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Pain Scale, The (2012)

by Tyler Dilts(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1469237350 (ISBN13: 9781469237350)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Brilliance Audio

series

Long Beach Homicide

review 1: With the advent of self-published e-books, it's very difficult to cull through the chaff to find a few good books or a good series, and there still isn't any reliable book review source (except for Goodreads!).IMO, Tyler Dilts clearly demonstrates the skills and technique of a best selling author. These police procedural novels involve a Long Beach homicide detective named Danny Beckett. I've now read two of them and am about to purchase the third and newest when it's released in a couple of days; the first - A King of Infinite Space - was entertaining, but a little rough around the edges. In this second book, both the characters and the author have matured, and have created a novel satisfying on many levels. I judge most current crime fiction by J.A. Jance, Sue Grafto... moren and Michael Connelly; their novels are almost always well thought out, well crafted and plotted, and with the subplots resolved by the end of the book. They knows the geography and people they write about, and the pacing is steady - few of their books end up with a final chapter that rushes to the conclusion and gives you the inescapable suspicion that it was dictated to the word processor in order to meet a publishing deadline.Not many current authors live up to their gold standard, but I think Dilts will. I'm glad he's not rushing this series but taking his time (they are coming out every couple of years)
review 2: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. John Grisham can tell a story, but he can’t write worth a damn. Wallace Stegner could make music with words, but he couldn’t tell a story to save his life. Tyler Dilts is one of that echelon of authors that breathes rarified air, some exotic blend of gases that give them the extraordinary literary superpower of being able to tell a ripping good yarn with language that makes me want to laugh, cry, dance, sing and all manner of things. Is he a master of metaphor and simile like Chabon? No, but Chabon’s linguistic tricks grow tiresome after a few hundred pages. Rather, it would seem Dilts has taken a master class from the likes of Kellerman, Hurwitz, Winslow, Crais, Piccirrilli, Parker (T. Jeff), Burke, Flynn, French, different stylists all. That is, he uses language to great effect without it ever getting in the way of the story, without jarring the reader out of the world he’s created for his characters. And, oh, what interesting characters inhabit the world of THE PAIN SCALE. Detective Danny Beckett of the Long Beach P.D. is on his first case after coming off more than a year of sick leave due to an on-the-job injury that almost claimed a hand. Beckett still has the hand, though his use of it is limited, but now also has an uninvited consequence—chronic pain which he tries to control with Vicodin and Grey Goose. Turns out the only thing that helps is the case.The case is a good one involving the triple homicide of a mother and two kids. Dilts spins out the tale in solid police procedural fashion, and the investigation not only leads to more murders and subsequent twists and turns but to Beckett’s growing self-awareness as he looks for answers to both the case and his own condition.Beckett's tragic past could easily cause him to devolve into self-pity, and at times he indulges himself. But his self-awareness and longing for his partner's respect as both a cop and a man never allow him to get maudlin or lose sight of his job--to find justice for the victims. Even there, when Beckett identifies almost too strongly with the murdered woman and especially her needlessly slaughtered children (to the point they visit him in his dreams and ask him to cut away their pain with a saw), Beckett's emotional response hits just the right notes and never goes too far over the top. Another sign of terrific writing by an author who knows his craft.Though the revelations as Beckett and his partner(s) Jen Tanaka and Patrick unravel the crimes are not all that surprising, they’re still unexpected, and both the way the story unfolds and the resolution are entirely satisfying. Dilts is someone you can expect to hear good things about in the future. He’s going places, and I hope to go along for the ride. less

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