Rating: 
Summary: An instruction manual would be more exciting
Review: "The Interrogation" primarily takes place over a 12-hour period in the early 1950's with flashbacks to another time. As the name suggests, during this period Albert Smalls, a drifter and loner who has been accused of murdering a young girl, is being interrogated by two police officers. At the end of this period, they must either get a confession from Albert or release him due to a lack of evidence. The pressure to prove Albert guilty or extract a confession in this short period of time is the driving force of the book.There is hardly a character in the book who is not carrying a heavy personal burden. ..the Jewish police officer who cannot forget the concentration camps he came across while at war; the police officer whose own young daughter was murdered; the police captain whose son is dying from drug abuse and general neglect. At times it is difficult to differentiate between their spiritual bankruptcy and that of Smalls. Added to these three, there are an assortment of other characters, each dysfunctional in his own way. Although the book focuses on the questioning of Small, the story is primarily told through seemingly disparate story lines that occur outside of the interrogation room. Throughout the book, you never really know if Small is the guilty party which only adds to the suspense. There are very few parts of the book that drag. These sections are soon overlooked and forgotten when you reach the ending which goes on until the very last line on the last page. Folks, it ain't over until it's over. All in all, I would consider this book a page turner. Just be prepared for a very dark ride.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast Paced Ride
Review: "The Interrogation" primarily takes place over a 12-hour period in the early 1950's with flashbacks to another time. As the name suggests, during this period Albert Smalls, a drifter and loner who has been accused of murdering a young girl, is being interrogated by two police officers. At the end of this period, they must either get a confession from Albert or release him due to a lack of evidence. The pressure to prove Albert guilty or extract a confession in this short period of time is the driving force of the book. There is hardly a character in the book who is not carrying a heavy personal burden. ..the Jewish police officer who cannot forget the concentration camps he came across while at war; the police officer whose own young daughter was murdered; the police captain whose son is dying from drug abuse and general neglect. At times it is difficult to differentiate between their spiritual bankruptcy and that of Smalls. Added to these three, there are an assortment of other characters, each dysfunctional in his own way. Although the book focuses on the questioning of Small, the story is primarily told through seemingly disparate story lines that occur outside of the interrogation room. Throughout the book, you never really know if Small is the guilty party which only adds to the suspense. There are very few parts of the book that drag. These sections are soon overlooked and forgotten when you reach the ending which goes on until the very last line on the last page. Folks, it ain't over until it's over. All in all, I would consider this book a page turner. Just be prepared for a very dark ride.
Rating: 
Summary: Moody, intense and suspenseful. Film Noir in book form.
Review: 'The Interrogation' is all about atmosphere. If it were a movie it would be a classic black and white film noir starring George Raft. If it were a painting it would be "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. If it were a sound it would be the echo of unseen footsteps in the dark streets of an empty city. Thomas Cook has masterfully created a bleak and silent city filled with solitary characters that are almost without exception imprisoned by their own loneliness, loss and guilt. At the center of it all is the marathon interrogation session going on in interrogation room 3. Oddly, this sparring between the detective and the child murder suspect is by far the most personal and intimate exchange in the book. We hang on every question and response, whether verbal or by body language. Is he guilty? Will he crack? What will they do to him if he doesn't? What will the new day bring? Keep reading and find out. Seldom have I read a genre book so skillfully written. This is the first of Cook's books that I have read and it most definitely will not be the last.
Rating:
Summary: Race against time
Review: 1952, 7:00 p.m., Anytown, USA -
Police detectives Jack Pierce and Norman Cohen have only 11-hours for a final interrogation of Albert Jay Smalls. Smalls - a young vagrant who lives in a drainpipe, trying to live by selling things he finds - is the prime suspect in the murder of 8-year-old Catherine Lake. But, the police don't have enough evidence to hold him. A true race against time for detectives Pierce and Cohen. They have 11-hours to get more evidence, a confession, something . . . or the suspect walks! Speaking of time . . . the detectives had 11-hours; I finished this book in 7! Reached the 1/2-way mark before going to bed. Next morning, put on the coffee and started reading again. Author Thomas H. Cook kept pulling me in further and further. This is my first book by Cook and I WILL read him again.
