Red Light (Mass Market Paperback)

by T. Jefferson Parker (Author) "Out of the way, please. Sheriff's investigator..." (more)
Key Phrases: kennel key, chukka boots, duty boots, Aubrey Whittaker, Patti Bailey, Orange County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Parker's many fans met Merci Rayborn, the Orange County homicide investigator, in The Blue Hour, and will be happy to renew their acquaintance with her in Red Light. Although she's still mourning the death of her former partner Tim Hess, who fathered her 2-year-old son, her relationship with fellow cop Mike McNally is progressing nicely, and so is her career on the force. Then two murders, decades apart, come together in a way that shakes Merci's world both personally and professionally; two beautiful young prostitutes are both killed for what they knew and what they threatened to tell. Who's covering up the corruption in the department that led to the first murder? And was Merci's lover responsible for the second? Someone's sending Merci evidence that disappeared from the police locker years ago; did that same person frame Mike too?

Merci doesn't want to believe McNally's involved, but everything points to him. When she's forced to arrest him, everything she believes in comes in for a painful reexamination. And when her efforts to solve both killings lead inexorably back to where they started--to the department itself--she faces the most difficult challenge of all.

Parker is a masterful writer, with a sure command of the idiom, a fine sense of pacing, and more emotional depth than many of his colleagues. Fans will applaud this outing, and new readers will seek out his extensive backlist. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
The murders of two prostitutes 30 years apart provide the framework for this fine crime melodrama about police corruption and political ambition in Southern California's Orange County. The sequel to 1997's The Blue Hour finds homicide detective Merci Rayborn investigating the shooting death of a young hooker. As much as Rayborn hates to admit it, the primary suspect is her own boyfriend, Sgt. Mike McNally, who was a close friend of the prostitute, but claims he never had sex with her. As Rayborn struggles with the emotions of having to expose and arrest her lover, her boss drops another case on her--the unsolved 1969 slaying of another prostitute, found dead in an empty field. Rayborn wonders why such a seemingly simple case was never solved. The more she plows into it, however, the uglier it gets. Details suggest that corrupt political leaders and cops conspiring on a shady development deal may have committed the murder. And, oddly, some of the principals in that event seem to be reemerging in the case against McNally. Parker's latest sizzles along, an infectious blend of atmosphere, action and passion. Longtime fans will recognize formulaic twists and secondary story lines that the author has used before, but the plot stays fresh as it weaves between present and past. Particularly effective is Parker's recreation of Orange County's growth spurt in the 1960s, when unbridled development, backroom land deals and strict political conservatism were the order of the day. And Rayborn, the latest in Parker's line of protagonists with obsessive streaks, impresses as an absorbingly hardheaded hero, one who learns difficult truths about herself as well as about her cases. 7-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786889756
• ISBN-13: 978-0786889754
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merci Rayborn is Back!, June 20, 2000

By	P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Red Light (Hardcover)

I was surprised and not so surprised that T. Jefferson Parker brought back Merci Rayborn. After all, the ending for the book that introduced her, THE BLUE HOUR all but demanded that she return.

In this book, Merci is two years older and still mourning the loss of her partner (and father to her son) Tim Hess. She has named her little boy after his father and is now involved with another detective sergeant on the Orange County (CA) Sheriff's department, Mike McNally.

Parker provides the reader with a multi-leveled mystery and police procedure novel that uses spare but biting prose to make its point. In this story, Merci Rayborn, a single mother and crack homicide investigator is involved in two homicide investigations. One is current and may involve her fellow officer and lover, Mike McNally and the other is over thirty years old and involves the murder of a prostitute who had had connections with local political and law enforcement officials.

In the more recent of the murder cases, Merci initially investigates the death of another young prostitute, this one who also had conections, but those closer to home. Initial evidence begins to point to Merci's erstwhile lover and would-be husband. Merci, never one to shy away from pursuing justice or the truth follows the trail of evidence with a dedication bordering on fanatical. More and more, the evidence points at Mike McNally. But is he really the killer or is he being framed? And if so, by whom?

