Dark Lady

Rating:
Summary: Politics, Murder, and Strange Bedfellows
Review: Richard North Patterson's latest, Dark Lady, is a well-crafted lawyer-cop-political tale which will hold your interest. The protagonist is Stella Marz, a single, 38-year old Assistant County Prosecutor who wants not to be the assistant. But that means she would have to be the first woman elected to the job. Her boss is running for mayor, but if he is elected will he back her or his long-time friend and political ally in the special election? The political environment in this rust-belt metropolis is complex, with the electorate fairly evenly split between African-American and the children of Central European immigrants. Stella is a tough, competent prosecutor who seldom loses and whose dedication and tough stance has earner her the sobriquet of "Dark Lady." Patterson deftly brings out Stella's background and its effect on her current viewpoint. A reader comes to know her and the difficulties she surmounted to reach what might have become the critical point in both her career and her life. Dark Lady may not be a great book, but it is a story well told.

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Summary: Another Great Book By Patterson
Review: There are few writers out there who can deliver a great book each time out. Patterson is one of them. Each of his books are similar in theme, yet the story seems fresh each time. Dark Lady is no different. I am always fascinated with Patterson's ability to weave events of the past with their impact on the present. Each of his characters is so well defined that we understand the reasons behind every move they make. What makes Dark Lady so great is that it is not only an amazing character study, but a fantastic mystery as well. Dark Lady may not be Patterson's best book(that title will probably always belong to Degree of Guilt) but it is an amazing read. I am surprised by some of the other reviews I have read about this book that describe it as slow and boring. I found it tense and absorbing and I was riveted starting on page one all the way to the great conclusion. Read this book and all books by Richard North Patterson.

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Summary: This "dark lady" is one we've already met.
Review: She's Stella Marz, the D.A. who prosecuted Tony Lord's client/ boyhood buddy in "No Safe Place". But now Patterson has done a Scott Turow number, taking our attention out of the courtroom and focusing it on the raw psyches of our cast of characters. Not to mention giving a supporting character in a previous book the lead role in a new book. Like Marz, who's investigating the bizarre murder of her old flame in a dysfunctional romance. As you'd expect, colleagues are advising her not to handle this one because she probably can't maintain the detatchment she needs. As the story wears on, we can't help but think she should have listened. She's sleeping lousy and having bad dreams. She's getting threatening phone calls to back off. She sees real and/ or imaginary stalkers in nondescript cars. Her apartment's getting broken into. There's also a Grisham-like element here where corruption surrounding a new stadium project involves Marz's old boyfriend, organized crime, and even her crusading boss. Peripherally, Marz starts to get sweet on one of the cops who works for her, builds a rapport with his little daughter that seems like it's just as meaningful as the emerging relationship with Daddy--then she finds out that Daddy plays a small role in the stadium corruption scheme. Myself, I liked Patterson when he was still Patterson handling basic crime with maybe an odd aspect to it--not a Turow clone who psychoanalyzes his cast of characters or a Grisham clone who does a quasi-tabloid/ quasi-fiction number on sticky fingers in high rise offices.

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Summary: A Very Slow Moving Novel!
Review: Having just finished reading all of the fascinating and unbelievably good Phillip Margolin novels, I decided to try another author in that same genre. Well, Richard N. Patterson doesn't even come close to the quality of Margolin. I picked up Dark Lady because I saw it in soooo many stores that it drove me crazy, so I decided to read it. Good thing that I got it for half price because it is so boring. Too much of a history lesson thoroughout the first 30 pages. It is a typical drug/ murder novel with nothing that is very exciting. I don't care for the main character, Stella Marz, at all. This book is mainly a time-filler novel. Try the other Patterson, JAMES PATTERSON, that's a good novelist.

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Summary: Dark Lady offers both political and legal plot
Review: A good combination of two of my favorite storylines -- law and politics -- Dark Lady offers a number of challenges for title character Stella Marz. She is faced with being true to her profession, boss and former friend, while ensuring responsibility to the people she is to serve as a member of the prosecutor's office. As if this isn't enough, she must temper how her investigation and actions will affect her boss' run for mayor and her own personal political aspirations. A great book for students of the politics vs. public service debate, and an excellent selection for anyone looking for a "who-done-it" mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Just stubborn enough
Review: This book is definitely a slow starter! Half-way through the book, I am into an interesting political omlette. I feel like I am plodding through muck. Thank heavens for the interesting middle -- otherwise, this is not worth the price of the hardback nor my precious reading time.

Rating:
Summary: Patterson has done it again
Review: Dark Lady starts with a bang and never lets up. The crime is startling and complex,the legal atmosphere authentic. Patterson uses his trial lawyer's gifts to create a character in Stella Marz who seems to turn the pages by herself. Patterson again deals with real issues most writers shy away from. He never pulls his punches and Dark Lady is a knockout.

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Summary: Fast-paced
Review: I found this to be a fast paced book with true to life, believable characters and most certainly a provocative, suspenseful stunner. In Steeltown, a struggling midwestern city on the verge of an economic turn around, two important men are found dead within days of each other. The author has created a woman as fascinating as her world is haunting. Stella Marz is the Assistant County Prosecutor. She is so driven by her job; the defense attorneys call her "The Dark Lady" because of her relentless, sometimes ruthless style. Stella has earned the title because she has only lost one case in seven years. Tommy Fielding is the first death. He was a senior officer of the company that is building a new baseball stadium, which is the cities hope for a new future. Jack Novak, a former love interest of Stella's is the second death. Feeling that someone is already following and watching her every move, Stella must make her way through all the facts before it is too late. I really loved this book because it was fast paced. I loved the ending and I am confident you will too. Honestly I feel this is a superbly crafted, must-read thriller. Richard North Patterson has written 10 other novels and he is one suspenseful author that you should look up.

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Summary: You have to be stubborn to finish this book
Review: In Maine, as I write this, it is "Mud Season", which was an appropriate time, as it turned out, for me to read Dark Lady. It appears that Richard North Patterson is going through his Mud Season period with this effort. I agree with those that point out that he is unable to write convincingly in the mind of a woman. I agree with those who have said that the plot of this book is confusing at times; that the characters are not fleshed out and in the end you really don't give a damn about Stella or the problems and issues she is dealing with. In a word, it is a tedious read. I have usually enjoyed this writer. Many of his earlier novels were first rate, but this is not one of them. I hope that the next effort will be more succesful and that he gets back to the type of writing he is clearly capable of.

Rating:
Summary: Unrealized potential
Review: The title should be "Dark Novel." The characters are generally not likable, even the protagonist. For much of the book, you will say "Who cares?" At other times, you'll say "I don't believe that." I have not been a HUGE Patterson fan, but even I was surprised and how much I disliked this book. The plot line explaining the crimes makes some sense, but several of the details and the buildup will leave you shaking your head. Silent Witness is a better alternative.