Customer Reviews

South of Hell (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the most recent book in the Louis Kincaid series. PJ Parrish (who are actually two authors) have written another winner!I love Louis Kincaid - he is dark, broody and honest!!! In this latest book, we find Kincaid back in his old stomping grounds trying to help another cop try to put away a murderer - but there are a few problems - one of them being that the cop is not being totally honest with Kincaid.With the help of Joe, Kincaid will find himself, investigating a cold case, in which a young girl's life may be at stake.Parrish is great with details - just enough to give you a real sens of the surroundings in which Kincaid finds himself. In most of their books, there is a decrepit, abandoned (or almos) building and South of Hell is no exception - I LOVED the chilling description of the house, especially the kitchen and the barn. I was getting goose bumps just reading it - you just know something bad happened there.The pace of this book is just perfect - however, I have to say that I prefer Louis minus Joe. For some reason, the relationship does not jive for me and I do see Louis as a loner - but I do see why Joe had to play such an important role in this book.What is also interesting is that with each book, we get a little more of an insight into who Louis truly is and where he came from.I LOVED, LOVED this book. RUN TO BUY IT.

P. J. Parrish is the collaborative name of two sisters, Kristy Montee and Kelly Nichols, who publish a seamless series of novels set in the 1980s that concern private investigator Louis Kincaid and his love interest, a former rookie policewoman and now detective Joe Frye.

SOUTH OF HELL, the latest installment in this superlative series, contains all of the elements that have made these books a commanding and addicting reading experience almost from their inception. Kincaid is an ex-Michigan cop, a golden boy who experienced a sudden and dramatic fall from grace and who now finds himself making ends meet, if barely, as a South Florida private detective. Frye, on the other hand, is on an upward career trajectory, employed in northern Michigan and planning a run for the sheriff's office. The two of them make an unlikely couple: she's white, he's of mixed race; she's squared away, he's not; and both are, each relative to the other, geographically undesirable. They have so many rough edges that it's inevitable someone gets cut, and often. Rough edges, however, also provide stimulation, and Parrish, with subtle revelation, communicates the unspoken attraction between the couple as well.

Kincaid is beginning to feel somewhat prickly over the fact that he has not heard from Frye for several days. When he eventually receives a call from Michigan, it is not from Frye but from Jake Shockey, a middle-aged police detective. Shockey wants Kincaid to come up to Ann Arbor to assist him in reopening an old missing person case. Kincaid handled the initial investigation, though his memory of doing so is next to none. His education at the university in Ann Arbor ended in disappointment, his career in law enforcement terminated in bitterness, and he is considered to be "toxic." And, as we come to learn, he has a secret buried in the past that is a source of sharp if silent shame to him. Still, a trip there will bring Kincaid closer to Frye.

Hoping to fill time as well as salvage the relationship, Kincaid returns only to almost immediately regret it. Shockey, though not broken, is so badly bent as to make little difference between the two. The case he would like to reopen is that of Jean Brandt, with whom he was involved at the time of her disappearance. Her husband, Owen, who has since been imprisoned for assaulting another woman, is about to be released. Shockey is convinced that Owen murdered his wife and hid the body, perhaps on his ramshackle farm. He wants Kincaid to assist him in tampering with evidence in the case. A horrified Kincaid refuses but reluctantly agrees to help him revive the investigation.

Assisted by Frye in a non-official capacity, Kincaid conducts a search of Brandt's abandoned farm --- located, ironically, just south of hell --- only to find a young woman hiding in the decrepit house. It develops that the girl, unknown to Shockey, is Amy, Jean's daughter. Amy is close to feral as the result of a number of factors, not the least of which is her having borne witness to a series of violent events that are locked deep within her mind. Meanwhile, Owen, a terrifying, violent force housed in a waste of skin, is released from prison, hell bent on returning to and acquiring what he considers to be his, as well as finding out once and for all what happened to Jean. Kincaid, Shockey and Owen are soon on a collision course that results in a resolution, but one paid with violent and bloody coin.

