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Beat (2010)

by Stephen Jay Schwartz(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0765322951 (ISBN13: 9780765322951)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Forge Books

series

Hayden Glass

review 1: Not as good as Boulevard!The dark, noir feel and Hayden Glass' internal struglle which made Boulevard interesting and unique, are here but it gets a bit muddled as the tone of the book shifts abruptly. The most effective points are the scenes were Hayden enters the grimey underworld of sex clubs/prostitution and reflects on his own weaknesses and demons. The scene where he visits a "John school" and realizes he is no different than the cynical, callous men who are attending as part of their penalty for a soliciting arrest. However, the scene is followed by a visit to the local FBI office which is rather unrealistic and over the top. I am sorry but I highly doubt any Federal office building has mahogany tables and lamb skin leather seats in their conference rooms. I kn... moreow that this seems like a small detail, but the whole scene is one of many that do not fit with the tone of the book. Similar scene is where Hayden and Glass have drinks while planning an assault on strip club run by the Russian mob. The scenes rely heavily on dialogue which is just not as strong as the author's descriptions. The novel also has a couple shoot-out scenes which remind more of the climax of a Crais novel rather than the more noir (ala James Ellroy) style of Schwartz's earlier novel.
review 2: There are three types of addicts…the outer, middle and inner circles. The outer do the light stuff, more dabbing into trying things. The middle are the people do spend a little more time and money focusing on their addictions. Lastly there is the inner circle. These are the hard core people. LAPD homicide detective Hayden Glass is in the middle circle. Hayden’s addiction is sex or porn. Hayden is just about to log off his computer when he sees a link that advertisings real live women. Hayden logs on and this is where Hayden meets Cora. Hayden tracks Cora down. The next thing Hayden knows, two men come storming into the room and accost Hayden. When Hayden awakes Cora is gone. Hayden soon discovers that he has stumbled upon a large sex ring that is run by the Russian mafia. The FBI asks Hayden for his assistance. There is no turning back for Hayden now. The only question left is…will Hayden make it out alive?While I liked this book for its gritty story line and though as nails character in Hayden, there was a few times there I felt for me that the intensity levels dropped some. I thought Mr. Schwartz showed the down and dirty side of law enforcement. Hayden is a strong character. Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough to keep my interest all the way until the end. This book started out strong but then lost some of its speed in the middle but ended on a high note. I could picture this book being turning into a movie. Beat takes a licking but keeps on ticking. less

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