Flight

Rating:
Summary: Frank Harriman moves into the spotlight.
Review: As a fan of Jan Burke's Irene Kelly novels (most recently, Bones), I was quite prepared to take a chance on her with a new primary character, Detective Frank Harriman. This isn't quite the leap of faith that those who aren't familiar with the Irene Kelly works might imagine; Detective Harriman certainly played important roles in those previous novels. This time, however, the story was almost all his, and any concerns I might have had about the change in lineup were allayed in the opening pages.

Detective Frank Harriman is stuck with a hell of a case, actually, a hell of a set of cases. The Las Piernas Police Department is convinced as to the long-borne guilt of one of their own in a heinous case of murder and betrayal, and nobody is interested in hearing other theories, until Harriman won't let them ignore the growing pile of evidence. Harriman's doggedness doesn't win him any friends, on the force or in the shadowy recesses of some of the darker elements of the city. But even Harriman wasn't prepared for where his investigations would take him or the degree to which a madman would go to fulfill his destiny.

Like the rest of Burke's works, Flight combines compellling characters with an attention to detail that is to be admired. It is fairly rare to be left feeling like you've been left with a pile of loose ends after a Burke denouement. In fact, my main gripe with Flight was the departure fairly on in the novel of a pair of characters I would have like to have had a chance to get to know better.

As always, Burke presents an exceptional "who done it" procedural mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Irene's husband gets his chance
Review: Edgar-award winner Burke departs from her Irene Kelly series with "Flight," featuring Irene's homicide detective husband, Frank Harriman, on the trail of an old case, given new life when the body of Detective Philip Lefebvre, missing ten years and labeled a murderer, is found in the wreckage of his plane.

It all began before Harriman's time in the Las Piernas (Southern California) Police. A father and daughter were murdered on their yacht and the surviving son identified a local crime boss, only to be murdered in his hospital bed days later. Since he and a box of crucial evidence disappeared at the same time, Lefebvre has been blamed for the murder and the disgrace to the department.

Soon convinced that his colleagues condemned the wrong man, Harriman is further isolated by his growing suspicion that a cop - but not Lefebvre - is guilty. The narrative, primarily from Harriman's point of view, is punctuated by the obsessive Looking Glass Man, the murderer with a mission, and also by Irene's view, though more as Harriman's wife than in her job as reporter.

The story is absorbing, complex and well constructed, though the cops sometimes seem a little heavy handed. Harriman is not as lively and impulsive as likable Irene and the villain is diabolically clever but hardly unique in fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Good addition to the series.
Review: I have enjoyed quite a few of the Irene Kelly novels and this one was no exception...although it is not really Irene but her husband Frank Harriman that takes the spotlight.

Most writers have difficulty chnaging the main characters and have the previous ones only in cameo appearances. Not so Mrs Burke.

From the first page the novel takes off in a long prologue which could have been a story in itself. Ten years later, Harriman is picking up the pieces of a trail which is still as hot and contentious as it was 10 years ago.

Deft writing and excellent plotting keep us glued to the pages of the story.

I am looking forward to read more of Mr ( and I guess Mrs) Harrimans adventures.
Harriman

Rating:
Summary: Up in the air
Review: Jan Burke, who is best known for her Irene Kelly mysteries, decides to put her main character as a secondary to let her husband, Las Piernas Police Detective Frank Harriman take the lead in this novel. It was nice of the author to lead one of the supporting characters to take the limelight in order to expand their literary universes. Most of the time the only thing we learn about the secondary characters is what the series hero let us know about them.

Ten years ago someone who wanted to frame Whitey Dane, the local crime boss, killed the Randolph family in their yacht. The Looking Glass Man (as the readers know him) failed in killing Seth Randolph and made a crucial mistake in framing Dane. The boy is in the hospital being watched by his mother, who was divorced from Mr. Randolph, and by Detective Phillip Lefebvre who has made it his mission to save the boy. The two have made a friendship and confide in each other. When Lefebvre learns about a crucial mistake the Looking Glass Man made, he is left wondering if someone from his own police department could have been the murderer. Crucial evidence disappears and Seth is found murdered in his hospital bed. The police suspects Lefebvre was involved but he has now disappeared.