The events set forth in SOUTH OF HELL mark a significant turning point for Kincaid, as he is forced to make one of those choices that will change his life, perhaps forever. In the course of solving one mystery from his past, Kincaid must confront, quite dramatically, the aftershock of his own past actions. There is also a bit of neat contrast here, a very subtle comparison of how two men react quite differently to similar revelations. In addition, the book introduces a couple of new characters, of whom we will almost certainly see more.

SOUTH OF HELL ultimately explores the extremes of human behavior, and many of the points in between, through a stark and unflinching point of view that is nonetheless tempered with the promise and fulfillment of redemption.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I did enjoy this book. The opening chapter is an attention-grabber and is soley what convinced me to spend my hard-earned money on it. My only reservation is that the story itself may have been better served apart from the Louis Kincaid series. The tale is original, well composed, and worth purchasing the book for - yes, buy the book! But it didn't make me want to invest in more Kincaid novels. But it did peak my interest in more works by the sisters writing under the name PJ Parrish - if that makes any sense.

This was my second Parrish novel. The first being "Island of Bones". Another Kinckaid novel & this does not disappoint. The main characters, there aren't many, are believable & very human. None of this super hero PI nonsense you'll find elsewhere.
Mr. Parrish weaves through his story very well. The ending, though not a blockbuster, is enjoyable. Go for it, you'll enjoy it. It's quite gripping

It may be allegorical, but Hell is a real town in Michigan. Of course, what transpires there in this novel wasn't particularly pleasant, in keeping with the title. Nevertheless, it is a rich but eerie story featuring Louis Kincaid, Florida PI, and his girlfriend, Joe Frye, now an under-sheriff in Michigan.

Louis receives a telephone call from a Michigan detective he met years before, requesting his help in the suspected murder years before of a woman with whom the caller had a relationship. He suspect is the woman's husband, who has just been released from prison for a different offense. Louis travels to Michigan and becomes involved in the investigation, as does Joe, who visits him soon after his arrival.

The authors--two sisters--have contrived a gripping tale of the past and present, as well as relationships that are introspective and telling in human emotions. This is the second in the Kincaid/Frye mystery series, and continues the saga of their personal lives, as well as giving the reader an absorbing tale to keep the pages turning. Recommended.

This was an impulse buy, destined to be read on an intercontinental flight.

I enjoyed it, but I wasn't terribly impressed. I found the story to be a bit far-fetched and a little bit absent-minded. I haven't read anything by Parrish before, at least not that I remember. This was an entry in the Louis Kincaid series of detective novels. The character of Kincaid was oddly transparent for me. I never really felt as though I got a grip on him. This may because this is a later series entry, but it probably is what gave the book its odd absent-minded feel for me.

I'd willingly pick up another book by Parrish (two authors, according to the back cover) as long as it was second-hand. There was nothing particularly bad, but there was also nothing particularly good.

concerning a case he was involved in a decade ago. Louis found the car that belonged to Owen and Jean Brandt; she took the vehicle and left her spouse and their child never to return; he went to prison but has since been paroled. Ann Arbor police detective Jake Shockley, who loved Jean, tells Louis new evidence has surfaced and asks Kincaid to come to Michigan. Louis cannot resist and leaves immediately as the cops plan to reopen the cold case disappearance while fearing for Owen's new girlfriend.

Owen and his girlfriend go back to his former house waiting for the life insurance check that his girlfriend expects soon. When Owen finds out his daughter Amy is in town he tries to get her back but fails as Joe, Louis's girlfriend has legal custody of her. Amy is determined to find out what happened to her mother while her father is wondering what really happened to his wife. The child visits a hypnotist hoping the expert can help her retrieve her buried repressed memories. Wanted for attacking Louis, Owen heads back to the farmhouse at the same time Amy arrives there to see if she can prompt her memories. Louis, Joe, and Jake also come to the farmhouse for the inevitable High Noon confrontation.

