The 37th Hour (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Every cop has at least one story about the day the job found them..." (more)
Key Phrases: Blue Earth, Royce Stewart, Hennepin County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Compton's bleakly authentic debut procedural set in Minneapolis features Sheriff's Det. Sarah Pribek, who specializes in missing-person cases. Sarah's partner and mentor on the force, Genevieve Brown, retreats to near-catatonia after her daughter is raped and murdered. Compounding this tragedy is the escape of perpetrator Royce Stewart, aka Shorty, who slips the clutch of justice on a technicality. Sarah's husband of two months, Mike Shiloh, a detective with the Minneapolis Police Department, is scheduled to leave on a four-month training stint with the FBI. When Shiloh turns up missing, Sarah finds herself investigating the disappearance of her own husband. Because there are no clues in the present, she sets out on a long and twisted journey into her husband's murky past. Compton tells her story slowly and deliberately, allowing the reader to discover Sarah's secrets as well as Shiloh's, revealing both as complicated, unpredictable characters with dark former lives. Interviews with Shiloh's disaffected family in Utah turn up a sister, Sinclair, who is a deaf poet and university instructor. Even though Shiloh had never mentioned her existence, she proves pivotal to the story and provides vital background clues that point Sarah back home to Minneapolis. There, Genevieve rouses herself and joins Sarah in the Shiloh investigation, which veers in an unexpected direction and leads the two of them to a confrontation with the evil Shorty. Readers looking for perky heroines with sassy girlfriends and humorous man problems would best be advised to seek their mysteries elsewhere. Compton's world is complicated, shadowy and violent, with little cheer and only the barest traces of hope and resolution. Look for Sarah to appear in a sequel, but don't expect it to be easy for anyone. This is first-class, serious crime fiction.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This nail-biter of a debut novel takes off from this proposition: If, as crime experts hold, the first 36 hours in a missing-persons investigation are crucial, what happens after that window has slammed shut? Minneapolis sheriff's detective Sarah Pribek, who sometimes works on missing-persons cases, sees her cop husband off on his trip to the FBI Training Academy in Quantico. He never makes it, but Pribek, not expecting to hear from him during the first flurry of training anyway, doesn't realize things have gone terribly wrong till days--and opportunities--have passed. Compton skillfully weaves together strands of Pribek's life--her husband's disappearance, her best friend's grief over a murdered daughter, and her own foray into saving a suicidal teen--into a complex, shocking whole. From the first scene--a teenage girl teetering on a railway trestle over the Mississippi--to the harrowing resolution, Compton uses suspense as a powerful propellant. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dell (January 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440241367
• ISBN-13: 978-0440241362
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,159,862 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Emotional Wrench, February 26, 2004

By	Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The 37th Hour (Hardcover)

Starting out as a missing person story this debut novel by Jodi Compton slowly evolves into a wonderfully emotional hunt that raises some difficult questions of whether ethics should prevail over grief. It's a story that builds up the momentum until reaching a climax that, although not earth-shattering, unearths a few surprises.

Written in the first person perspective of Sarah Pribek, a detective with the Hennepin County sheriff's office, we meet a capable yet vulnerable woman. The reason for her vulnerability stems from the recent semi-retirement of her partner, mentor and friend Genevieve Brown. Genevieve had recently suffered a mother's worst nightmare when her daughter was raped and murdered. To make matters worse, the man who did it escaped punishment due to a legal technicality, a technicality that Sarah feels responsible for.

But that is just one sub-plot. The other main sub-plot involves her husband Mike Shiloh. Shiloh is also a cop who was working with the Minneapolis Police Department until he was recruited by the FBI. From early on it is established that he and Sarah are very much in love and go out of their way to show how much they care for each other. Which is why Sarah thought it was unusual when Shiloh left for Quantico without so much as a note to say goodbye. By this time it has also been established that Shiloh tends not to do the expected all the time, so Sarah is not particularly concerned.

It's only when the FBI ring to ask why Shiloh hasn't shown up that the alarm bells start to ring. Fortunately, Sarah happens to specialise in finding missing persons and immediately begins to track down his last known movements. What's not so fortunate for her peace of mind is her knowledge of the probability of finding a missing person alive after they've been missing for longer than 36 hours. The tension brought about from searching for her missing husband soon consumes all other thoughts and takes over the mood of the book.

Even though this is first and foremost a mystery story, it's main focus turns out to be about relationships. Starting with the husband and wife relationship displayed by Sarah and Shiloh. Although it appears strong at the start, and indeed it probably is, Sarah soon comes to the realisation that there is much about her husband she doesn't know. The next relationship spotlighted is the friendship forged as fellow police officers by Sarah and Genevieve. But this too is revealed to be fragile as Sarah fells she is unable to supply the support Genevieve needs in her grief. Finally there is a brother / sister relationship that is revealed towards the end of the book that holds secrets from Shiloh's past.

The way the book finished gave me the strong impression that this was the first of a series featuring Sarah Pribek. If this is the case then Jodi Compton will definitely be an author to look out for by readers who like a bit more depth to their characters.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Promising first novel......, May 15, 2005

By	R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When Hennepin County Sheriff's Deputy Sara Pribek's new husband turns up missing--with his trail cold by at least a day--the Missing Persons expert realizes she has very little time to find him. Thirty six hours and the usual missing persons case goes cold.

Problem is, she scarcely knows her husband of just two months. Mike Shiloh is not well liked on the Minneapolis Police Fore where he works. He doesn't have many friends outside of 'the job' and he's not been in touch with his estranged family in Salt Lake City for many years.

Sara's search for Michael takes her in to a past case and the murder of a fellow detective and friend's daughter. While the trail isn't precisely straightforward, I suspect that makes it even more real. The book definitely has its twists and surprises and is a compelling read throughout.

As the Amazon reviewer said, this is a PROCEDURAL, so it is not for the faint-of-heart or for those looking for toss-away lines and amusing chracters. Sara's work digs into the heart of policework and may well strike some nerves as well. All in all, this is a very promising start for Compton and I will be reading her sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A promising, but flawed, debut, March 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The 37th Hour (Hardcover)

First, kudos to any author who can get published and Ms. Compton deserves much praise for her writing style and deft plotting devices. I can understand why she was able to sell this series featuring Sarah Pribek -- we quickly care about this character and get involved in her gut-wrenching search for her missing husband.

I will not retread the plot points mentioned in other reviews, but I echo those who were disturbed by the radical change in prose and plot of the second half -- it's as if two different authors were at work. The last fifteen pages are especially weak and forced, as if someone was writing on deadline. I have a feeling these were not the original pages when Ms. Compton first submitted her manuscript. Too much of the final act seemed to be strictly from Pribek's narration afterwards instead of the reader being there as discoveries were made. Things were just a bit too tidy.

This is an author I want to read about two or three books from now because by then she'll be the master of her craft. This first effort shows promise, but also some warts.