The Chill of Night

Description

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-09-02
Summary: "MURDER AND INTRIGUE IN PORTLAND, MAINE"

Suspense thriller. Lainie Goff is discovered in the trunk of a brand new BMW on a pier in Portland ME. She is dead and frozen stiff. Michael McCabe in head of the investigation. Abby Quinn, a local schizophrenic young girl, sees the murder; however, because of her past very few people believe her. Every time I thought I had the killer figured out - another twist occurred. This author writes very intriguing novels.

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-18
Summary: "Suspense at it's finest!"

I am pleased to promote James Hayman's latest book, The Chill of Night. This is the second book by him that I have reviewed, the first being The Cutting. I will warn you though, this is NOT a Christian novel so it does have scenes and language that some of you may not like. I went into reading this book knowing that so if you know ahead of time, then you can be quite pleased with a book like this! It's an awesome suspense novel that quickly draws the reader in. If we could erase the language, it would be one I would feel comfortable recommending to everyone!

Hayman uses tremendous detail and skill when creating his suspense novels. McCabe's character is one that truly could be real. Hayman pulls the reader into the middle of psychological twists and turns as they follow McCabe on his heart-pumping, sweat poring, edge-of-your-seat crime solving. The Chill of Night will send chills up your spine and thrills through your veins as you try to keep up with the twists and mystery!

If you love edge-of-your seat, riveting, gripping 4 star (I don't feel comfortable giving it 5 star on account of the heavy language but I feel it deserves 4 because of the AWESOME suspense!) suspense, then definitely read this book! It's suspense at it's finest with fast-rising, crime writer Hayman!

*Thank you to PUYB promotions for providing me with my review copy*

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-16
Summary: "Amazing Mystery!"

What a great read. I purchased this book after reading James Hayman's first book "The Cutting" which I really enjoyed. I had a hard time each time I had to put the book down. This book "The Chill of Night" was even more difficult for me to put down and I found myself reading late into the night in suspense. I did not have a clue about the identity of the killer and was totally surprised. I also found it very interesting and intense to get an insight into schizophrenia and the life realties of the character Abby. In addition, Detective McCabe is a unique character who pulls you into his work and life and all the complexities. I highly recommend this book and if you get a chance pick up "The Cutting" as well you will surely enjoy it.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-10
Summary: "GREAT THRILLER"

In The Chill of Night (Det. Michael McCabe Mysteries), Detective Michael McCabe and his partner Maggie Savage are called to solve the case of a young woman found frozen in the trunk of a car on a fishing pier in Portland, Maine. There is a piece of paper found on the woman with a verse from "Amos. 9:10" on it. Michael realizes that the killer feels that all sinners must be punished. The body is identified as an attorney Liane Goff. On Hart's Island nearby, Abby Quinn who has a history of schizophrenia claims to have witnessed the murder. She has been suffering with hallucinations and when she tries to report it to the police, they ignore her. The police only believe her when the news of the death reaches them. Abby disappears and it is up to McCabe to find her before the killer does. What happened to Abby and will the killer found in time? I guess you have to read the book to find out the answers to those questions.

Mr. Hayman is a talented writer. I loved the book. This is the second book in the McCabe series following The Cutting. Although this is a stand alone book, I recommend that you read The Cutting. I thought that I had the killer figured out and I never expected it to be .... The book had a lot of twists and turns and kept me engaged the whole time. If you like thrillers, you will love this book. Bravo, Mr. Hayman for writing such a great book!

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-06
Summary: "Gripping thriller that is hard to put down until the last page is turned"

Why I read this: I received a copy of this from the author through Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I jumped at the chance to review The Chill of the Night because I reviewed The Cutting by James Hayman last year, which was his first novel and I loved it. You can find the review here.

How is the novel driven: The Chill of the Night is mostly plot-driven but there is more character development of McCabe in this one as well as there was in the first one. I love getting to know McCabe more and seeing how his mind works. I'm most fascinated with his eidetic memory.

My thoughts:
After reading several young adult novels in a row, it's nice to get back to an adult thriller book. And what better way to do that with an author I fell in love with last year with his first book, The Cutting. And even better than that, In the Chill of the Night continues the story of the main character from The Cutting, Michael McCabe.

The action starts from the beginning. We are introduced to the first victim and the next thing you know it's two weeks later and that victim is found murdered. Of course the murder has a twist and that twist takes Detectives McCabe and Savage through the twists and turns of solving this before more victims are found.

Great action and suspense, I was intrigued and kept intrigued through the book. I loved also that I learn more about McCabe. He is not just McCabe the detective as some mysteries do, but he is also Father, ex-husband, boyfriend, and friend. I love all sides of him and the fact that he tries no matter what to do what is best.

I found this one a little more gritty than the first one. There are more sexual references (due to the crimes), the language seems a little harsher. I remember this because I gave the first book to my dad to read and I don't give him ones that are too rough, because he prefers to stay away from those. However I don't feel it was too gratuitous in this book and I still highly recommend it. It really wasn't meant to titillate, it's more the nature of the crimes.

Overall a wonderful thrill ride. If you enjoy police procedural type thrillers with great characterization then this is the book for you. No real need to read the first one, this stands on it's own, but reading the first one does give a stronger understanding of McCabe and his life.

One thing I really loved: McCabe - he's probably my second favorite character in a suspense book and I look forward to reading more books about him in the future.