Thursday, August 5, 2010

Book Review: The Chill of the Night by James Hayman


The Chill of Night (Det. Michael McCabe Mysteries)
 
The Chill of the Night by James Hayman
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publish Date: June 22, 2010
Paperback, 352 pages


My Review:
Why I read this:  I received a copy of this from the author through Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I jumped at the chance to review The Chill of the Night because I reviewed The Cutting by James Hayman last year, which was his first novel and I loved it.  You can find the review here.

How is the novel driven: The Chill of the Night is mostly plot-driven but there is more character development of McCabe in this one as well as there was in the first one.  I love getting to know McCabe more and seeing how his mind works.  I'm most fascinated with his eidetic memory.

My thoughts:
After reading several young adult novels in a row, it's nice to get back to an adult thriller book.  And what better way to do that with an author I fell in love with last year with his first book, The Cutting.  And even better than that, In the Chill of the Night continues the story of the main character from The Cutting, Michael McCabe.

The action starts from the beginning.  We are introduced to the first victim and the next thing you know it's two weeks later and that victim is found murdered.  Of course the murder has a twist and that twist takes Detectives McCabe and Savage through the twists and turns of solving this before more victims are found.

Great action and suspense, I was intrigued and kept intrigued through the book.  I loved also that I learn more about McCabe.  He is not just McCabe the detective as some mysteries do, but he is also Father, ex-husband, boyfriend, and friend.  I love all sides of him and the fact that he tries no matter what to do what is best.

I found this one a little more gritty than the first one.  There are more sexual references (due to the crimes), the language seems a little harsher.  I remember this because I gave the first book to my dad to read and I don't give him ones that are too rough, because he prefers to stay away from those.  However I don't feel it was too gratuitous in this book and I still highly recommend it.  It really wasn't meant to titillate, it's more the nature of the crimes.

Overall a wonderful thrill ride.  If you enjoy police procedural type thrillers with great characterization then this is the book for you.  No real need to read the first one, this stands on it's own, but reading the first one does give a stronger understanding of McCabe and his life.

One thing I really loved:  McCabe - he's probably my second favorite character in a suspense book and I look forward to reading more books about him in the future.


My Rating:  4.0/5.0

About the Book:
Fresh off the success of The Cutting, James Hayman brings Detective Michael McCabe back in an even more powerful tale of duplicity, murder, and revenge
Glamorous young Portland attorney Lainie Goff thought she had it all—brains, beauty, and a fast-track to a partnership in a top-ranked firm that was going to make her rich. But then one cold winter night she pushed things too far, and her naked frozen body is found in the sub-zero temperatures at the end of the Portland Fish Pier. The only witness to the crime: a mentally disturbed young woman named Abby Quinn who mysteriously disappears the very same night. With the discovery of Lainie Goff ’s body and the disappearance of Abby Quinn, Portland homicide detective Michael McCabe finds himself on the trail of a relentless and clever killer. A killer he must find before another life is lost. With The Chill of Night James Hayman returns to tell a gripping tale of evil and deceit and creates characters so real and so human, we want to meet them again and again.

About the Author:
JAMES HAYMAN spent more than twenty years as a senior creative director at one of New York’s largest advertising agencies. He and his wife, artist Jeanne O’Toole Hayman, now live in Portland, Maine. This is his second novel.

James Hayman's website
His Blog

For more information see my tour post here.

FTC Information: I received this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book Promotion for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Tour: The Chill of the Night by James Hayman

The Chill of Night

Join James Hayman, author of the thriller novel, The Chill of Night (Minotaur, St. Martin’s Press), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in July and August ‘10 on his second virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About James Hayman

James Hayman 2Like McCabe, I’m a native New Yorker. He was born in the Bronx. I was born in Brooklyn. We both grew up in the city. He dropped out of NYU Film School and joined the NYPD, rising through the ranks to become the top homicide cop at the Midtown North Precinct. I graduated from Brown and joined a major New York ad agency, rising through the ranks to become creative director on accounts like the US Army, Procter & Gamble, and Lincoln/Mercury.
We both married beautiful brunettes. McCabe’s wife, Sandy dumped him to marry a rich investment banker who had “no interest in raising other people’s children.” My wife, Jeanne, though often given good reason to leave me in the lurch, has stuck it out through thick and thin and is still my wife. She is also my best friend, my most attentive reader and a perceptive critic.
Both McCabe and I eventually left New York for Portland, Maine. I arrived in August 2001, shortly before the 9/11 attacks, in search of the right place to begin a new career as a fiction writer. He came to town a year later, to escape a dark secret in his past and to find a safe place to raise his teenage daughter, Casey.
There are other similarities between us. We both love good Scotch whiskey, old movie trivia and the New York Giants. And we both live with and love women who are talented artists.
There are also quite a few differences. McCabe’s a lot braver than me. He’s a better shot. He likes boxing. He doesn’t throw up at autopsies. And he’s far more likely to take risks. McCabe’s favorite Portland bar, Tallulah’s, is, sadly, a figment of my imagination. My favorite Portland bars are all very real.
Visit James on the web at www.jameshaymanthrillers.com.