Rating:
Summary: Desperate Times
Review: A young girl has been murdered in a park and a homeless man who lives there has been brought in for questioning. The police have no hard evidence or witnesses linking the man to the crime, but are firmly convinced they have the right person. Because of their lack of evidence, the police have been given a deadline to get a confession out of the man or he goes free. Although this book revolves around the interrogation of the murder suspect, the underlying theme carried on from character to character is one of regret. As the interrogation continues and the deadline before the suspect is released draws closer, the feeling of regret becomes more and more pronounced before a series of climactic reactions are sparked. The continued uncertainty over whether the suspected man actually committed the crime gives a feeling of growing desperation and frustration to the mood. As the night drags on and more characters are dragged into the story, it becomes even less clear as to who may done it. The desperation grows, the sense of hopelessness grows and then suddenly a series of events are sparked providing an action-packed ending that is as satisfying as the earlier build up.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed....
Review: As my first novel of Mr. Cook suffice is to say that this is a beautifully written novel with much fluency and details. However, I was disappointed with the end of the book as well as the course and development of plot. Although I will not reveal any plot here or the ending of the book be it that Mr. Cook seemed to miss some points in terms of the psychology of mental disease such as that that the main player appears to suffer and the ultimate ending of book. The ending for me was quite surprising in a way and also disconcerting in that it broke the natural development of the whole plot. The end comes out of nowhere in a sense after pages and pages of "interrogation" and investigation apparently in the wrong direction.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat dissapointed
Review: As my first novel of Mr. Cook, suffice is to say that this is a beautifully written novel with much fluency and details. However, I was a little disappointed with the end of the book as well as the course and development of plot. Although I will not reveal any plot here or the ending of the book, be it that Mr. Cook seemed to miss some points in terms of the psychology of mental disease such as that that the main player appears to suffer and the ultimate ending of book, that for me was quite surprising in a way and also disconcerting in that it broke the natural development of the whole plot. The end comes out of nowhere in a sense after pages and pages of "interrogation" and investigation apparently in the wrong direction.
Rating:
Summary: Superb historical police drama
Review: Fourth grader Cathy Lake was supposed to meet her mother in the lobby of her friend's apartment building but failed to show up. Shortly after she was reported missing her twisted bloody body was found in the park near the duck pond. The police questioned several of the homeless that live in the park before arresting twenty-six years old Albert Jay Smalls, a vagrant who resides in a drainpipe.
After holding him for almost two weeks, the police have no evidence or witnesses that can place Smalls in direct contact with Cathy. The police have only twelve more hours to charge the homeless man with the crime or release him, something they are loath to do since the lead detectives, the chief of detectives and the chief of police are convinced he's guilty. They intend to use their remaining twelve hours to try and break him so they can get at the truth.
THE INTERROGATION takes place in 1952 before Miranda and Gideon at a time when the police had more latitude in dealing with a suspect involved in a heinous crime. This crime thriller is a fantastic historical police procedural due to the dynamic interactions of the characters and their personal perspectives on the crime. Thomas H. Cook is a mesmerizing storyteller, who knows how to create and sustain suspense throughout the story. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Little disappointing
Review: I have read almost all Cook's earlier books and this one was kind of disappointing because of too much swearing in it, not like his earlier books (if I remembered correctly) and the story itself and plot could have been better. It's like a guilty until proven innocent rule instead of other way around while ignoring the obvious. I'm not going to spoil it by saying any more. I hope Cook's next book, "The Peril", will be better.
Rating:
Summary: Superb suspense thriller!
Review: I have read nearly all of Cook's works and this is my favorite so far. Like another reviewer I read this within a 24-hour period simply because it was so hard to put down. Could not have predicted the ending!
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