Presumed Dead [Hardcover]

Hugh Holton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1994

A tough Chicago cop, Commander Larry Cole thinks he is prepared for anything, until a drug bust goes sour, he learns of a series of mysterious disappearances, and he falls for Edna, his new back-up. A first novel. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Beginning in 1901 with the disappearance of Katherine Rotheimer, daughter of the millionaire who founded Chicago's National Science and Space Museum, and Jim Cross, a man who tested experimental security weapons for Ezra Rotheimer, the museum has been a place of mystery and strange occurrences. During a drug bust on the museum's grounds, Police Commander Larry Cole is wounded. With the help of his detectives and two Chicago authors, Cole finds that 188 persons have vanished in and around the museum and orders an investigation. Set in 1997, this is more a tale of suspense than of mystery or horror. First-novelist Holton, a career policeman, has written a curiously disjointed story that takes about one third of the telling before hooking the reader, who blithely follows along until a real zinger of an ending. For popular collections.-Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Hts.
University Hts. P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the tradition of King and Koontz, first-time novelist Holton, a veteran Chicago cop, offers a mind-bending, this can't be real tale of terror that's both implausible and disturbingly believable. The National Science and Space Museum is a (fictional) Chicago landmark, but there's always been an air of mystery about the small island behind the building, where nearly 200 people have disappeared since the beginning of the century. A drug bust gone wrong refocuses public attention on the long-forgotten disappearances, and Commander Larry Cole, leader of the doomed drug bust, becomes curious about those who have vanished. But there's more to worry about than disappearing Chicagoansa sleazy local developer has decided to turn the museum grounds into another Disneyland, and the museum's curator is determined to stop him at any cost. When Cole and an attractive female detective team up, they discover an incredible secret hidden behind the museum's famous facade. Thumbs up for mostly skillful writing, a can't put it down story line, an ingenious if sometimes unlikely plot, and plenty of spine-tingling thrills and chills. This one's sure to be popular. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: Forge (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312857101
• ISBN-13: 978-0312857103
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KEEP THE BOOK IN THE FREEZER!, November 27, 2000

By 

Dorothy L. Irwin (Brewerton, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presumed Dead (Larry Cole) (Mass Market Paperback)

The goosebumps raised on my arms by page 15; should I continue reading? Should I leave well-enough alone and just be scarred without finding out why? Needless to say, I read and read and read. It's one of the best dectective books I have read in ages. I loved all the characters and, of course, Larry, Judy, Edna and the evil Mistress and good old Homer. What a talent behind the author. I commend you Hugh Holton for writing a good mystery - with a solution - or was there? Talk about a kicker ending!

And, because of the fact that I love familiar characters, I logged on (at 1:00 a.m, mind you) to find out what other books you have written and lo and behold found out there is a series on Larry Cole. Thank you - thank you. I shall read them all.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars O.K., But Weak., September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Presumed Dead (Larry Cole) (Mass Market Paperback)

O.K. read. Probably 2 1/2 stars. A little simplistic and predictable. Enough to keep you going, but kinda weak.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great series, July 29, 2000

By 

Jim T - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presumed Dead (Larry Cole) (Mass Market Paperback)

Well, what's to say except buy or borrow this series. Holton is turning out some entertaining stories. These books fall into the "is it over?" catagory. The type of stories that one wishes that they will never end. I just hope that the author does not run out of ideas for us, the readers. If it is a cold dark rainy night, with strange creaks in the house, and shutters banging in the wind, the stories take on another dimension. Turn off all the lights and read by candle lite.....BOO! Cheers and enjoy...