Parallel Lies (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The train charged forward in the shimmering afternoon sunlight, autumn's vibrant colors forming a natural lane for the raised bed of chipped rock and the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Northern Union, Nell Priest, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, June 2001: Ridley Pearson, who has written 14 previous books, many of them featuring his Seattle cop Lou Boldt, ups the ante in his latest thriller.

Northern Union Railroad has been experiencing a series of accidents with their freight trains, but it is not until they find a freight car covered with blood that they call in outside help. Peter Tyler used to be a cop until he nearly beat a black man to death and lost his badge. When he gets a second chance via an old friend at the National Transportation Safety Board, he drives a convertible through a snowstorm with the top down (he suffers from claustrophobia) to view the freight car. He arrives at the scene to discover that he will have to deal with Northern Union's own security officer, Nell Priest, a black woman who already knows Tyler's history.

Meanwhile, Umberto Alvarez, the train wrecker, is systematically working his way towards his ultimate wreck, Northern's F.A.S.T. train due to make its maiden run from New York to Washington, D.C. Alvarez lost his wife and children when their car stalled between the gates at a crossing and were crushed by one of Northern's trains. Although Northern Union was cleared of all responsibility and Alvarez's wife was found negligent, he doesn't think that's so.

As Peter Tyler's investigation proceeds, he begins to come to the same conclusion. Closing in on Alvarez, he tries to interview the crossing guard who was on duty the day the wreck occurred. On arriving at the man's apartment, he finds the man bludgeoned to death--with the same stick with which Tyler beat the black man all that time ago. It's time to get paranoid. Who at Northern is covering up and what role does Nell play in all this? As always in a Ridley Pearson thriller, the action doesn't stop until the final page. --Otto Penzler

From Publishers Weekly

Pearson forsakes his franchise character, Seattle police detective Lou Boldt, for a railroad thriller that wobbles on its tracks. The hero here is Peter Tyler, a former Washington, D.C., homicide cop who was fired many say unjustly for beating a child-abuse suspect. Desperate for money, Tyler gets thrown a bone by an old friend who handles investigations for the National Transportation Safety Board. Handed a three-day contract, Tyler is assigned to check out a messy murder aboard a boxcar on a Northern Union Railroad line in rural Illinois. Nothing about the murder makes sense, but more intriguing to Tyler are the persistent rumors about why so many NUR trains have derailed in the past year. When Tyler turns up a suspect not only for the murder but also the derailments, he quickly finds that his services are no longer needed. Helped only by a railroad security officer, the lovely Nell Priest, Tyler follows the trail to New York City. That's where he believes the murderous vandal, who's seeking revenge for the railroad-related deaths of his wife and twin daughters, plans to sabotage the grand opening of NUR's most ambitious project: a bullet train connecting New York with the nation's capital. Pearson (Middle of Nowhere) keeps up his usual breakneck pace, and for excitement alone, his latest is good fun. But the story is marred by several false notes, imponderable plot twists and a clumsily executed love affair giving a squishy feel to an otherwise hard-edged thriller. Of greater concern, however, is Tyler. He simply never emerges as a character of substance or distinction. (July)Forecast: Despite Pearson's bestselling clout, a major/ad promo campaign and an eight-city author tour, tepid reviews and weak word of mouth may limit sales of this lackluster, Boldt-less effort.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (July 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786865644
• ISBN-13: 978-0786865642
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,551,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Back to Boldt, please..., August 20, 2001

By A Customer

I have read most of Ridley Pearson's Boldt/Matthews novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them. They have good character development, realistic dialogue, and a compelling, interesting plot. Unfortunately, this non-Boldt novel has none of those. Though the plot is reasonably entertaining, the characters are among the most uninteresting I have ever encountered and, for the most part, are totally unbelievable. I don't think I've read a sillier love story in my life than the one between Tyler and Priest; it takes a lot to wade through some of the scenes wherein Tyler repeatedly is distracted by Priest's alleged beauty and wants nothing more than to grab her, caress her, and so on...Holy Bad Romance Novel!! Ridley Pearson is a good writer and he can do better than this. Like some other reviewers, I suspect that this may be an older piece of work that he pulled out of the attic and dusted off. It simply doesn't read like some of his more recent (and much better) efforts. I eagerly await the next Boldt/Matthews tale and I suggest that others who like Pearson's work do the same.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Right On Track!, October 29, 2001

By A Customer

Can't understand the negative reviews. This thriller about the railroads ran just like a train; eases out at first, picks up speed, rushes to an exciting climax, and slows to a satisfying stop. Unlike the opinion of the some reviewers, the characters were given just enough depth. Pearson does a wonderful job of shifting the reader's sympathies from the good guys to the bad guys; in fact one is never quite sure who is wearing the white hat in this very solid read. This novel is absolutely worth the trip.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good - but not his best, July 9, 2001

By	R. Robinson (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would actually give this book 3.5 stars if I was able to. I am a huge Ridley fan - especially the Lou Boldt series. I was excited to read this book, and it took me a long time to get into it. The first 100 pages didn't turn fast enough, and the only reason I kept going was because I am a fan of the author. But, the end of the book was fast paced, and the book got better the further toward the end I got. The story was interesting, with no clear cut villian. I liked the characters, although I think that both Peter Tyler and Nell Priest could have been better developed. I liked the idea of David vs. Golliath, but the story just didn't have the special spark that Ridley usually has. It's a good summer read for the beach, but it doesn't do the author any justice. If this is your first time reading Ridley, don't start with this book - find his others first!