Dark of the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!!
Review: I am not one to ever read mysteries. As a matter of fact, I avoid them. But after reading the cover of this one, I had to buy it. I was NOT dissappointed a single bit about the book. It was wonderful. Very emotional and bone chilling. Sure, there was a lot of drama but I guess that is what makes this type of book so good. I fell in love with the main character, Louis Kincaid, the deputy that is assigned to solve a murder mystery of a young black man that was brutally murdered approximately 20 years prior. He is in a Southern state and they still hold some prejudice there, so basically, he has limited information given to him and limited help from the citizens that know more then they will let on. With a lot of twists and turns, the book keeps you guessing. There are parts that really make you mad and you just want to throw the book across the room, but there are also heart touching parts as well. A very good book with a great plot and characters that you either hate or you love. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves murder mysteries. I avoid those books and I absolutely loved this one!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and compelling
Review: I enjoyed every word of Parrish's debut novel. Louis Kincaid is real, and the situations he encountered in 1983 Mississippi were real. In answer to one reviewer's casting for the movie: Spacey's okay as the sheriff, but put Crowe as Walter Kelly. He's capable of being that mean. I'm looking forward to reading Parrish's follow-up novel and soon.

Rating:
Summary: Thumbs Up For The Parrish Sisters!
Review: I found this mystery about Louis Kincaid, a bicultural cop who returns to his roots in Mississippi to care for his dying mother, very down to earth! Louis who is of mixed origin is working for an all white police department, where prejudice is a rule of thumb. :( While having to deal with the animosity of this small town police force, he stumbles upon some buried bones of a young African American who was buried with a nose around his neck & a book. Louis feels connected to this poor young man & to the surprise of everyone, he starts to unravel a well kept secret in this town. Everyone is afraid to talk, but Louis persists in finding this boys killers. I found this story to be very real & interesting! I love the way the authors how wound this mystery together. I am now their number one fan!! So, I hope the Parrish sisters keep on writing more books about Louis Kincaid so I can keep on reading about him. I've already read Dead Of Winter & it's even better than the first book, so if you want a nail bitter, edge of your seat book, look for more books writen by the Parrish sisters. ;)

Rating:
Summary: Captivating journey to 1950's Mississippi
Review: I have not had a lot of time to read much fiction lately, but I had to know what was keeping my wife up late at night. I took the opportunity to read this story and could not put it down! It wasn't just a mystery, it was so much more. It was a captivating story of life in small town Mississippi. How events in the past shaped the people of the present. I really cannot wait to start the second book in the series. In fact, I am stopping right here to go do just that.

Rating:
Summary: SAVE YOUR MONEY ON THIS ONE!
Review: I have read many wonderful mystery novels and I do not believe "Dark of the Moon" was very good. Louis Kincaid, a sherriff in this small town, who is the main character, is not a very likeable character at all. The mystery that the police in this little community in Mississippi have to solve, is the thirty year old murder of a young black man. His bones are discovered in the present with a noose next to the body, and Louis Kincaid feels a special bond between the boy and himself, since they are both black. Many years ago many blacks in Mississippi were treated as slaves and being hung. Louis really wants to discover who hung and killed this innocent young man. Unfortunately, everyone in the town doesn't want to talk to him. Secrets are everywhere around there. A few more people die along the way. The conclusion wasn't very good also. If you're looking for mystery novels to read, save your money for James Patterson.

Rating:
Summary: A book you can't put down
Review: I hope you start this book early in the day because once you start it, you won't be able to put it down. The main character, Louis Kincaid, is developed very well, as are the other characters in the book. The plot quietly grabs you by the throat, drags you through the book, and won't let go until the last page.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Page-Turner!
Review: I read this book from beginning to end in one day - I couldn't put it down! The main character, Louis Kincaid, is well-developed and sympathetic, but Parrish avoids making him a cliche (big city cop in a backwater town). He comes home to the South to be with his estranged mother as she lays dying of syphilis and cirrhosis of the liver. He has to come to terms with his feelings for her, and with the contempt of nearly everyone in this small Mississippi town. Louis is interracial and so is not accepted by either the whites nor the blacks of the town. The mystery unfolds gradually and is far from predictable. It had so many twists and turns that it kept me reading long into the night. Parrish does an excellent job developing all of the characters and I can't wait for his next Kincaid novel to appear!

Rating:
Summary: Good series start
Review: Louis Kincaid, a former Detroit police officer, moved back to Black Pool, Mississippi to take care of his dying mother. He took a temporary job as a deputy in order to continue his law enforcement career. During one of his patrols he finds the body of a black man that was lynched approximately thirty years ago. Most people in town want to keep the past buried by making him a John Doe; Kincaid wants to identify the victim and give him justice.

This is the first novel for the sister team of P. J. Parrish. Their main character is a conflicted young man with a strong sense of responsibility. Deputy Kincaid is going to explore Black Pool's dark history in order to find out the hidden facts. He will defy the town's authority and discover the truth even if it costs him his life. Once he starts there is no turning back.

The authors do a great job with characterization. They show the town's diversity by including the town's rich white people all the way to the poor African Americans. There are times that they go overboard showing the community's racism that it almost falls into a stereotype. One dislikes the characters before one even knows them. The story is thought provoking and a good start to the series. DEAD OF WINTER follows DARK OF THE MOON and does a good job of it.

Rating:
Summary: Quite a debut
Review: P.J. Parrish's "Dark of the Moon" is a captivating debut novel---the first in the Louis Kincaid series.

It is 1983 and Louis returns to Black Pool, Mississippi from Detroit to care for his dying mother. He stays in law enforcement as an investigator for the BPSD.

Louis discovers the thirty-year-old remains of a lynched black man. Much like Harry Bosch, Louis feels the need to speak for the dead---he wants to ID the body.

The local white trash, insular policos with vested interests and powerful families want the past to remain in the past. There are obviously secrets to be protected in this small southern town.

Louis has only two slim clues, an ally with the FBI in Jackson, and an unknown collaborator feeding him info bit by bit. A couple of murders suggest that the secrets will remained silent.

Will these present day murders lead Louis to the solution of the lynching and the person(s) responsible for the cover-up?

As the odds against Louis locating the answers mount he shows more resolve in getting to the truth. He refuses to back off---his deep sense of honor and integrity eventually winning over some in the Sheriff's Department.

Intricately plotted, a strong cast, believable dialogue and creditable resolution combine to make this one a keeper. This is a wonderful series with a protagonist to cheer for.

Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Novel
Review: This is my second Louis Kincaid novel, having read Island of Bones a few months ago. This one blew me away. It centers around the investigation of a decades old lynching, a small town, and the secrets that haunt some of the pillars of the town. Louis Kincaid investigates this crime, refusing to "let it go" at the urging of the town's leaders. What follows is a great story of what happens when the truth is finally revealed.