"Let righteousness flow like a mighty river, and justice roll down like an everlasting stream..." Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights marches in Birmingham with those Biblical words. In Thomas Cook's novel, Streets of Fire, we find the city of Birmingham as it was during those days, a city parched and thirsting for righteousness and justice. The novel gives a fascinating and stirring portrait of the city in those tense and exciting days. But as "all politics is local" so, Ben Wellman finds, justice resides first in the individual geography of the heart. Wellman, a police officer, World War II veteran and loner, takes refuge from the political turmoil of the marches by investing himself deeply to solve a single, vicious crime. A little girl from the city's Bearmatch neighborhood is found buried in an arid ballfield. His absorption in this single crime leads him--and those around him--to confront deeper patterns of bigotry, exploitation, and political manipulation in others, and in themselves. The plot is complex, but satisfying and dramatic in its conclusion. Cook's writing, in this as in later novels, offers many beauties, as well as a quality of serious, plain good prose. In this novel, the idea that overarches the plot development is that of water, or drought. Cook reflects the distortions of an unjust way of life in an arid ballfield, a filthy, dried-out storm drain that holds a man's murdered body, a leaking roof, the torrent of water from the city's fire hoses, the tide of emotion rising within Wellman, which will carry him forward into a new life. If the novel has a fault, it's that the several minor characters around Wellman in the Birmingham police department are not well distinguished one from another. Since plot development hinges on several of these characters, their vague outlines sometimes make it difficult for the reader to figure out who is doing what to whom. This novel takes the reader back to a cleaner time in the national memory--a time when great evil was certainly done, but also a time when simple decency seemed the best way to respond. Cook's main character is the sort of man who says little, but doggedly does much, by simply being considerate of others, firm in his allegiance to human dignity, passionate in his defense of innocence. For Wellman, "race relations" are just human relations. He insists on treating them that way. He distinguishes only between vicious and virtuous behavior, awarding contempt to the first and honor to the second evenhandedly. The complexities and evasions and institutionalized resentment and restitution that mar race relations in our time are not part of this novel. It takes us back to a simpler time, when we hoped we could all be judged by the content of our character. It was a great pleasure--a deep satisfaction in fact--to be reminded once again how men of my father's generation addressed these evils: by just behaving with impeccable decency.

I HAVE JUST FINISHED THIS COULDN'T PUT DOWN BOOK. I THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS EXCELLENT! IT WAS WELL WRITTEN, HISTORICAL, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, AND A BOOK I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ON MY SHELVES TO SAVE FOR MY CHILDREN TO READ SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND THE HORROR AND HISTORY OF THAT PERIOD. THIS BOOK IS ONE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

As much as I generally choose fast paced, psychological suspense mysteries - this book kept me on the edge of my seat. Just as Cook was about to reveal a thread of the story he would pull you back into the present - it had twists and turns and was well written. Cook did a great job of keeping me guessing until the very end. It is a haunting story of lost love and remorse. It truly brings you back to those days of yearning in high school and shows you how one small event effets so many lives. A great read and a moving tale.

Although I am no stranger to the books of Thomas H. Cook, nothing I previously read prepared me for the emotional roller coaster journey I took while I read this title. The opening lines of the book, "This is the darkest story I have ever heard," certainly rings true as Cook takes his readers on a time machine ride back to Choctaw, Alabama in the year 1962. And what the reader finally learns on this journey in the last few pages will have them aggreeing that Thomas Cook is the the master of a genre hard to categorize. At first glance one assumes that he is a mystery author while a second glance has you thinking he writes psychologial studies dealing with the relationships of people and what pure and simple evil does to their lives. And some readers may even think that Cook borders on being a thriller witer. Whatever your conclusions, its safe to say that a Cook book will have you reading late into the night. And even once you've finished, you will continue to wonder about the plot and characters for a long time.

Middle aged, married and the father of one daughter. Ben is troubled by an incident which occured 30 years ago. As he relates the story and finally the truth, all sorts of issues have been explored. Among them adolescent love, integration, the question of parentage, standing up for what you believe, deception and finally hatred. As the reader finds himself immersed in the lives and events of this town and what did occur on Breakheart Hill, the question of who did it becomes secondary. For it is the telling of the events leading up to and the aftermath of this event which keep you turning the pages in breakneck speed. And the last few pages were so riveting and unexpected, that I found myself going back and rereading them to make sure I understood everything. And even as I closed the book I stil had some nagging thoughts and unanswered questions which I continue to think about.

Do read this if you're looking for a "can't put it down" title. But don't blame me if you can't get anything else done until you finish this very good book.

And finally other books I would recommend by this author are The Chatham School Affair and Places in the Dark, Cook's newest title.

This is a wonderful novel. The format is repeated in several of Cook's novels (e.g. The Chatham School Affair, Instruments of Night), but only in Breakheart is Cook able to pull off the past and present juxtaposition. What really makes this story work is the depth and complexity of the narrator--and his relationship to the charismatic teenage girl with whom he is in love. I do not want to give any of the plot away, but, suffice it to say, it should enthrall and even consume you. I have read approximately 500 suspense/mysteries in the past few years and have read only two of them twice: Breakheart and Andrew Taylor's Four Last Things, both of which are significantly underrated. This novel should not only change your attitude towards life, but also, more importantly, alter the way you live. Thoroughly intoxicating, this book must be read.