A decade has passed and a Cessna plane has been found in the forest. It contains the body of Phillip Lefebvre who apparently was killed by a tampered airplane. Frank Harriman gets the case and learns about the resentment the police force had on this disgraced officer. Dane is also interested in learning what has been going on. He is not happy that someone framed him for a murder he did not commit and wants to learn the truth.

Harriman is relentless in his investigation and his wife Irene lends him a helping hand. Frank learns about people who had a connection to Lefebvre and will help him in the investigation. The Looking Glass Man is panicking and he will do what it takes to prevent the truth from coming out even if it includes murder.

This book pales in comparison to Ms. Burke's previous novel, BONES, which one the Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel. The book is a good read and it provides something new to Irene Kelly fans. The story told through a different point of view.

Rating:
Summary: A good mystery to the end !
Review: The case is ten years old. Lefebvre, a police officer, saved a young boy's life when his father and sister were murdered. During a press conference the boy realizes that the killer is in the room and only he knows what the identifying clue is. When the boy is murdered, Lefebvre is the one and only suspect and when he disappears, the rest of the force assumes his guilt and considers the case closed.

When Lefebvre's bones are discovered inside his sabataged airplane ten years later, Frank Harriman, Irene Kelly's husband, is assigned to sort through all the clues. It is an unpopular mission to unmask the real killer and Harriman works without any real support. Flight's suspense begins in the prologue and continues through to the final pages. It's a book to buy and read as quickly as possible.

Rating:
Summary: I'd recommend it to people in the street
Review: This book is a must for all mystery writers--and Jan Burke is in top form. The story is compelling, the writing tight and the characters jump off the page. It's a quick read and a completely satisfying one too. I like that Burke is looking through the eyes of Irene Kelly's husband, Frank, which offers a fresh perspective. I'd write more, but I don't want to give too much away (the back of the book gives a pretty good description), but it will definately make you go and read Burke's Backlist.

Rating:
Summary: It really does keep you gripping your armrests!
Review: This book is suspenseful from the very beginning! I could not put this book down and I was annoying my girlfriend because of it...but now, she is reading the book and she can't put it down either! It's one of those murder mysteries that you want to keep turning the pages from beginning to end to finally find out who the killer is. The plot is great and Jan Burke's writing style is unlike any other. This book is awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Just a Great Full of Suspense Book!
Review: This book took me on unexpected twists and turns. A real read- for Sue Grafton meets Mary Higgins Clark enthusiasts. Get to know Irene Kelly! Fun series. Hope Jan writes more.

Rating:
Summary: Just a Great Full of Suspense Book!
Review: This book took me on unexpected twists and turns. A real read- for Sue Grafton meets Mary Higgins Clark enthusiasts. Get to know Irene Kelly! Fun series. Hope Jan writes more.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book For Amateur Detectives!
Review: This is the first book that I've read by this wonderful author.While it is true that the first few chapters pertain to someone other than the Irene or Frank, the first few chapters give excellent and needed background for the rest of the book which emphasizes Frank. Just because the first few chapters do not emphasize Frank or Irene, these are needed and entertaining chapters that will hold the rest of the book together. They're not boring chapters at all. They are most entertaining. These first few chapters are needed for the rest of the book to make sense.

When Frank becomes the main character you begin to see many things happening. These things only occur because of what was presented within the first few chapters.

The book can easily be read over a weekend, however, why do that when the authors writing will leave you at the close of every chapter pondering the entire situation that Frank finds himself in? At the end of each chapter, I put the book down and wondered, "I wonder why this happened?", "I wonder what that will mean?", or "I wonder if Frank will do this?". It's a thinkers book. If you find yourself to be an amateur Sherlock Holmes, this is the book for you. You might, like me, put the book down at times and try to put the clues together. It's a book that is a lot of fun for amatuer detectives.

This book is a winner with a capital W. Buy it and enjoy it.