Summer of Fear [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

T. Jefferson Parker (Author), Dale Hull (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1993

It is a hot California summer, and a serial killer is massacring entire families in Orange County. Russ Monroe, an ex-cop-turned-crime-writer, stumbles onto a murder scene that replicates those committed by the serial killer. The victim was an ex-lover who he knew was dating his best friend, the city's homicide chief.

The crime was not reported and the next day all traces of it have vanished. The only two people who think it ever happened are Russ, and the figure he saw leave the scene of the crime as he arrived - the homicide chief.

Each suspects the other and they begin separate investigations to prove the other's guilt, exposing a terrifying web of greed, duplicity, and passion. Hard-boiled suspense and the author's dark insight into the human heart guarantees fast paced listener enjoyment!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Timeworn thriller conventions are skillfully recycled in this suspenseful tale of serial murder and misdirection in California's Orange County. When reporter/crime writer Russell Monroe finds his former lover brutally slain in an apparently ritual style, he suspects a connection to other recent murders in the county. Somehow, the case never appears on the police blotter--although Russell saw his former colleague, homicide chief Marty Parish, leaving the scene of the crime--and soon all evidence of the death disappears. Meanwhile, a string of killings continues in the same gruesome style, and Russell becomes the contact of the deranged man responsible. As the writer gets dangerously entangled in this deadly intrigue, his wife Isabella fights a terminal brain tumor. While this material may sound hopelessly hackneyed, Parker ( Laguna Heat ; Pacific Beat ) delivers it in a surehanded narrative notable for taut pacing and plot twists that keep the reader wondering whom to trust. Russell's desperate first-person narrative voice is convincing and often gripping. 100,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Any fan of Parker's previous work will queue up to read about a serial killer in Orange County who wipes out entire families. Russ Monroe, ex-cop turned writer, wants to know why the police are so secretive and why they have obliterated all evidence of his ex-lover's murder.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Unabridged Library Edition; Unabridged edition (August 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561001546
• ISBN-13: 978-1561001545
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.2 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,418,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including Storm Runners and The Fallen. Alongside Dick Francis and James Lee Burke, Parker is one of only three writers to be awarded the Edgar Award for Best Novel more than once. Parker lives with his family in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer of Fear by T. Jefferson Parker, May 18, 2002

By 

Jill C. Guenther "Ozziemom" (Castaic, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Summer of Fear (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read almost of all of T. Jefferson Parkers book, and he is
one of the best authors around.
THIS book was my favorite however, because there are two stories going on at once and they are both fascinating.
The first is a crime writer who's wife if dying, literally wasting away in front of him, and the touching realistic way he is trying to deal with it.
Then, there is a serial killer on the loose in So. CA (Orange County) which is a laid back beach community, and the serial killer begins communicating with the crime writer. Some serial killer books can be too grueling to read, and although I was glad I wasn't alone while reading this book, it was a good psychological thriller, and with the skill of a writer like T. Jefferson, this book was just hard to put down.
Scary one minute, and then heart breaking in the next chapter.
I'm hoping that this book will have some sort of sequel, at least with the crime writer coming back so we can see how his life is now, and his job is so interesting that there are many more story line possibilities.
I'm an avid read, and mystery is my favorite genre, and T. Jefferson Parker just gets better and better the more he writes.
I recommend you read any of his books, especially this one. The latest books with Merci Rayborne are great as is Silent Joe.
I love the California beach background and all of his main characters; you feel as if you've met them and care about their life. He is a truly gifted writer, and if I recommend a writer to read it is definetly T. Jefferson Parker!
Summer of Fear is for the truly hard core mystery fans, which I am, and the mixture of fear, pathos and also love, loss and closure, makes for a book that I didn't want to end.
Thank you T. Jefferson Parker.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, March 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer of Fear (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

One of the best book I've ever read. In this mix of gut renching bloody edge of your seat terror, and a man on the edge of insanity facing the murders of the Midnight Eye, and his wife having cancer. Russell and Martin are blaming each other for the death of Alice Fultz, because whoever killed her framed it to look like another one of the gorey murders of the midnight eye. But if you read this book you will find out that they get a very big suprise. I would not recommend this book to children under 11, because of its explicit language.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parker just keeps getting better!, February 23, 2005

By 

Madison Phillips "Madison" (Shawnee Mission, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer of Fear (Mass Market Paperback)

I became a T. Jefferson Parker fan with Silent Joe, but I have to say this one is my favorite. A deep, complex, emotional mystery/thriller, with a real sense of danger. You will care deeply about the characters and will never guess the ending. I wish all writers who put so much into their plots would take a lesson from Parker--the more you care about the characters, the more you will care about what is happening!