Violent Crimes
by Hugh Holton by Hugh HoltonWritten by Thumper, September 16th, 1999
Hello All. Violent Crimes by Hugh Holton is one of those books that causes you to do things that you know is not good for you, like staying up until 2 in the AM when you know, good and damn well, that you have to be up at 5:45 AM to get dressed and go to a conference. Yep, it's one of those books, and now I'm hurting like a son of a gun.
Violent Crimes is an installment of the Police Commander Larry Cole suspense series that is written expertly, deliciously by Hugh Holton. Violent Crimes is the fourth in the series, the third that I've read. I love them. Holton is among the few, select group of authors that I hunger for his books and look forward to them every year. He is that good. Now, about the book.
In this episode, I found out more past history of our hero, Larry Cole. Larry Cole is a high ranking African-American middle age police officer. He's handsome, smart, a middle-aged family man that has problems, and takes no bull. The current case comes directly out of his past. An army sergant is found dead in an alley; a phony Muslim leader is shot, killed, and burned when someone destroys his temple; and a millionaire Steve Zalkin has an unhealthy attachment to Cole, his former partner and best friend, Blackie Silverstri, and a nun. Throw into the mix missing top secret weapons and a 15 year old case, and you have a book that by the end, you feel like you've been in a race. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Holton is a suspense/thriller lover dream come true. Holton lets the reader into the inner workings of police, the criminal mind and the urban backdrop that at times is scary. Holton does not hold anything back. It's an ugly and violent world out there. In Cole, he places a good man, doing the best he can with what he has. Cole is human, flaws and all. I beleive that is what makes Holton's books captivating and intriguing. Cole is intelligent, he thinks, with a sense of morality, but he is no goody-two-shoes. Because Holton comes to us with his police background, Holton's a retired Chicago police lieutenant with 27 years of experience, puts Cole in situations that is easily believeable. The stuff that nightmares are made of.
Now, if you haven't read Holton before and would like to give him a try, I have some information that you must have. I like reading my serials in chronological order. Usually, this is easy to figure out because most authors that write serials write the novels in sequence, advancing in time. Holton's Larry Cole series is different. It's just the opposite. Although Violent Crimes take place in 1991 and 1976, the book was published in 1997. Chicago Blues, which was released in 1996, takes place in 1994 and 1979. Windy City, which was released in 1995, takes place in 1996. The first Larry Cole novel is titled Presumed Dead. I haven't read this title yet, but I will soon, I hope. As you can see, Holton jumps around a bit. This throws me for a loop at the beginning of the novels. Evenmoreso, because Holton will refer to cases in his books, that he haven't written or published yet. I like organization. At the beginning of each book, I have to get my bearings. But I suffer gladly, because it is all good.
Violent Crimes is a fascinating book. I highly recommend it. Check out Holton's other books as well. You will not be disappointed.