Violent Crimes (A Larry Cole Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Hugh Holton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1998

A Black Muslim mosque is blown off the face of the earth. A novice nun is stalked, tortured, and raped. A famous Chicago columnist is slain in vicious ritualistic fashion. And suddenly Commander Larry Cole is on the trail of Martin Zykus, the most cunning killer he has ever faced. To solve these crimes, Cole will have to dig deep into both his past and his present. He must return to a long-ago search for another sexual psychopath in another time - and a terrifying chase through the bowels of an abandoned, rat-infested Loop hotel. He must also deal with a vastly different man. Steven Zalkin, a mysterious tycoon, is engaged in a program of prodigious philanthropy in which he is giving away untold millions to Chicago's most worthy citizens and institutions. What is the connection between Zykus and Zalkin? Sister Mary Stallings, one of Zykus's earliest victims, holds the key to Cole's case - a case he must solve before her tormentor returns to settle an ancient score.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Holton, a 27-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, has now written four hefty novels (most recently, Chicago Blues) about fictional CPD Commander Larry Cole. While the first three books were occasionally well-received, Holton takes a sharp wrong turn with this story that manages to be violent and tedious at the same time. This killings (by bullet, bomb and fire) are so predictable that both sympathy for the victims and interest in the cops trying to find out who is behind them quickly evaporate. Holton gambles that he can maintain suspense when the reader knows what Cole doesn't, namely that Steven Zalkin, the smoothly evil multimillionaire who's giving Cole fits in 1991, is really Martin Zykus, the crazy rapist who gave him fits in 1976. Holton loses that wager. The story, about one madman's revenge, is beyond overblown, and Holton's prose is as lumpy as a Chicago street in winter. It is no help that Commander Cole comes across as stiff and slightly dim, or that Zalkin is as ludicrous as the plot.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

How does Holton, a 27-year veteran cop, find the time to write? In his fourth novel, series cop Larry Cole pursues an unusual killer: a generous millionaire.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812571878
• ISBN-13: 978-0812571875
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,064,573 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent cops and bad guys novel set in Chicago...., July 31, 2000

By 

Minnesota Raven "Viking Vixen" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Crimes (A Larry Cole Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I certainly enjoyed this work by Hugh Holton with its many characters, subplots and time periods. I have to give Hugh kudos for being able to jump between time periods without losing you. It helps that he dates the section prior to reading it but it also helps that what he brings up from the past is relevant to what is going on in the present. Some writers get carried away and go off on a tangent and Hugh doesn't do that.

In this novel Larry Cole has a major role with some of his history explained which I found to be enlightening. The bad guy is of course a looney but aren't they all... he is revealed way in advance but that's okay because you find out a lot more about him to still make him interesting as the book goes on.

You will find yourself talking back to the book.... wishing characters would do the right thing... you just get involved. I love it when a writer can get me involved as opposed to my looking at it from twenty feet above. It's always a good sign that there is good character development with some humor thrown in and you certainly get that here.

I live in Chicago and one of the joys of this book is that the author is dead on in his description of the city. He doesn't change street names, buildings or how the city functions just to make his book work. All the "EL stops" are correct for instance and if you know the city well you will be able to place yourself physically in the area he is describing which makes it all the better.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Connects 1976 and 94 for Inspector Cole - well plotted., February 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Villanova, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Crimes (A Larry Cole Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Holton puts Inspector Larry Cole into a complex web facing a nemesis returned from an 18 year old rape/murder. The nemesis has become worthy of Cole's attention by using stolen military hardware to create terrifying destruction. Holton's weaving Chicago PD politics into the novel is better done than his attempts to get the personal lives of his characters into the book. The series is still a fine one, and this book keeps up the tradition.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Exciting Book I've Ever Read!, September 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Violent Crimes (A Larry Cole Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a first time reader of Hugh Holton and was extremely pleased with Violent Crimes. I'm an avid reader of Patricia Cornwell, Sidney Sheldon, Sue Grafton, etc... and this book was by far the best book I've ever read. I was on the edge of my seat virtually the whole time I was reading it. Hugh Holton has a way of writing in such detail that you can visualize the crimes and almost feel the pain of the victims. I highly recommend this one and can't wait to read more of Hugh Holton's other titles!