- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (Sep 11 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312281552
- ISBN-13: 978-0312281557
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.5 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 553 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Homicide detectives Barry Gilbert and his able young partner, Joe Lombardo, assigned to a murder in Toronto's Chinatown, quickly find themselves ensnared in a tangle of Canadian-Asian gangs, international drug operations, local politics, corrupt cops, and such familiar pan-ethnic vices as adultery, greed and twisted uses of power in this disappointing sequel to 1998's Cold Comfort from Canadian author Mackay. The dynamic cover, a nighttime Chinatown street scene, is jazzy, colorful and intense. In that regard it outdoes the plot, which, like the investigation itself, trudges along in muddled fashion. One step forward, one step back, and one step sideways may well represent how police investigations actually unfold, but most readers of modern police procedurals will wish for a tighter, if less realistic, story line. Lacking as well is any real sense of place or culture. Except for a brief sojourn in Hong Kong, which is beautifully rendered, the action could have occurred in any modern city; except for their surnames, the Asians could just as easily be plain-vanilla bad guys. The author attempts to ratchet up the mystery by working in multiple suspects, but his plan is undercut by a title that gives away the punch line. Since it's clear from the get-go that there's going to be a fall guy, the only real question is, who is he? The one to whom the bulk of the evidence points, of course; once that evidence is accumulated (and, in Mackay's curious style, endlessly replayed in Gilbert's mind), little mystery remains.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The author's second mystery (it follows Cold Comfort, nominated for a 1999 Arthur Ellis Award) is another interesting, if sometimes distracting, story featuring Toronto police detectives Barry Gilbert and Joe Lombardo. A clever procedural about a murdered man with an enigmatic past, it takes the detectives deep into Toronto's Chinatown, where they encounter a deeply secret society riddled with corruption and betrayal. Mackay does atmosphere and setting well, and his characters are full-bodied and believable. Unfortunately, he suffers from a stylistic tick--lengthy, entangled, repetitive sentences--that will prove merely distracting to some but unbearable to others. Still, Mackay is a skillful storyteller, and this has the makings of a good series if only the narrative can avoid being strangled by its own sentences. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read,
By
This review is from: Fall Guy (Hardcover)
In Toronto's Chinatown, homicide detectives Barry Gilbert and Joe Lombardo search the apartment of murdered Edgar Lau for clues. The obvious evidence beyond the photographer's corpse is that no forced entry most likely means Edgar knew his killer and felt safe enough to allow he or she into the apartment. The cops also find an ammo clip with no gun and 3.5 million worth of heroine. Photographs of City Councilor Roslyn Surrey in sexy poses spice up the investigation. Outside, a glove is found hanging from a tree in the yard. Finally a witness saw Pearl Wu leave the scene of the crime. The coroner adds to the complexity of the evidence when he reports that Edgar suffered an unreported bullet wound that, based on its healing, is three to four months old. The coroner also finds inside the victim's intestines a balloon containing a key. With all this evidence the case should be a snap for the two veteran police officers, but instead each clue opens up a gamut of new questions in this increasingly complicated case. The FALL GUY is no six million-dollar man, but instead a tremendous Canadian police procedural that never slows down as the detectives track clues that seems to go everywhere and nowhere. The story line is superb as twists, turns, and new evidence keep occurring with no end in sight. The two detectives are a warm pair who feels like neighbors and the evidence indicates the lifestyle of the victim. Sub-genre fans will feel warm comfort knowing that talented Scott MacKay provides strong novels for reading pleasure. Harriet Klausner
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fall Guy (Hardcover)
In Toronto's Chinatown, homicide detectives Barry Gilbert and Joe Lombardo search the apartment of murdered Edgar Lau for clues. The obvious evidence beyond the photographer's corpse is that no forced entry most likely means Edgar knew his killer and felt safe enough to allow he or she into the apartment. The cops also find an ammo clip with no gun and 3.5 million worth of heroine. Photographs of City Councilor Roslyn Surrey in sexy poses spice up the investigation. Outside, a glove is found hanging from a tree in the yard. Finally a witness saw Pearl Wu leave the scene of the crime. The coroner adds to the complexity of the evidence when he reports that Edgar suffered an unreported bullet wound that, based on its healing, is three to four months old. The coroner also finds inside the victim's intestines a balloon containing a key. With all this evidence the case should be a snap for the two veteran police officers, but instead each clue opens up a gamut of new questions in this increasingly complicated case. The FALL GUY is no six million-dollar man, but instead a tremendous Canadian police procedural that never slows down as the detectives track clues that seems to go everywhere and nowhere. The story line is superb as twists, turns, and new evidence keep occurring with no end in sight. The two detectives are a warm pair who feels like neighbors and the evidence indicates the lifestyle of the victim. Sub-genre fans will feel warm comfort knowing that talented Scott MacKay provides strong novels for reading pleasure. Harriet Klausner |
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