Rating: 
Summary: Not What I expected
Review: I liked the Martin Vail series of tight suspense with intense characters. Eureka was such a different type of story that it came as a surprise and did not hold my interest as intently as Diehl's earlier books did. The poor cop was a little too much a boy scout type and the love interest was so out of his league that it was distracting to the story as well as totally unrealistically written. I finished Eureka; it was an ok read for me but I am not looking to return to it as quickly as other readers seem to be wanting to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Chinatown Revisted
Review: I really enjoyed Eureka and it come reminding me of the 1974 fllick " Chinatown" with Jack Nicholson. Without going into the plot too much it describes a 45 year old mystery and the bloody outcome that follows. Its a worthy comparison to James Elroys's early novels and I kept expecting Dudley Smith to appear in the LAPD sections of this novel. A book worthy of your time and money!
Rating:
Summary: NOSTALGIA DONE WELL
Review: I truly enjoyed "Eureka"..it starts out a little slow, but it's worth the effort for the surprises to be revealed! Most important, the atmosphere and detail of the era (Southern California/Los Angeles) was, for one who remembers, astonishingly accurate. Curl up with this one, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've Read in Months!
Review: If only more of today's writers had the talent for telling a story that Mr. Diehl possesses! This book is beautifully crafted.
The author is not like so many of today's popular writers who put out a new book every few months...he takes his time, and his readers are the beneficiaries. He gets less money and we get a terrific read. Eureka will not let you put it down, so you had better plan to read it when you can go "cover to cover", in one sitting!
Rating:
Summary: Sad state of mystery fiction
Review: If this is, as other amazon reviewers have indicated, one of the "best books of the year" or "the best noir fiction they've ever read" then the entire amazon reviewing system obviously needs to be taken with a few very large grains of salt.This book is a passable read, vaguely involving but with big problems. Characters that we meet (like old Eli, Ben, Isabel) practically disappear after being introduced. Ben and Brodie are set up as best friends, but Ben is hardly a part of the 1940's segment at all ! Plus, we get this character Big Redd who plays such a pivotal part in the latter portions of the book, so why is he introduced so late in the story? This all just points to sloppy storytelling in my admittedly unimportant opinion. The romantic subplot also comes too easy, as two people (Zeke and Millie) who like each other come together with zero conflict. Millie's character lacks any sort of suspense or danger, or interest. And although there's a good twist about the first mystery that Zeke is investigating, the scene at the end where Brodie just "tells" Zeke a bunch of the answers he's been hunting for, is entirely too weak a revelation. Ultimately, it seems as if those ..., put too much stock in the author having had a bestseller before, or won some award somewhere. That has nothing to do with this book, which is both choppy and too long, anti-climactic, and full of the kinds of plot holes you might expect from a first time novelist. Though the main character of Zeke is likable, the book itself is not THAT well written, nor deserving of such "five star" praise.
Rating:
Summary: great historical mystery
Review: In 1941 Verna Wilensky is electrocuted in her bathtub in what at first seems like a freak accident caused by a misplaced radio. However, the woman turns out to have been dead before the "accident" occurred. The real mystery behind the victim is that she lived a lower middle class lifestyle yet held a bank account packed with just under a hundred thousand dollars in it. For no apparent reason Verna received monthly deposits from an unknown benefactor for more than two decades. Police officers Zeke Bannon and Ski Agassi investigate the homicide just before the former goes off to war.
In 1945 Zeke recovers in his hometown from a combat injury when his friend Ski hands him the so-called solved Wilensky case file. Both cops know that some segments of the murder remain unresolved. As Sheriff Thomas Culhane initiates his run for state governor, Zeke uncovers dark secrets from the first two decades of the century that could derail the bid.
The return of William Diehl after such a long absence is wonderful news for his fans, but this time it is great news for historical mystery readers in general. The story line is taut, exciting, and non-stop as the complex powerful novel brings alive the first half of the twentieth century in California. The cast is a robust group that enables the plot to move forward and make the eras seem so realistically alive. Readers will shout EUREKA at Mr. Diehl's latest and perhaps greatest work to date, which says a lot about the quality of this tale from a best-selling and award winning author. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: RIVETING TALE
Review: In spite of the many criticisms other reviewers have found in this book, I still found it one enjoyable read, full of fully fleshed characters and rousing scenarios. Diehl, who I found so enjoyable in his Martin Vail series, goes back to another time, and leads the reader on a journey of the heart and soul. He has two strong leads in Brodie Culhane and Zeke Bannon, and by the time these two collide, it's hard to decide who you want to root for. This is because Diehl builds such a strong character in Brodie, that you identify with him early in the book. When he's older and running for governor, it's hard to believe he's corrupt.
A well written "noir", but something "moir,"...a heartfelt thriller. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: RIVETING TALE
Review: In spite of the many criticisms other reviewers have found in this book, I still found it one enjoyable read, full of fully fleshed characters and rousing scenarios. Diehl, who I found so enjoyable in his Martin Vail series, goes back to another time, and leads the reader on a journey of the heart and soul. He has two strong leads in Brodie Culhane and Zeke Bannon, and by the time these two collide, it's hard to decide who you want to root for. This is because Diehl builds such a strong character in Brodie, that you identify with him early in the book. When he's older and running for governor, it's hard to believe he's corrupt.
A well written "noir", but something "moir,"...a heartfelt thriller. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating: 
Summary: DULL
Review: In the California town of Eureka, the shoot-'em up...of the Old West has survived well into the 20th century - until tough guy Brodie Culhane returns from WWI to clean it up. But Sheriff Culhane is no angel, either, and when a murder 20 years later brings Detective Zee Bannon sniffing around, the skeleton is Culhane's closet start rattling up a storm. A standard potboiler from Diehl (Sharky's Machine), an author who knows his way around them, Eureka's epic scope screams for a made-for-TNT adaption, but when aiming for grandiosity it stetches too thin. Not much gold in them thar pages, but if you'll settle for bronze you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Page Turner you won't want to put down...
Review: Never having read a William Diehl novel, I regret waiting so long to read this book. You are pulled into the pages by the characters and events, and held there in suspense by this richly written book. Whether the time period was set in the early 1900's or in 1945, this book holds your attention - be prepared to read this nonstop! You won't want to put it down.
| 
