Customer Reviews

Sullivan's Sting

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

 

 

I personally think this is one of Lawrence Sanders best books. It is a cops and robbers type story involving higher class criminals and more sophisticated law enforcement, with only a minimum amount of spilled blood. The story line is really a number of sub-plots that wrap together into an overall plot involving the inter-relationships of the bad guys and a complex sting operation by Federal and local authorities. The novel is well developed and well worth reading.

I was surprised by the negative reviews of Sullivan's Sting - it was a terrific read, and I highly recommend it. The plot is basically about a group of people, including members of the police, who are all doing scams on each other in one form or another. I thought the characters were complex and entertaining. Other reviewers didn't care for the ending because Mr. Sanders doesn't take the readers to the final action between the antagonists and protagonists. However, I thought it worked because it is obvious what happens to the characters, and there is a plot point he ties up neatly. His writing reminds of Elmore Leonard and to a lesser extent Carl Hiassen. I had obviously heard of Lawrence Sanders before, but for some reason his books never interested me enough to pick up. I plan to immediately go out and purchase as many of them as I can.

WOW..I just got done reading Sullivan's Sting...what an amazing book, I could not put it down and when I finally did I jumped online to find if there was a follow up to it anywhere..I'd love to know? Amazing piece of work Mr Sanders Congrats :-)

If you like to read about con artists and highly elaborate scams, this is it! No book can match Sullivans Sting!

Rita Sullivan, a cop hired to set up a sting on a petty thief, gets to do her job the old-fashioned way, in bed. But she winds up falling in love with the ne'er-do-well and before you know it, the lovelorn nerdy guy down at police headquarters, who also has a thing for Rita, is jealous. The aim of the cops is to nab the mastermind and his ring of thieves, but since Rita stops cooperating with her cop boss once she falls in love, it takes a little longer. Meanwhile, her criminal boyfriend's crimes get worse and you can guess he ain't gonna get married and settle down anytime soon. I enjoyed the book, although it lacked a certain animation. The author's series featuring Archy McNally are more entertaining.
However, Lawrence Sander's clever, zippy style is fun as always.

Loved the book for the first 338 pages but the last 10 basically destroyed it. Sanders books are usually well-plotted with interesting, if slightly dishevled, characters and situations. This one followed the same basic format but self-destructed in the end. He built characters who took turns scamming each other but at the finish, only the reader was scammed. Not a good effort from a writer who usually produces.

I picked up a copy of this book for $2 on a discount rack and I wasted my money. Character development was virtually non-existant with a storyline almost impossible to believe. Everyone jumping into bed with everyone else and everyone scamming from each other...including the cops scamming from each other. And practically no ending at all. After reading KING CON by Stephen J. Cannell, I was hoping for something similar but no such luck.