Eureka

Rating:
Summary: EUREKA IS A WINNER
Review: Diehl, who created the excellent Martin Vail series, has spun a truly epic novel in this well-written masterpiece. Not a fan of those "noirish" novels of the forties, I wasn't sure what to expect from Diehl in this one. However, it is a stunning work, filled with excellent characterizations, true plot twists, and some excellent scenarios.
We start the novel out with Brodie Culhane, a young man given a new life by a wealthy landowner in turn of the century California. Brodie becomes our hero, ending up fighting in World War I, surviving and returning to his home to become the sheriff.
Next, we have Zeke Bannon, another policeman in the 40's, who investigates a murder that leads him to the domain of Sheriff Culhane, who is now planning on running for governor.
How could our hero from the first part of the book be such a corruptible character in the 40's.
That's what makes this novel so complex and interesting. Bannon's involvement with Culhane and how they come about "cleaning up" this sordid region makes for one engrossing read.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: EUREKA IS A WINNER
Review: Diehl, who created the excellent Martin Vail series, has spun a truly epic novel in this well-written masterpiece. Not a fan of those "noirish" novels of the forties, I wasn't sure what to expect from Diehl in this one. However, it is a stunning work, filled with excellent characterizations, true plot twists, and some excellent scenarios.
We start the novel out with Brodie Culhane, a young man given a new life by a wealthy landowner in turn of the century California. Brodie becomes our hero, ending up fighting in World War I, surviving and returning to his home to become the sheriff.
Next, we have Zeke Bannon, another policeman in the 40's, who investigates a murder that leads him to the domain of Sheriff Culhane, who is now planning on running for governor.
How could our hero from the first part of the book be such a corruptible character in the 40's.
That's what makes this novel so complex and interesting. Bannon's involvement with Culhane and how they come about "cleaning up" this sordid region makes for one engrossing read.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: Eureka is the generation tale of a frontier town that is tamed with the barrel of a gun. We meets Thomas Brodie Culhane (everyone calls him Brodie or Captain). Brodie grew up in Eureka, joined the Marine Corps, fought in the Great War and came home to become the town's sheriff.

His mentor was Buck Tallman, a man right out of the old west, and we are told he was deputy for Wyatt Earp. While Buckman is a bit 2 dimensional, his presence lingers throughout the novel.

Then there are Eli, Isabel and Del. Without spoiling anything, it is the stuff good sagas and generation novels are made of. By the time Mr. Diehl finished introducing Brodie, I really liked the character.

The novel shifts to Zeke Bannon - a hardboiled detective working for the LAPD. He begins investigating an apparent accidental death that turns out to be a homicide and the trail leads him to San Pietro (Eureka's new name) and to Brodie. You see there is something dark and sinister in Brodie's past and while you really don't want something to be wrong. Mister Diehl continues to lay a body of evidence that points to Brodie.

This is a very satisfying read, and it lives up to what I've come expect from this author.

When my son asked me: "What was the best thing he has written?"

I answered without missing a beat, "Everything."

Rating:
Summary: A Fast Start To A Slow Ride
Review: Eureka kicks off in high speed, with interesting characters, well written action scenes, and the promise of a fascinating plot. This lasts for about 150 pages. From there on, the plot becomes tedious, as a murder investigation takes center stage. That investigation moves very slowly, and the author's writing loses the sharpness it had at the beginning. This novel is not so much an "epic story" as it is an "epic build-up" to a pedestrian crime novel.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Editing
Review: First of all, let me recommend this as a great read. I would have given it 4.5 stars instead of 4, but it still is fast-paced and enthralling.

I wish the editor had picked up Diehl's mistakes on the ages of Brodie Culhane and Ben Gorman at the beginning, having them go from 16 to 18 and back. And Hirshman's inexplicable metamorphosis into Morningdale in the last pages totally confused me.

If not for sloppy correlation, the book would be a 10 (on my scale).

CW

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!!
Review: Grabs you and doesn't let go till the very last page.. i couldn't put it down and my daughter just read it in two days.. i did it in one.. well worth buying..
rose mary colarusso

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Diehl returns in great form
Review: Having read all of Mr. Diehl's previous works (except the "Reign in Hell" series), I was overjoyed to see a new novel by him. I have been a big fan since "Sharkey's Machine" was published. "Eureka" does not dissapoint. It is an intriguing story with well developed characters and a feel of nostalgia for more simple times. With the story taking place in the first half of the twentieth century, the author does not have to bog down the story with a plethora of technical details. It is one of the few books I have read in quite awhile that was truly impossible to put down. It seemed easy to get caught up in the plot and the characters' lives. This novel is not as violent as some of his earlier works, but still has enough action to keep the reader interested. To me it was a good story and an enjoyable read. I hope to see more books more often from this author.

Rating:
Summary: Pathetic
Review: I bought this book expecting the same suspense as the author's "Martin Vail" books. This book was pathetic in comparison! Not only, do I not wish to read about the "Old West"
,the jumping from time period to time period made it so that I did not care about what happened to any of the characters.

The vivid descriptions of the "Old West" were totally boring and I skipped over them whenever possible. This book was a waste of time and money.

Rating:
Summary: fabulous
Review: I enjoyed the book. I read the last half the same day. The book brought me into the past to give me the feeling what's it like to be there during the early 1900's with a good mystery.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I enjoyed the book. I read the last half the same day. The book brought me into the past to give me the feeling what's it like to be there during the early 1900's with a good mystery.