Discount Price: $7.99
Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780060577674
ISBN number: 0060577673
Label: HarperTorch
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: March 01, 2006
Publishing house: HarperTorch
Release Date: February 28, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 135408
Studio: HarperTorch
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The body of a wealthy oilman plunges ten stories from the balcony of a Miami hotel, and is impaled on an iron fence below. In the dead man's room, Jimmy Paz, the famed detective who solved the grisly Voodoo Murders, and Tito Morales, a young cop who witnessed the fall, find a woman on her knees, engaged in intimate conversation with Saint Catherine of Siena. Emmylou Dideroff had a strong motive for murder, and the evidence against her is overwhelming -- but she insists she's innocent of the crime, while freely admitting her guilt in numerous other amoral and unspeakable acts. And the shocking confessions of this complex enigma -- abused victim or vengeful whore, god-touched prophetess or delusional psychopath, demon or saint -- are leading Paz, Morales, and psychologist Lorna Wise into a terrifying dance with the Devil himself.
Amazon.com Review:
This top-notch novel confirms Gruber's place as a gifted writer who stretches the conventional bounds of the genre by placing the mysteries of faith and religious experience and the complexities of the human mind as well as spirit at the center of his work. It's a taut, compelling whodunit that's as far from a typical detective procedural as good is from evil and a worthy follow-up to his acclaimed debut (Tropic of Night) that also features Cuban-American cop Jimmy Paz. Here Gruber tells a mesmerizing tale of Emmylou Dideroff, who communes with saints and whose checkered past includes stints as a hooker, drug dealer, and the leader of a band of Sudanese freedom fighters. But did she kill the Arab businessman on a government 'watch list' who plunged to his death from a Miami hotel? While that's the incident that brings her to Paz's attention, it's only one of his questions about this strange woman, whose unsettling 'confessions' stir up the detective's confusion about his own deepest beliefs. Emmylou is as fascinating and fully realized as Jane Doe, the memorable protagonist of Gruber's very first book--so too is Lorna Wise, the psychologist brought in to assess Emmylou's sanity, whose personal and professional lives are turned totally upside down by her involvement in the case and her relationship with Paz. This is a smart, riveting, wholly original and thoroughly fascinating book that's impossible to put down and leaves the reader with only one question--when is this author's subsequent one coming out? --Jane Adams
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
I read this immediately after the unforgettable Tropic of Night, and was really bored. Gruber is a great writer, but seems to have left the plot out this time. There were some good scenes, but Gruber's formula of having three alternating points of view: a diary, a protaganist, and another protaganist, seemed forced this time around.
The detective story was contrived and convoluted, and instead of it coming to a climax or being solved, it was all just explained by a minor character (at gunpoint) over four pages of dialogue. Yawn. Maybe it was too subtle for me (Tropic of Night, with it's baby brain-ectomies, was definitely not subtle), or maybe I'm just bored by books that hint at the miracles of Christianity when there's thousands of other interesting religions.
Rated by buyers 
-
It's summer: I'm reading a lot of crime fiction. I've picked up some Patterson (how can you avoid it) some Baldacci, and some others.
I picked up this one (book on CD actually) because the premise intrigued me.
Crime fiction without a serial killer! Does anyone do these anymore? Well, Gruber does, and this is a great one.
Apparently, the hero of the book, I.X. "Jimmy" Paz, is the star of a trilogy. But though this is one of a series, you almost never realize that. His character is drawn well enough without it. He is flawed, but not in a tragic way. He is strong, but need not apply to the Justice League. He seems very credible and empathetic.
As does Lorna, the heroine. She goes through some terrific growth through this story, and the author does a fantastic job of getting in her head-shrinking head to show where her challenges and strengths are.
There is a third main character, but unlike most crime fiction, this character may not be the killer. You suspect in the beginning that, though the evidence points to her being the killer, she may be innocent. Her "confessions" make up a third of the book, and she's absolutely terrifying and terrific. In a very different way than the average crime-fiction's sociopath, I must say.
The religion in the book is entirely believable; the only small problem I had with the whole thing is the snipes at modern society (hey it ain't great but it's all we got).
All in all, I don't want to say more so as not to give anything away, but I would totally put this on your vacation reading list. It was a great ride.
(*)>
Rated by buyers -
Emmylou dideroff a woman who believes both God and the devil live inside her. She had a detached mother and was sexually abused by the stepfather which eventually pushed to prostitution.
We meet Emmylou sitting in a hotel room occupied up to a short time ago by a mysterious African who currently resides on top of a spiked fence some ten floors below.
Jimmy Paz an Miami Detective arrested Emmylou as the prime suspect but she leads all to wonder if she is insane.
Mystery and suspense told well. The plot never slips.
This is one of Michael Gruber best novels.(Can't fall alseep through this Audio trust me).
Barbara Audio only
Rated by buyers 
-
why does the kindle version cost almost as much as the printed version. Dont fall for this type of price gouging or Kindle will be ruined.
Rated by buyers -
I thought Tropic of Night was brilliant which is why I was surprised that in this book Gruber's portrayal of Santeria did not completely jibe with what I have learned about it.
Another problem is that I lost interest in the African section of Emmy Lou's memoirs. It was less dramatic than it could have been. Emmy Lou herself was fascinating, but her memoirs weren't always all that compelling.
This novel's concept had potential and it had great character ingredients, but Gruber fell a bit short on the implementation.
Find other books like this one:
