Customer Reviews

The Night Watcher

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

 

 

The Night Watcher by John Lutz is a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary serial killer thriller about the Torcher, a killer whose victims are tied up and set on fire. As someone who has read hundreds of mysteries including a number of serial killer stories, I found this one to offer almost nothing new.

This is not an awful book, but it is also not good. Most of the characters are not well-developed and in fact, seem rather cliched. The two detectives are not very intriguing, and the romantic tension between the two of them is strictly standard. Their supervisor is the same antagonistic bureaucrat we've all seen a dozen times before.

Another flaw is that despite over forty people dying in the course of the story, it often seems like there are only the two detectives working the case; only rarely do we get the feel that anyone else (beyond the standard forensics people) are really involved. Compare this with one of John Sanford's Davenport novels (also about serial killers): in those books, you can tell Davenport is heading a team, not working by himself.

This is not the first book I've read by Lutz. I've enjoyed his other books and know he's a good writer; not necessarily the best in the genre, but at least a good entertainer. Even here, he is skilled enough to keep this book from being unreadable, but he is definitely better than this novel would indicate.

Well written Edgar nominated (Best Original Paperback) "Night Watcher" is brisk, yet moody; well paced and quirky. This is not your standard serial killer outing.

Ben Stack, legendary homicide detective and his assistant Rita Lopez are assigned a grisly case. A man while bound has been torched in his own New York high-rise apartment. The crime took place in the kitchen and apparent safeguards have been taken to keep the fire from spreading. The victim was a bachelor with no apparent enemies and well fixed financially. There are virtually no clues. Another almost identical killing takes place. The tension racks up not only for the police, but also for the fire department who fear that if these fires get out of control, it could be a catastrophe. It is impossible to effectively fight a fire over the 10th story level. The net widens to take in more suspects, but the killer seems invincible. The climax is a nail-biter; their main suspect could also be the next victim on the list.

Mr. Lutz tells his story in a crafty manner with effective flashbacks, foreshadowing and glimpses into the killer's thought processes. The characterizations are sharp, though Lt. Ben is a little wooden. Assistant Rita never misses a trick to force her way into Ben's affections. No retiring flower here!

Contrary to previous reviews, I believe the story is well told and in a convincing manner. The information on high-rise fires is not only interesting, but also instructive. There are bits of humor in the interactions of the various characters, slyly placed and well presented. There are a few loose ends (how did the killer gain entry?), but they are minor. "Night Watcher" is well worth your time.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

The book is not up to the high standard set by Lutz's earlier novels.

The wealthy are dying in Manhattan. A serial arsonist is setting their bodies on fire and watching as they burn to death. On the trail of the killer are NYPD Detectives Ben Stack and Rica Lopez. The killer is aware of their presence and calls them to alert them to the killing and to prevent the fire from spreading any further. They desperately must seek the identity of the killer and discover what the victims have in common, if anything.
John Lutz is a veteran mystery writer with many previous books published. He has previously won the Edgar for a short story in 1987. The experience is quite evident in both the pacing and the rhythm of the story. Events move seamlessly and inexorably to the conclusion which is both clever and surprising. Ben and Rica, the main protagonists, are engaging. Other characters are well portrayed but lack the emotional depth of these two. The story is rapidly paced. It is a very impressive work and well worthy of the Edgar nomination.

THE SETUP
In "Night Watcher" two NYC police investigate a pyschopatic arsonist(s) who is/are burning people alive in NYC highrise apartment buildings. The young latin/swedish female detective has a crush on her older near-retirement partner. Thus romantic tension. Their supervisor is a jerk. It is a well worn formula--but nicely executed.

CAVEATS
However, Lutz substantially develops a large cast of characters--most of which turn out to be insignificant. It really annoys me when authors do this. Or, when I find a character interesting, and then the character just disappears and is never heard from again.

Worse, he timeline seems to be contradictory. More probably, the author intentionally corrupted the timeline through the use of flashbacks, but without providing the reader with sufficient information to construct a correct timeline. Specifically, as presented, most of the murders occurred long before the "bad person" even moved into the city. It would seem as though the "bad person" acquired the essential information to have generated the murderous motive only in the last few days of the several months of the timeline.

The plot is also confused by the red herring of a second arsonist, but as far as I can tell, he was responsible for only one fire/murder near the end of the novel. The title (I think aluding to this second arsonist), and alusions to the title in the novel, are further intentional mis-direction.

THE VERDICT
"The Night Watcher" is an entertaining page-turner, but after the last page, I felt cheated---having expected more payoff for the time I invested in reading the novel. To put it simply, my reaction when I reached the end was, "What the Hell???" The rather fuzzy motive of the "bad person" is unsatisfying and not credible.

As an avid fan of serial killer tales, I have read some very poor efforts at suspense. While this book is not absolutely dreadful, it was a bit of a disappointment.
The character of Ben Stack is a cliche among suspense novels: hardened, tough, and estranged from his wife. Detective Rica Lopez does display some creative insights as a character but was left underdeveloped throughout the book. Also, Lutz describes her office behavior as, well, slutty.
The adversary the NYPD cops are tracking down, is the Torcher. A mad, pyromaniac who delights in tying people up and setting them ablaze. Right from the start, it's apparent this killer is following some sort of agenda, but due to the constant backstories and time-changing, it becomes a complicated mess. The one red herring is drawn out relentlessly by the author. While the ending was a suprise and did provide an exlamatory,"No Way!" that wasn't enough to rescue the rest of the book from mere mediocrity.

John Lutz has wom the Edgar and Shamus awards, so I'm assuming he's written much better stuff than this, a routine tale of a serial killer who burns people alive. The interplay between the investigating officers was not realistic at all, and the parade of suspects muddies the waters to no good effect. The officers also seemed to have a surprising lack of insight into the workings of the criminal mind, an unforgiveable sin in these days of psychological profiling. The serial killer is a sympathetic character, but we get little insight into his background and motivations.

I'm gonna tell you you, If John Lutz writes it, I love it. One of my favorite authors. I don't have to worry about it if Lutz writes it, it will be great.