About The Chill of  Night

The Chill of NightSome Crimes Can Never Be Forgiven.
Lainie Goff thought she had it all. The ambitious young attorney was brilliant, beautiful, and on a fast-track to a lucrative partnership at one of the top firms in New England. But then, one cold night, a dark and ugly secret comes back from Lainie’s past and she pushes things too far. Soon her body is found, frozen solid in sub-zero temperatures at the end of the Portland Fish Pier.
A mentally ill woman named Abby Quinn witnesses the brutal crime. But when she tells what she has seen, nobody will believe her. Not until she too mysteriously disappears.
In The Chill of Night, Portland homicide detective Michael McCabe finds himself finds himself fighting memories from his own past as he races to find the killer before another life is lost.
James Hayman once again tells a gripping tale of evil and deceit and creates characters so real and so human, we want to meet them again and again.

Read the Excerpt!

Abby looked up and saw a low dark thing moving toward her. A black form, now visible through the whipping snow, now obliterated by it. With each step it grew clearer and bigger. At twenty feet it began to take shape. Animal. Not human. A large dog, gray fur glistening under crystals of snow, cruel icy eyes shining through the night, more wolf than dog. She stopped but the animal kept coming. She could hear its rumbling growl. Low. Menacing. Commanding. Her heart beat against the walls of her chest so hard she was certain it would break through. She knew what the creature wanted. She knelt on her hands and knees. It bared a fang long enough and sharp enough to penetrate the soft flesh at back of her neck. She lowered her head and waited for release. But release didn’t come. Finally, after a minute or two, she looked up and it was gone. She could see nothing in front of her but the snow-covered street and the wind-swept flakes still hurtling down through the night sky. She stayed where she was, kneeling in the snow. She could hear a child crying. She listened. After a bit she realized the sound was coming from her. She got up and started walking again.

banner bar

The Chill of Night Tour Schedule

banner bar 
Tuesday, July 6
Book reviewed at Rundpinne
Wednesday, July 7
Book trailer spotlighted at If Books Could Talk
Thursday, July 8
Guest blogging at Readaholic
Friday, July 9
Book reviewed at Readaholic
Monday, July 12
Guest blogging at Beyond the Books
Tuesday, July 13
Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking
Thursday, July 15
Book reviewed at Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
Friday, July 16
Book reviewed at Marta’s Meanderings
Monday, July 19
Book reviewed at Cheryl’s Book Nook
Wednesday, July 21
Book reviewed at Lucky Rosie’s
Thursday, July 22
Guest blogging at Writing Daze
Friday, July 23
Guest blogging at The Book Boost
Monday, July 26
Guest blogging at The Naked Hero
Tuesday, July 27
Book reviewed at Blog O’ the Irish
Wednesday, July 28
Guest blogging at The Writer’s Life
Thursday, July 29
Guest blogging at Blogging Authors
Friday, July 30
Book reviewed at A Room Without Books is Empty
Monday, August 2
Interviewed at Literarily Speaking
Tuesday, August 3
Book spotlighted at Virginia Beach Publishing Examiner
Wednesday, August 4
Book reviewed by Book Reviews by Buuklvr81
Thursday, August 5
Book reviewed at My Reading Room
Friday, August 6
Book reviewed at Chrissy’s World of Books
Monday, August 9
Interviewed at Broowaha
Guest blogging at Thoughts in Progress
Tuesday, August 10
Book reviewed at Books R Us
Wednesday, August 11
Book reviewed at DK’s Book Reviews
Thursday, August 12
OPEN
Friday, August 14
Guest blogging at CMash Loves to Read
Monday, August 16
Interviewed at Examiner
Tuesday, August 17
Book reviewed at Reading at the Beach
Wednesday, August 18
Guest blogging at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Thursday, August 19
Book reviewed at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Friday, August 20
Book reviewed at Teresa’s Reading Corner
Monday, August 23
Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking
Tuesday, August 24
Book reviewed at CMash Loves to Read
Interviewed at Divine Caroline
Wednesday, August 25
OPEN
Thursday, August 26
OPEN
Friday, August 27
Book reviewed at The Book Connection