Rating: 
Summary: Parker goes 11-0
Review: T. Jefferson Parker deserves to be even more famous than he is. I write and I read everything in his genre and for my money there is no better stylist than Parker.
"Cold Pursuit" simply adds to his impressive bibliography, a wonderful read, evocative prose laced with incredible dialogue. Those of you new to Parker's work would be well served to start with "Silent Joe." A crime fiction masterpiece.David Colgrove, M.D.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying!
Review: T. Jefferson Parker is magnificent! He doesn't write about shoot-em-up superheroes. This story begins with a murder and then investigates it. Suspects are found and either eliminated or investigated further. The solution was so obvious once you got there but the plot was so cleverly devised that you didn't figure it out until you turned that page. If you want to learn more than you need to know about the book, read the other reviews. Better yet, read the book. Unusual for a T. Jeff story, I did make one correct guess early on--usually I find something out when he's ready to tell me--but it didn't help much with the solution of the crime. I dismissed the clue I should have picked up. The story is rich with solid characters and their personal, working, and family relationships. Tom McMichael investigates the murder of Pete Braga realistically, picking up leads and following them to their conclusion. And the subplots are equally well-developed--the generations-old family feud, McMichael's past involvement with Braga's granddaughter, and his on-going relationship with his son, to name but a few. I have no reservations in rating this book the five stars it deserves!
Rating:
Summary: In a word---spectacular!
Review: T. Jefferson Parker's "Cold Pursuit" is a classic crime story...a complicated tale that unfolds effortlessly. He is a most visual writer. Unanswered questions from the past frame the narrative. No one is quite what he or she appears as Detective Tom McMichael and his partner Hector Paz endeavor to unravel the truth about the murder of eighty-four year old San Diego patriarch Pete Braga. There are three generations of bad blood between the Portuguese Bragas and the Irish McMichaels. McMichael's basic decency and personal code eliminate any chance of a clouded judgement. There is no shortage of suspects: City Council members, the Catholic Diocese, a smuggling ring, the police force, members of either family---any of them could have done it. As McMichael exhumes the past to explain the current crime, you can never anticipate what is coming next. Each and every clue seems conflicting...altering newfound clarity into opaqueness in the turn of a page. Wonderful misdirection. To paraphrase Inspector Clouseau: "I suspected everyone and I suspected no one." A powerful ending. Do not miss this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Comes in Like a Lamb and Goes Out Like a Lion
Review: The story features San Diego homicide detective Tom McMichael who, on the first page, is given a difficult choice. Pete Braga, long-time family enemy of the McMichaels, has been murdered. McMichael's lieutenant offers him the case but lets him know he can decline. He thinks it over for just a moment and accepts the case. McMichael is now in "Cold Pursuit" of Pete Braga's killer, the same man who killed his grandfather in 1952. Braga was an ambitious man in life, with a net worth of a little over 12 million dollars. He served as mayor of San Diego, was the Port Commissioner and part of the Tuna Boat Foundation. The elder McMichael worked for Braga on his tuna fishing boat. They had argued over wages and got into a physical brawl, which ended with the death of McMichael's grandfather. Braga claimed it was self-defense and never served any time for the death. The McMichaels believed that he killed in cold blood. The feud continued with the Bragas believing that as payback, Gabriel McMichael, then thirteen-years-old, attacked Pete Braga's son, Victor, and beat him so bad that he was left with the mentality of a ten-year-old. Tom McMichael grew up knowing both sides but never having proof of either. He had once been in love with Braga's granddaughter and both families had ended the young lovers' affair. Tom eventually met Stephanie, married and had a son, Johnny. After seven years together, they divorced and he was still reeling a year later. Totally devoted to his son, he felt he would never adjust to the weekend and Wednesday night visits. He wanted to be a full-time father to his son. He was still single though Stephanie had remarried a dentist, the same one she'd had the affair with before the divorce had been final. The evidence in the case initially points to Pete Braga's nurse, Sally Rainwater, though she is soon taken off the suspect list. McMichael and Rainwater get a lot closer and then, suddenly, she is again a suspect. McMichael can't decide if he feels she's innocent because it's his gut feeling or if it's because he wants her to be innocent so he can continue their relationship. "Cold Pursuit" starts out slowly and builds much the way a real case would. Though it lags in places, it feels real. T. Jefferson Parker brings you into the world of a homicide detective. He leaves the glitz for Hollywood and brings you an authentic case. You'll feel as though you walk beside Detective McMichael as he moves from one clue to the next, sharing each piece of information with you and daring you to solve the crime first.
Rating:
Summary: Hot not Cold
Review: This is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be the last. This is the first time I have read the reviews and only found one negative one. T. Jefferson Parker is a winner and so was Tom McMichael. A sensitive man with a lot of regrets.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic Cop Story
Review: This was the first Parker book I had read, and I was pleasantly surprised. He has a very real, unpretentious style. Many current thrillers read like ridiculous summer-blockbuster screenplays, replete with outlandish chases and hackneyed cop jargon. But this book is solid, authentic, and engrossing. The plot is balanced but exciting, and the characters are compelling. And in the climax, Parker doesn't go for the cheap, unlikely uber-twist -- but he does suprise. I highly recommend this book. It might be worth waiting for in paperback, but you won't be disappointed shelling out for the hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written
Review: Tom McMichael is a San Diego homicide detective, no problem until businessman Pete Braga is murdered. Their families have been enemies for years but McMichael is determined to rise above the situation: his job is to solve the crime. Parker's narrative is action packed with more curves than most mountain roads. Separating the past from the present is the biggest obstacle Tom faces as he struggles to ferret out the murderer. "Cold Pursuit" will keep you guessing from first page to the last. T. Jefferson Parker is a talented author and I look forward to reading more from him.
Beverly J Scott, author of Righteous Revenge and Ruth Fever
http://www.beverlyjscott.com
Rating:
Summary: Another great one from T. Jefferson Parker
Review: When Homicide Sergeant Tom McMichael gets the call about Pete Braga's murder, he can't help feeling a bit of pleasure. The McMichaels have hated the Bragas for years, ever since Pete killed McMichael's grandfather. Still, McMichael is a cop and he intends to track down the killer. The pretty nurse looks like a good suspect--her story about buying firewood and getting all of the missing property as gifts sounds a bit suspicious. But McMichael is attracted to the nurse and his gut tells him that she's innocent. Still, does he dare go with his gut, or should he trust the evidence? Author T. Jefferson Parker delivers another exciting mystery. McMichael, with his conflicted feelings toward the nurse, his ex-wife, and the victim's daughter who was his childhood sweetheart and is single again, makes a strong and sympathetic character. A second case, involving smuggling contraband from Mexico adds complexity to the plot without taking the focus from Pete's murder. The nasty cops from internal affairs, sticking their noses into other cop's business feel authentic. When I read my first T. Jefferson Parker book (see our review of THE BLUE HOUR) I suspected that I had found a real talent. COLD PURSUIT convinces me that I was right. It is a wonderful and authentic police thriller. Parker delivers emotional depth, thoughtful police work, and exciting action in a tightly worded package. If you haven't discovered Parker, you are in for a treat and COLD PURSUIT delivers. If you're already a fan, you won't be disappointed. COLD PURSUIT is fully up to the high standards that Parker has set for himself.
| 
