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Summary: Richard Barre is a modern Raymond Chandler at his best
Review: A believable anti-hero in a Californian setting which will keep you busy for a while. Richard Barre has managed to develop an interesting and complex character in Wil Hardesty. If you appreciate books by Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane or the earlier books by Stuart Woods - you will love these too.
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Summary: A Must Read For Mystery Fans
Review: Blackheart Highway is wonderful ... I read it in one night and am sorry it's over ... kind of like a good rollercoaster ride - twists, turns, the unexpected and then it's over ... sad to see it end, but knowing there will be another great ride ... but at the same time, wanting this ride to go on ...This is the 4th in Mr. Barre's series, and the other 3 books are just as riviting. His characters are people you want to read about, and bring you right into the stories.
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Summary: Terrific read, fascinating characters, multi-level plot.
Review: For anyone who likes spending time with characters and plots that resonate well after the last page is turned, Richard Barre is the author for you. Blackheart Highway, brings the fascinating Wil Hardesty roaring back to life for the fourth time. Barre's writing is spare and exquisitely elegant, his plots are complex and ultimately satisifying. No one writes more realistic and wonderfully rounded characters. I'll follow Wil Hardesty and Richard Barre wherever they will take me. It is a darn good read, but then so were The Innocents, Bearing Secrets, and The Ghosts of Morning. Don't start any of these books late at night, you won't be able to put them down.
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Summary: Can't believe I wasted the time reading this.
Review: Hey, I'll read just about anything -- the back of a box of cereal, trash novels, old news magazines. This book, however, stretched my patience. Barre lacks any literary skill, the kind of author who's detailed love letters would probably be boring. How bad was it? Well, I purchased two other Barre books from Amazon.com at the same time and, for the first time, have had to take advantage of Amazon.com's generous refund policy by returning those books. As I read the other reviews, I can only wonder if somehow the cover of MY book got switched with the one they read. Am I the only one out there who couldn't stand this book?
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Summary: A NOVEL THAT PACKS A HARD PUNCH!!!
Review: In BLACKHEART HIGHWAY, the fourth novel in the "Wil Hardesty" P.I. series, Richard Barre takes our middle-aged, Vietnam vet, surfing detective to Bakersfield, California with his new girlfriend, Kari Thayer, who has to attend the Association of Television Production Professionals convention being held there (my only question is why would anyone want to hold a convention in Bakersfield?). While Kari is at the convention, Hardesty decides to visit a local bookstore and inadvertently gets involved in an attempted robbery. His heroism draws the attention of local lawyer, Lute DeVillbis, who wants to hire Hardesty to get rid of Doc Lee Whitney. Doc Whitney, who was once a country music star back in the seventies, is back in town after spending twenty years in prison for the murder of his wife and two children. Few people are happy to see Doc back, and some are anxious to be rid of him once and for all. It seems that Doc's father, Gib, along with the help of DeVillbis, used to be in the business of scamming rich people out of their money by selling them worthless land that supposedly had oil on it. When Gib Whitney mysteriously disappeared in the late sixties, Rye Rossert stepped into the picture from out of nowhere and took his place as the partner of Lute DeVillbis. Together, they began to buy land with oil on it and eventually became millionaires. Now, there's an oil deal getting ready to go down that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to both Rossert and DeVillbis, and the oil happens to on the land Gib Whitney once owned. It isn't long before Hardesty begins to suspect that maybe Doc Whitney didn't kill his family...that he was set up so that his father's land could be taken. When Hardesty is fired by DeVillbis, he must decide whether or not to help Whitney; and, once a decision is made, stay alive long enough to get to the truth. BLACKHEART HIGHWAY clearly demonstrates that Richard Barre is getting better and better with each novel. The writing is sharper, the characters more richly drawn, and the novel more intricately detailed with twists that surprised even me. The reader becomes closer to Wil Hardesty, understanding that the relationship with his ex-wife is slowly drawing to an end, and that the relationship with his new girlfriend could be in its final stages, due to her young son's dislike of him. Hardesty comes across as a real person who has problems just like everybody else and occasionally makes the wrong decision that sometimes cost other people their lives. Wil Hardesty isn't a superhero; he's simply a man trying to do his job, while dealing with the nuances of everyday life. If you enjoy reading books in the "P.I." genre, then pickup a copy of BLACKHEART HIGHWAY, but don't forget the first three novels in the series: THE INNOCENTS, BEARING SECRETS and THE GHOSTS OF MORNING. Richard Barre is definitely on his way to being placed amongst the top writers in the field.
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Summary: my first Barre book, will not be my last!
Review: Richard Barre has done it again with his latest novel Blackheart Highway. I started reading this author after a trip to Bouchercon where I heard him read an excerpt from one of his novels. After that I read The Innocents and Bearing Secrets in short order and waited anxiously for The Ghosts of the Morning. Blackheart Highway is Mr. Barres fourth offering and in some ways his best. One of the most compelling aspects of Richard Barre's writing is the subtle quality of the plot. The characters and events are believable while the feeling of the story has a haunting timbre. As the story progresses the line between villain and victim start to blur as Will finds himself embroiled in much more than vague threats or long ago murders. I am struck by Mr. Barre's understanding of the "little evils" of compromise and need that seem to be the foundation for the monstrous wickedness. I liked this book very much and liked even more the time between readings. The flavor of the story lingered and I found myself wanting to hurry up and finish whatever silliness I was doing so I could get back to the real stuff of Blackheart Highway. Michaele Bryant
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Summary: Hard boiled at its best!
Review: This is a great read, I couldn't put it down. If you like good character development and a twisting turning plot, Richard Barre is the author for you. In Blackheart Highway Wil Hardesty is back for the fourth time. The writing is spare and elegant, the plot complex and satisifying. I love the wonderfully rounded characters, making it eassy to keep turning the pages. also check out: The Innocents, Bearing Secrets, and The Ghosts of Morning. I alsojust finished another good thriller/mystery: "A Tourist in the Yucatan"
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Summary: Hard boiled at its best!
Review: This is a great read, I couldn't put it down. If you like good character development and a twisting turning plot, Richard Barre is the author for you. In Blackheart Highway Wil Hardesty is back for the fourth time. The writing is spare and elegant, the plot complex and satisifying. I love the wonderfully rounded characters, making it eassy to keep turning the pages. also check out: The Innocents, Bearing Secrets, and The Ghosts of Morning. I alsojust finished another good thriller/mystery: "A Tourist in the Yucatan"
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