Wasted Years

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Series
Review: The fifth and strongest entry in Harvey's Charlie Resnick series is less sensational on the procedural side than previous outings, focusing on two separate sets of armed robberies. One set does a good job of portraying a bullying wayward youth and his aimless follower, while the other very high-end, hitting banks and armored cars, and is rooted in Resnick's past. Harvey effectively cuts back and forth between the present and 1981 in order to show the past events and characters. As usual, the private lives of the police squad is further developed.

Rating:
Summary: Better than 99% of the genre, but not perfect
Review: This book is so much better written than 99% of the genre that it seems a pity to criticize it. However... there is a problem. The author uses characters' consumer choices as little labels. One person eats a Linda McCartney meal, another listens to Lionel Ritchie. You can't help but feel that he is laughing at them. Not so Resnick who has impeccable taste. Near the end a bad character hops into bed with a Jeffrey Archer novel. It is then you realize that he is damned.

Rating:
Summary: Better than 99% of the genre, but not perfect
Review: This book is so much better written than 99% of the genre that it seems a pity to criticize it. However... there is a problem. The author uses characters' consumer choices as little labels. One person eats a Linda McCartney meal, another listens to Lionel Ritchie. You can't help but feel that he is laughing at them. Not so Resnick who has impeccable taste. Near the end a bad character hops into bed with a Jeffrey Archer novel. It is then you realize that he is damned.