Prisoner of Memory: A Novel (Eve Diamond Novels) (Hardcover)

by Denise Hamilton (Author)
Key Phrases: army watch, Sasha Lukin, Cold War, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Eve Diamond, having investigated Southern California's Asian and Latino communities, tackles the Russians in Hamilton's entertaining, well-researched fifth thriller to feature the ambitious L.A. Times reporter (after 2005's Savage Gardens). Eve is following reports of a mountain lion in Griffith Park when she discovers the bullet-ridden body of Dennis Lukin, the teenage son of recent Russian émigrés. That night, Eve is visited by Mischa Tsipin, an illegal Russian immigrant running from gangsters to whom he owes money and claiming to be a cousin of Eve's (her mother was Russian). At considerable personal risk, the indefatigable Eve sorts through false identities and changing alliances, confronting old and new Russian émigrés and their mafia as well as her own family history. Lending support are FBI agent Thomas Clavendish, an intractable cold warrior, and her reporter colleague, Josh Brandywine. As usual, Hamilton richly evokes seething, polyglot L.A., but the reader's suspension of disbelief may sag by the final shootout under the weight of too many coincidences and subplots. (Apr.)
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From Booklist
Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond investigates the execution-style murder of a Russian American teenager in the fifth--and most personal--mystery in Hamilton's critically acclaimed series. Soon after Dennis Lukin's corpse is found in Griffith Park, Diamond finds herself entangled in a case that will reunite her with the Russian heritage she has long tried to forget. Eve's world becomes infinitely more complicated when Mischa, a disheveled man claiming to be her long-lost cousin, shows up at her doorstep, on the run from the Russian Mob. She allows him to sleep on her back porch, a reluctant act of kindness that soon endangers her life. Veteran journalist Hamilton has a few too many subplots in this tribute to her own Eastern European roots (her roster of artistic relatives includes members of the Mariinsky Theatre and Kirov Ballet). There are echoes of Raymond Chandler in her take on the metropolis of L.A.--an eclectic, moody (and surprisingly rainy) place. Fans of the series will be interested in the autobiographical connections here. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743261941
• ISBN-13: 978-0743261944
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,155,443 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raindrops Keep Falling, October 3, 2006

By	Jeff Sherratt "That Author Guy" (Newport Beach, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Others in these reviews will outline Hamilton's well crafted plot. But here's my take on her writing... E. L. Doctorow once said, "Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader, not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." When I read Denise Hamilton I grab my umbrella. Need I say more?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, May 8, 2006

By	Lynette Brasfield - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Prisoner of Memory is a gorgeous, lively mix of murder mystery, Russian family intrigue, and Los Angeles mayhem. I particularly enjoyed the dry humor in the book, and Hamilton's lovely use of language, for example "Bees droned, an atavistic murmur from the hive-mind," interspersed with action that keeps the reader turning pages. Her character, Eve Diamond, is as multi-faceted as her name. A most enjoyable read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this and her others!, April 24, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

On the first morning of her assignment to the downtown Metro section of the Los Angeles Times, journalist Eve Diamond stumbles across the body of a 17-year-old boy in Griffith Park. The murdered boy is the son of Russian emigrants, Sasha and Irina Lukin.

As Eve's nose for news and search for a killer leads her into Russian Cold War history, she comes face to face with her own family history. Eve's investigation and life is complicated when a young man literally appears on her doorstep one night, armed with Eve's personal history (including her bank account balance) in order to convince her that he is her long-lost cousin.

Eve agrees to take Mischa in, but when he disappears, the Russian mob comes calling and the mob leader warns her off the murder case. Is Mischa really Eve's cousin? And what is Eve's connection to the Lukin family? Will her involvement in a young man's death threaten her own safety?

Denise Hamilton is a wonderful writer who breathes life into her plots and invites the reader to live her adventures with her. I like Eve. She's gutsy, determined and has a kick-butt, take-no-prisoners attitude.

Armchair Interviews says: After you're read Prisoner of Memory, check out Hamilton's previous Eve Diamond novels. You'll be glad you did.