The Price of Darkness (DI Joe Faraday) [Hardcover]

Graham Hurley (Author)

Book Description

Series: DI Joe Faraday | Publication Date: January 24, 2008

DC Winter has gone undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the inner circle of the city's premier drug lord. Isolated from his colleagues, resenting the way his superiors have presented him the job as a fait accompli, and abroad in a world where money is easy and respect is earned in brutally straightforward ways, Winter is in his element—worryingly so. Concerns among his superiors that Winter may finally have had too much temptation put in his path are soon supplanted by two vicious murders. First a high-profile local property developer is shot, with clinical efficiency, in his own bed. A few days later a government minister is assassinated while his car is stuck in a traffic jam. A fevered investigation begins with Winter's erstwhile boss, detective inspector Faraday, in charge. With clues hard to come by, the government panicking, and the anti-terrorist branch circling, Faraday is shoved off the case and left in charge just of the investigation into the property developer's murder. Faraday is also tasked with keeping track of Winter and soon discovers that Winter, the arch-conspirator, has been set up. As Winter begins to realize what his bosses had in mind for him and Faraday begins to put together the pieces of a heartbreaking story of personal and political betrayal that may well link the two murders, The Price of Darkness becomes a study of the desperate measures some people take when their friends and their society let them down.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An outstandingly good novel... The theme is individual loyalty and collective betrayal but the subject is contemporary life and its increasing brutality.' -- LITERARY REVIEW

'Britain's finest and hardest-hitting series of police procedural novels.The Price of Darkness is Graham Hurley's best book yet and should put Pompey firmly on the literary map... Hurley presents a world that has lost its moral compass, where selfishness, betrayal and brutality prevail, and the rare instances of decency and kindness seem almost aberrant. Readers who enjoy convincing, well-crafted thrillers won't go wrong with this one.' -- Laura Wilson, GUARDIAN

'Dark, gritty, engrossing and totally believable' -- REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE

'Interesting characters and two strong storylines drive the book along at high speed.' -- FINANCIAL TIMES

'One of the most able proponents of the crime novel... Questions of loyalty and betrayal are handled with quite as much skill as the standard crime novel apparatus of violence and suspense.' -- GOOD BOOK GUIDE

'[His] Portsmouth-based series gets better with each book... Hurley handles the two stories skilfully, with a particularly good murder mystery and, as always, vividly realised characters.' -- SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

About the Author

Graham Hurley is the award-winning author of the DI Joe Faraday series, as well as several other works of fiction.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (January 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752868845
• ISBN-13: 978-0752868844
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #810,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Darkness a bit inflated?, October 26, 2008

By 

ausGeoff "AussieSkeptic" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Price of Darkness (DI Joe Faraday) (Hardcover)

After looking forward to another Joe Faraday storyThe Price of Darkness, I was rather disappointed by this latest offering from Graham Hurley. The characters as usual, are well drawn and speak with voices true to their setting. Faraday is also true to form -- concerned, sensitive and sensible, empathetic with the victims, but also vaguely vulnerable and naive at times. The police's, and Pompey's, nemesis Bazza McKenzie is firing on all cylinders, but still manages to draw the reader into a love-hate relationship.

A couple of issues though. How is it that the police, with all their resources, and through so many stories, have failed to nail McKenzie after all these years? And what of the subplot involving Faraday's deaf son J-J and his over-the-top real estate purchase: why was it included?

This storyline was almost a bit too clever in its construction. The various "subplots" were too distracting -- but at the same time not adequately fleshed out. Things moved along at a fairly brisk pace, but then some relatively inconsequential bits and pieces subtly broke its pacing. I found myself sometimes reading a chapter and then saying, "oh yeah, I'd forgotten about him,or that, or whatever", which shouldn't really happen in a good, evenly-paced storyline.

Even the jet-ski tournament sort of fizzled out as an idea (in the author's plan of things) without a particularly concrete solution. And Paul winter: good-guy or good-guy turned bad? It was left hanging at the end. And when Winter admitted to Bazza that his new marketing agent was an undercover cop, surely Bazza would've had her killed. Or, alternatively, Winter wouldn't have given her game away. Didn't really gel at all.

So... basically just an okay read, but I'm thinking I won't be looking for any more Graham Hurley/Joe Faraday books in the near future. 6/10