomplishment, one that a slew of sophisticated professional criminals hadn't been able to do after exerting considerable effort and money themselves.
It's a pretty big distraction, hence the lower rating of the book. Still a pretty good read, but I hope Corwin does better on his next Levine outing.
I'm afraid that Corwin wasn't quite able to maintain the same level of accomplishment with this second offering.
Levine is still a pretty interesting character, what with his unique experience as an Israeli paratrooper and all; the pacing is still very good; and it was entertaining to get some insights into Levine's pretty complicated personal life.
Where the book loses points is in the unbelievable and overly complex issue of HOW the Maguffin of the piece -- a rare and extremely valuable archeological treasure (no spoiler, this is revealed very early in the story) -- got from Iraq to Los Angeles.
Somehow or another, a lowly GI managed to get his hands on the piece, and smuggle it out of the country during the Iraq War, and this crucial bit of info -- HOW he got it out of the country -- is never explained. I guess we're just supposed to take it on faith.
Well, I'm afraid that's a real problem for me. As far as I know, ET swooped down and transported it for him. Probably more believable than the idea that a high school-educated kid from the South Central part of LA, serving as a low-ranking enlisted man in the Army, had the sophistication and knowledge to carry off such an amazing accomplishment, one that a slew of sophisticated professional criminals hadn't been able to do after exerting considerable effort and money themselves.
It's a pretty big distraction, hence the lower rating of the book. Still a pretty good read, but I hope Corwin does better on his next Levine outing.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By R. Laney
Format:Hardcover
This is a police detective story with lots of twists and turns in it. Police detective Ash Levine is on his way out of town with his almost ex-wife for a romantic weekend when he is called back into work.
Two Black young men shot and one of them is son of city councilman who distrusts police vocally.
After investigating for a short time realizes that the reason for the murder is the other blackman Teshay Winfield. He realizes that Teshay smuggled something home from Iraq.
Ash is Jewish and served it Jewish army. He does not listen to others telling him what to do. Instead of working the case he is called in to meet with councilman and milatary officers.
He has a lot of suspects and follows the different trails. Their are more deaths and Ash gets into trouble on many fronts.
I did not see the twists coming and guessed wrong who the guilty party was.
It kept my attention in the story. Would not mind reading more books with Ash in them.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
04/16/2012 PUB Oceanview Publishing
Two Black young men shot and one of them is son of city councilman who distrusts police vocally.
After investigating for a short time realizes that the reason for the murder is the other blackman Teshay Winfield. He realizes that Teshay smuggled something home from Iraq.
Ash is Jewish and served it Jewish army. He does not listen to others telling him what to do. Instead of working the case he is called in to meet with councilman and milatary officers.
He has a lot of suspects and follows the different trails. Their are more deaths and Ash gets into trouble on many fronts.
I did not see the twists coming and guessed wrong who the guilty party was.
It kept my attention in the story. Would not mind reading more books with Ash in them.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
04/16/2012 PUB Oceanview Publishing
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Implausible plot, bland characters, and a few entertaining moments
April 21, 2012
Format:Hardcover
Ash Levine is a homicide detective with LAPD whose job is interfering with his attempt to reconcile with Robin, his almost-ex-wife. Levine is assigned to "Felony Special," a citywide division that handles high profile crimes (those that are deemed worthy of solving because the press is watching). When Raymond Pinkney is shot to death, Levine gets the case. Pinkney's father is a councilman who is often critical of LAPD. The other victim of the double homicide, Teshay Winfield, is a recent veteran. Their bodies are found in an alley in a gang-ridden neighborhood.
Several other characters in Midnight Alley, both good guys and bad guys, are also veterans. Asher is a veteran of the Israeli Army. A veteran named Mullin is a sociopath. A man named Delfour hires Mullin to kill Levine. Eventually the Russian Mafia joins the plot, which revolves around the theft of an ancient, jewel-studded mask.
All of this is a promising start but the plot eventually veers into strange territory as Levine finds himself accused of shooting an unarmed man. After some rather uninspired detective work (threatening to throw someone off a building doesn't produce a confession that will stand up in court although Levine seems to think it will), Levine uncovers a criminal plot that I would charitably describe as wildly implausible. Still, Miles Corwin manages to pull all the plot threads together by the time the story ends.
Corwin highlights a number of political and social issues in Midnight Alley, ranging from racism in LAPD to the notion that America is a "Christian nation" to mismanagement of the second war in Iraq. Corwin's most perceptive take concerns the skewed priorities that result from asset forfeiture laws: because the police get to keep certain proceeds from criminal activity that they seize, Levine finds his homicide investigation trumped by the more lucrative investigation of a drug cartel.
Frequent references to Levine's religion and enjoyment of food are apparently intended to give Levine depth, or at least a personality, but those efforts are insufficient to make Levine interesting. We're continually told that Levine is a rebellious, nonconformist officer but we don't see him behaving that way until near the story's end, when he commits a series of crimes to prove that he didn't commit the crime of which he's accused. Usually he's wavering between self-righteous and self-pitying, qualities that do not serve a thriller hero well. Supporting characters are no better; Corwin creates a defense lawyer that is a caricature of an actual attorney while cops, thugs, and veterans are all pulled from central casting.
Some lengthy scenes, including a clichéd family dinner, add nothing but tedium to the story. Corwin's writing style is competent but occasionally marred by stilted dialog and trite expressions. As crime novels go, Midnight Alley has some entertaining moments but fails to distinguish itself from a slew of similar novels.
Several other characters in Midnight Alley, both good guys and bad guys, are also veterans. Asher is a veteran of the Israeli Army. A veteran named Mullin is a sociopath. A man named Delfour hires Mullin to kill Levine. Eventually the Russian Mafia joins the plot, which revolves around the theft of an ancient, jewel-studded mask.
All of this is a promising start but the plot eventually veers into strange territory as Levine finds himself accused of shooting an unarmed man. After some rather uninspired detective work (threatening to throw someone off a building doesn't produce a confession that will stand up in court although Levine seems to think it will), Levine uncovers a criminal plot that I would charitably describe as wildly implausible. Still, Miles Corwin manages to pull all the plot threads together by the time the story ends.
Corwin highlights a number of political and social issues in Midnight Alley, ranging from racism in LAPD to the notion that America is a "Christian nation" to mismanagement of the second war in Iraq. Corwin's most perceptive take concerns the skewed priorities that result from asset forfeiture laws: because the police get to keep certain proceeds from criminal activity that they seize, Levine finds his homicide investigation trumped by the more lucrative investigation of a drug cartel.
Frequent references to Levine's religion and enjoyment of food are apparently intended to give Levine depth, or at least a personality, but those efforts are insufficient to make Levine interesting. We're continually told that Levine is a rebellious, nonconformist officer but we don't see him behaving that way until near the story's end, when he commits a series of crimes to prove that he didn't commit the crime of which he's accused. Usually he's wavering between self-righteous and self-pitying, qualities that do not serve a thriller hero well. Supporting characters are no better; Corwin creates a defense lawyer that is a caricature of an actual attorney while cops, thugs, and veterans are all pulled from central casting.
Some lengthy scenes, including a clichéd family dinner, add nothing but tedium to the story. Corwin's writing style is competent but occasionally marred by stilted dialog and trite expressions. As crime novels go, Midnight Alley has some entertaining moments but fails to distinguish itself from a slew of similar novels.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight Alley - A good read
This is the second Miles Corwin novel I have read in the past month. The protagonist Ash Levin continues to show character development and the story was well written with some... Read more
Published 2 days ago by 63elgato13
3.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight Alley
Story is ok and I got through it because it's an easy read. But, it is a little boring at times.
Published 27 days ago by Rainie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good mystery
A good detective will investigate deeper into a mystery than what is on the surface. Which will lead to the real plot.
Published 1 month ago by LINDA,BENNETT
4.0 out of 5 stars
Continuing characters
I like all the Ash Levine stories. I love the settings. I love the descriptions. The focus on characters changes from novel to novel but many of them continue from book to book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Adrienne Jacoby
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great LA thriller!
Miles Corwin brings Homicide Investigation to life in this great offering. The characters are real and believeable in this LA novel.
Published 1 month ago by Bruce Morrison
4.0 out of 5 stars
thrilling
Kept reade3r on edge of seat to the end. Would reccomend to all. i hope tghere will be more of his writinbgs.
Published 1 month ago by nodle01
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another great novel from Miles Corwin
Ash gets himself into another series of events, using his odd cast of friends, ranging from old alcoholics to his ex-cop friends to solve another crime.
Published 1 month ago by A. Furtzaig
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
Really like mystery, and felt that I was there with him on the case. He was a typical cop, but I liked it that he was also Jewish and had family issues and demons. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cindi Boselli
4.0 out of 5 stars
Miles Corwin Brings It In This Mystery/Thriller!
Midnight Alley is a great read - really pulls you in and doesn't let go. I had a hard time putting the book down. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cindy D.
4.0 out of 5 stars
good reading
love the diversity of people involved in this great read .Levine makes everything very interesting and a mystery that I recommend to anyone. Would love to read another Ash Levine .
Published 2 months ago by joy
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