Night Laws [Paperback]

Jim Michael Hansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2006

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is on the hunt for a vicious killer who has warned attorney Kelly Parks that she is on his murder list. Something from the beautiful young lawyer's past has come back to haunt her, something involving the dark secrets of Denver's largest law firm. With the elusive killer ever one step away, Kelly Parks frantically searches for answers, not only to save her life but also to find out whether she unwittingly participated in a murder herself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Night Laws is a terrifying, gripping cross between James Patterson and John Grisham .. a truly killer debut. --J.A. Konrath (aka Jack Kilborn)

A heap of reading ecstasy. Nights Laws, in my humble opinion, is a masterpiece --Midwest Book Review

Tensed action of the first order ... Night Laws is recommended, very highly recommended. --New Mystery Reader Magazine

From the Publisher

Can the Laws Thrillers be Read in Any Order? Yes. All of the Laws books are stand-alone and self-contained, meaning they can be read in any order and that the storylines do not continue or overlap from one work to the next. Detective Bryson Coventry and Shalifa Netherwood return in each book but are involved in new and distinct situations each time.

What Does the "Laws" Part of the Book Title Stand For? The "Laws" part of the title refers to lawyers and law firms who always end up having a role in the story. However, there is no legalese, trials or boring courtroom drama, and never will be. What the reader gets instead are glimpses of how real lawyers spend their time, how law firms operate, and the like. References are made to ongoing cases, on occasion, simply because lawyers think about their caseloads. Instead of being interested in legal issues or cases, the author is much more interested in lawyers as people, who end up in intense situations. For example, in Night laws the law firm purports to do something slightly illegal to help an important client. This gets it into all kinds of trouble to the point of even becoming mysteriously involved with a vicious killer. That, to the author, is a more interesting concept than a judicial resolution of some legal matter.

Similarly, in Shadow Laws, the attorney has a client who he has never met face to face, and who now believes that the client is out to kill him. He hires another lawyer--Taylor Sutton, the star of Shadow Laws--to investigate, and she finds herself pulled into a dark and dangerous world.

Who is Detective Bryson Coventry? Too many detectives in movies and books are cast in the worn-out mold of the walking wounded, misunderstood renegade, rebel-without-a-cause, drink-like-a-fish-but-still-smarter-than-you type. To the author, they're not believable and never have been, primarily because real detectives work in very large organizations. Misfits and lone wolfs, quite frankly, wouldn't last two months in the real world. Bryson Coventry was going to be nothing like that. The author knew that from day one.

Instead, the author wanted Coventry to be a very solid, likeable guy, a team player who recognizes the worth of other people, who isn't above getting help wherever he can find it, who appreciates the frailties of people, respects the little person, and even engages in random acts of kindness. He also leans towards fine art, humor, mid-year Corvettes, music, coffee and, of course, the ladies. He doesn't like elevators, lines or rude drivers. Other than that, he's basically live-and-let-live.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Dark Sky Publishing, Inc. (January 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976924307
• ISBN-13: 978-0976924302
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Hansen ...You Spoiled Me, March 14, 2006

By 

B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Laws (Paperback)

Introducing Lieutenant Bryson Coventry, a Denver, Colorado police detective. Just your regular working class stiff who loves his job and the many women he encounters along the way in NIGHT LAWS, author Jim Hansen's first thriller novel in the Laws series (there are currently three in the works).

With excellent dialogue and a creepy villain who loves to make women "live out" their darkest death-fears, Bryson has a tough week ahead of him. A local Denver attorney is somehow involved in the murders and our detective is quickly wrapped up in the case. When Coventry uncovers a supposed phony kidnaping and possible murder, weird clues rear their ugly heads. Psychology college students are vanishing. Hair samples are found in legal files. Harley bikers' bodies turn-up in the desert. But with Denver's premier detective on the trail of the killer, the pieces slowly come together and a climactic encounter draws near.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Having had the opportunity to have read SHADOW LAWS, Mr. Hansen's second in the Laws series, I may be a bit spoiled. I read Shadow Laws first, then went on to this novel, Night Laws (reverse order). I must say that I enjoyed Shadow Laws quite a bit more, mainly because I felt the pacing to be much snappier. There were times in Night Laws where the action dragged for several pages before returning to that bang! bang! pace I'd grown accustomed to from this able author.

But that's not to say that Night Laws wasn't worth my reading time. It was! I'm guessing that Mr. Hansen has grown as a writer as he continues this great series - which is why I enjoyed the second novel more than this first one.

I will be reading the third Laws novel in this series. And I have a feeling it'll be even better than the first two.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hansen continues to write the best mystery thrillers., September 15, 2007

By 

Andra Tracy "book addict" (Kansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Laws (Paperback)

You'll be glad to know that Bryson Coventry is at it again, only this time he has two bodies to contend with. This maniac doesn't just kill; he tortures and brutally murders them. As usual, Coventry gets involved with one of the suspects, Tianca. Bless his heart, he just can't help it.

One of the victims is a close friend of Haley Wilde, a lawyer with the ink still wet on her diploma but she's determined to find the killer and almost gets killed in the process. The solution is totally unexpected and that's just what you get when you read one of Hansen's books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Night Laws, August 30, 2007

By 

Anne K. Edwards "AKE" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Laws (Paperback)

Beware following Bryson Coventry into places where he will be questioning witnesses and suspects about murders that occur in his jurisdiction. You'll follow him right into danger.

A riveting tale of murder and mahem that will have you staying up late to see how the murder of a young woman leads to other murders and kidnappings. You'll just have to know what the secret is that lawyer Kelly Parks withheld from Coventry when questioned about a strange phone call made to her number on the phone of the victim after she was murdered.

What involvement does Kelly's boss have in this investigation of a serial killer who is using horrible methods to kill young women. Will Coventry be in time to save the latest victim? Do the victims have a common factor that marks them for the killer? These are some of the questions you'll just have to know the answers to.

Highly recommended as a book you won't be able to put down. A delightfully macabre tale by talented Jim Michael Hanson with well-drawn, lifelike characters who move the plot along. Lots of action, lots of suspense. Enjoy. I sure did.