I have read almost all of Parker's previous novels and have enjoyed them all. His common denominator is the setting, Orange County, CA. However, with each new book installment, he shows that he has climbed rapidly into the ranks of true masters in this genre. He is spare with his prose and in this he makes me think of what Hemingway would have been like had he written mysteries and police stories. He gives us flawed but interesting characters. Some we come to like and have hopes for and others we don't. I have to say that I did NOT like Merci Rayborn when I read THE BLUE HOUR. But perhaps motherhood, the loss of Tim Hess and the personal and political problems she faces in the Sheriff's Department have mellowed her to the point that she has become more human and less disagreeable. In RED LIGHT, for all of her flaws and self-doubts, Parker has made her a much more agreeable and yes, a more sympathetic character.

This book has some slow points and then, the plot and the level of action pick up. I do not know if this was a deliberate device by Parker or not but either way, the book does become a page turner. When Merci must decide for herself whether Mike McNally is guilty or being framed is where the book really took off. It is where I knew that Parker had planned and timed the story line for just such a reason.

Parker's intimate knowledge of police procedures is displayed at its best in this novel. His former career as a journalist and his extensive background in the history of Orange County also serve him well in RED LIGHT. Although this is the first time that he has used a recurring character, I hope it will not be his last. Merci Rayborn still has a lot to say and I hope Mr. Parker will let her speak in upcoming works.

Thank you Mr. Parker for many hours of enjoyable reading. I hope you won't dispense with Merci Rayborn just yet. I'd like to think of her as your version of Robert B. Parker's SPENSER. And we all know how many novels he has mined from that character. I look forward with anticipation to your next novel and hope that we will all see one or more adapted for the screen.

Paul Connors

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good novel from T. Jefferson Parker, October 18, 2000

By	Old Fisherman "Jim" (Orange, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Light (Hardcover)

Merci Rayborn is a homicide investigator for the Orange County Sheriff's department. When she's called out to the murder scene of a young, beautiful call-girl it all seems routine. That is, until she discovers that her boyfriend had dinner with the victim just scant hours before the murder. As she delves further, more and more evidence points to the boyfriend as the killer and she's torn between doing her job and trusting the man who loves her.

I've read all of Mr. Parker's novels and this is the first one in which he's brought back a character from another novel. Merci Rayborn was first introduced in The Blue Hour. She seems much different in Red Light, more unsure of herself. However, that's not to her detriment. Like all of Parker's novels his characters are well fleshed out, his dialogue sounds like real people talk, and his police procedure rings true. My only quibble, and it's a small one, is I was able to guess the killer about three-quarters of the way through the book. I have to admit for all the mystery reading I do I'm pretty obtuse when it comes to guessing the killer but this was pretty obvious. It really didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. Mr. Parker is a very good writer, and he just keeps getting better and better. An added bonus for me is that I live in Orange County so I know the areas he talks about in his novels. I might make one suggestion though. To really understand the Merci Rayborn character it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to read "The Blue Hour" first. That too is a very good book.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Red Light Stops the Action, May 27, 2000

By	Tim Smith (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Light (Hardcover)

I have always listed T. Jefferson Parker as one of my "must read" authors.This attempt at a creative police procedural set in Orange Co began with intrigue and promise. Merci Rayborn, talented star investigator is found trying to start a new life following the death of her partner and love interest in The Blue Hour. She is assigned to solve 2 cases of murdered prostitutes. The more recent is the point blank shooting of a young and beautiful call girl with all the evidence pointing toward Merci's current boyfriend and fellow police officer. The older case is the 35 y.o. homocide of a prostitute with known connections to the police force when Merci's father worked there. The emotional conflict and doubt in which Merci finds herself has numerous plot possibilities. The story presents a challenge to the reader to guess how the two cases are related and how the solutions to the crimes will effect Merci and those she cares deeply for. However, relating the characters in each case to each other is no simple task and I found it confusing.The story became tedious and the slowly mounting suspense seemed to drag as the story became more complicated. I wanted desperately for there to be a mind numbing surprise as the story neared its conclusion but instead Red Light ground the action to a stop.