Night Vision Review
This is the sequel to "To Speak for the Dead," and if anything, it's even more chilling! Someone is attacking women who log onto an Internet sex-chat room. Deep, rich characters with a cast of South Florida whacko possible villains. Jake Lassiter is on the case, this time as a specially appointed investigator. If you didn't read the first book, you can start here, the two stories are separate and distinct. Lassiter is a sexy hunk of a lawyer (I've never met one, personally!) He's an ex-football player who went to night law school, and what he lacks in brilliance, he makes up for in toughness and his own brand of honesty. He hooks up with a hot English lady shrink, goes to London, and...wait...no spoilers! It's a dynamite read with an ending that will knock your socks off. Did I mention it's funny, too? Sounds strange, I know, in a book about a serial killer, but Levine has a method of bringing humor to nearly every situation. Can't wait for the next one. (On Levine's website, it says "9 Scorpions" will be on Kindle in a few days. It's a thriller set at the Supreme Court and is next on my TBR list).
Night Vision Overview
The murder of one of the computer dating service Compu-Mate's clients sends Miami trial lawyer Jake Lassiter and retired coroner Dr. Charlie Riggs on the trail of a killer that leads them to a London insane asylum. Reprint. K.
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
Related Products
- To Speak for the Dead
- False Dawn
- Slashback: A Jake Lassiter Novel
- Fool Me Twice: A Jake Lassiter Novel
- Mortal Sin
Customer Reviews
Jake Lassiter is my favorite lawyer - Legal Thriller Aficionado -
I'd read that Author Levine won the John D. MacDonald award. Those Travis McGee books were my favorites, so I dug into Levine's Lassiter series and his Supreme Court thriller, "9 Scorpions." What's cool about "Night Vision" is that it was written before there was much in the news about Internet stalkers. The book puts Lassiter on the opposite side of his usual position. He's appointed a special prosecutor to go after a serial killer preying on women in a highly sexual Internet chat room. One of Levine's most intriguing characters is in this one, a British woman psychiatrist who studies serial killers. Lassiter travels from Miami to London, where there's a scene in a hospital for the criminally insane that's a classic. Funny and chilling at the same time. In fact, that's one of Levine's strong points. All his books have humor, even when the topic is grim. As with "9 Scorpions," I recommend this one highly!
"The sexual revolution has been repealed by a vote of the electorate." - Shelley Brewster - Palm Beach, FL
That's one of my favorite lines in the book. Lassiter mixes football and bedroom metaphors as he considers his past as a former lady's man. "Jake Lassiter, number 58, placed on waivers, emotionally unable to perform. Refuses to hit and run. Welcome to the grown-up world, Lassiter. I'm proud of you." Paul Levine's writing style reminds me a lot of John D. MacDonald, whose Travis McGee novels taught me a lot about Florida, even before I moved here. There's a little bit of Carl Hiaasen here, too, but the humor isn't so outlandish. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but one caveat: If you object to rough language or sexual situations, this may not be for you. It's interesting to read this book along with Levine's 9 SCORPIONS, a legal thriller at the Supreme Court. Jake Lassiter is tough street lawyer. Samuel Truitt is a brilliant Supreme Court justice. Both guys find there's not a lot of justice in the Justice System. The books are different, but each has a very strong protagonist and I recommend each one!
"Woman Is The Lesser Man..." - J. H. Minde - Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York
NIGHT VISION is author Paul Levine's second outing with ex-Miami Dolphin-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter. Written in 1990 ("Too soon for the WWW" as Levine once lamented), the story of NIGHT VISION concerns a serial killer using an Internet chat service to troll for victims, a novel idea at the time (no pun intended).
While too many of the one-liners are retreads from TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD, Levine has a stronger grasp on Lassiter's character this time around. Lassiter's social commentary on South Florida is piercing, and Lassiter himself seems less bumbling, hence less foolish, than in the earlier novel.
The actual hunt for the signature killer is engaging, though the intervening fifteen years since NIGHT VISION was first published have added immensely to the professional literature on serial killers. Levine's research on multiple-murders consequently appears a little thin, circa 2005. It seems a flaw but it isn't.
There are flaws. Levine unfortunately distracts himself with too many two-bit characters who add nothing to the story, and by adding nothing, dilute the plot. The interrelationships between the characters are "Six Degrees of Separation"-ish, as all the protagonists know or are sleeping with each other.
The humor seems a little forced at times. Levine simply tried too hard in spots. Not every comment requires a snappy rejoinder.
Still, NIGHT VISION compels you to keep turning its pages. Jake Lassiter is the kind of guy you'd want for a friend or neighbor, and he's at least competent at his profession (high praise, when one considers the public view of lawyers nowadays); it's a pleasure to find a J.D. who's not an S.O.B.
Enjoyable light reading that comes well recommended.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 30, 2010 13:06:05
No comments:
Post a Comment