The antagonist is a sociopath who uses violence to get what he demands, which leaves many people afraid of him and his abusive bullying tactics. Louis, already involved before his arrival, becomes almost obsessed with solving the case and protecting the innocent two females who he fears will not survive associating with him. Ann Arbor also contains a personal shocker to Louis as he meets his daughter and has no idea how to be a father to her. P.J. Parrish has written a fascinating thriller in which the case is too personal to Kincaid's liking; but not to his appreciative fans.

Harriet Klausner

This is my first brush with the character PI Louis Kincaid and by now he his into his ninth adventure, with the tenth case seemingly to be his last, as the author is launching a new character later in the year.

In this instance though, I have no real urge to go back and read all Louis's earlier cases and history, not because it isn't a fantastic series, which it is, but because this book works great as a stand alone novel, and by now the character has been `fleshed out' and given his full personality, which is so complex and sensitive, that to read earlier books would probably be a retrograde step.

Not only is this book a great thriller that kept me guessing right until the end, never really knowing what the final outcome would be, until the very last page, but it is also written with the keen attention to detail that made the characters believeable, well developed and real to me, drawing an immediate empathy from me, as I was so easily able to relate to them.

This book is written, and almost comes across as two separate stories, covering two disparate worlds and periods of time; the hard hitting angle of a great piece of modern day crime fiction writing and an invaluable insight into the many social problems of society, both modern and historical.

Louis Kincaid, born half black, into a small town, where prejudice is, even today, very much the norm. His mother passed away when he was young, his father abandoned him to a succession of foster homes, some good, some not so good. A law degree abandoned mid-way, for a career in the police, from where he is subsequently dismissed. He is now a PI, living on the edge of society, hated by the police, still an outcast in his home town and now living a very much anonymous life in the city, but unconsciously desperately trying to bring closure to his past and move on with his life.

His long distance relationship, with a serving female police officer, who has moved far away, seeking promotion in her career, is strained to say the least and that loyalty and love is to be tested even further, when she is drawn into this complex and emotional case, initially against her will, but then with an increasing sense of need and fulfillment, that will either draw them closer together once again, or separate them forever.

Louis is forced back to his roots, as if by an invisible cord, when a voice from his past asks for his help in solving a case and finds himself thrown headlong into prejudices he had hoped to try and leave behind, whilst being forced to face up to the resposibilities of a long ago action, which evokes feelings in him that he could never have imagined.

The crime is one against a string of unfortunate women, perpetrated by a single man, so cruel and viciously violent, as to be vile to everyone who comes into contact with him. Could some of this madman's actions stem from stories of long abandoned `Underground Railroads to Canada', used by the slaves and found to be hidden on his land, or from the fact that, it transpires that there is a history of `black blood' in his family, which in an area where blacks are still only just tolerated, has sent his mind into a downward spiral, from which he is unable to escape?

Seemingly, only one young girl, long ago abandoned to her fate, has the key to the answer. Amy is portrayed as a vulnerable, timid person, obviously frightened of Owen Brandt, yet having an inner depth and courage to face up to him, in order to solve the mystery of her mothers disappearance, one crime for which he has never been charged.

Amy's transition into an emerging confident young woman, gathers pace as Owen Brandts capture comes closer, although she is prepared to place herself in terrible danger, to ensure that he is forced to pay for the crime and thus atone for the wrongs inflicted on her mother and all those unfortunate souls, from long ago.

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This book was taken from my existing TBR pile and left me wondering why I had never read it sooner, it was a totally engrossing read.

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Once again, P.J. Parrish has given us another wonderful look into the lives of Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye. The story had me from beginning to end, and as usual left me wanting more. A very enjoyable read.

I live north of Hell, in Michigan that is. I live in Livingston, county so I found the book very interesting. I have been to many places in the book, so it was very relevant. Since reading my first P.J.Parrish book, I have read 2 more and have 2 more waiting to be read and 1 on the way. Their writing is very interesting since it takes place in my home state a lot.