If you liked Breakheart Hill you will love The Chatham School Affair. This novel is the reason readers love Cook's well crafted thrillers. These mysteries are written more like novels with well timed twists and turns to keep the reader on their feet. Cook never allows the reader to be lulled into a sense of comfort for too long and his formula works well.

Chatham School Affair is the story of a young boy, Henry Griswald, the son of the head master of Chatham School. He is asked by his father to welcome the new art teacher and settle her into her new and desolate home on Black Pond. So far away from the town of Chatham, Elizabeth Channing must turn to her only neighbor for company, it is a shame that her neighbor is married. But that is only the beginning...

What occurs next could only be a product of Cook's wild imagination and again, only young Henry knows the truth. What happened out on Black Pond that would not only shake the school but the whole town of Chatham to it's core?

Pure suspense and thrills - Chatham School Affair is s great read and one that will certainly remain a favorite recommendation to all.

One cannot be prepared for one's first Thomas H Cook book. It is a unique, disturbing, and edifying experience. Told in the first person by "Henry," who looks back on tragic events of long ago, the story moves slowly, agonizingly, with gathering shadows and dark portents. There are certain stories - books and movies - that seem to define the reader/viewer. I have, for instance, asked many people what the movie "Midnight Cowboy" was about and I have never had anywhere near the same definition twice. This book is like that. It plumbs the minds, spirits, and emotions of its characters, evokes tingling suspense, and fulfills its haunting promise with an ending that you will never forget. Not for "action" readers, but so very very rewarding for those of us who look for excellent writing, plotting, and "something different." It will leave and indelible mark in your reading-mind.

My only complaint about the book is the simple story does not really seem to merit as many as 290+ pages the book contains. As a result of this, the story seems to drag a bit in the middle, where the author became a bit rhetorical about how the characters were being trapped and longed for freedom. He seemed to have tried to hammer the message into the readers' heads a bit too hard.

But over all, it's a very good book. It's actually not so much a suspenseful mystery as a simple but compelling story about the folly of life. By letting the readers witness the whole incident through the eyes of the adolescent Henry Griswald, Cook somehow makes us grow with Henry and learn a lesson with Henry: The more you try to defy, the more you will get hurt in the end; the more arrogant you let yourself be, the more stupid you will eventually feel.

The main theme of the book is well echoed by people's testimonies in the court raising nothing but circumstantial evidence against Channing and Reed. The jurors, and probably the readers as well, were encouraged to link all the dots in whatever way they pleased. Some tried to eagerly link the dots they saw with their wildest imaginations, seeing an exotic picture behind. But more often than not, the TRUE picture might be nothing more than just a mundane drawing of the most mediocre quality.

Recognizing this humbling truth is the core of the mystery of the book. In return, the mysterious way the truth is revealed makes this truth all the more compelling.

In Mortal Memory, Thomas Cook focuses on Steven Farris, a 40-something suburbanite who lives with the knowledge that his father murdered his mother and two siblings. Now an adult with his own family, Steven seems to live the perfect life until Rebecca enters. She has set out to write a novel about men who murder their families, and she wants to find out what Steven remembers about his own family. This causes Steven--who narrates this first-person tale--to dig far deeper into the psyche of his dead family; it turns out that he remembers much more than he thought. In the act of remembering, will Steven learn that the sins of the father revisit the son?

But what pushed his seemingly mild-mannered, gentle father into such a barbaric act?

Cook writes with a dreamlike quality; at times, I felt like I was wading through a dream, knowing in some ways how it would turn out but unable to wake up. His words are haunting, and this is a disturbing look into the secret world of a "normal" family. I thought I had the story all figured out, but I was truly surprised by a couple of twists along the way. I was unable to pull away from this novel and even dragged it along on vacation with me in order to finish it. This is worthy of valuable reading time. Don't expect a cleanly wrapped up ending; Cook's story here is a bit too complex for that. However, the writing is excellent, the story is compelling, and the characters get under the skin. Read this one!

Thomas H Cook weaves together the threads of memory to make a fabric, real and tangible, of events, place, people, and evidence.
A Master.

The novel is about Stephen, a man whose father killed his entire family when he was only a boy. Stephen was spared only because he was not in the house at the moment.

This is a compelling, written story which draws the reader into Stephen's psyche on his quest to find out why his father committed the murders. Along the way, family secrets are uncovered, repressed memories come back to haunt, and exciting plot twists keep us turning the pages, as Stephen finally learns the truth.

Definitely one of the best books I have read this year, and Im looking forward to reading more by the author.

1952, 7:00 p.m., Anytown, USA -
Police detectives Jack Pierce and Norman Cohen have only 11-hours for a final interrogation of Albert Jay Smalls. Smalls - a young vagrant who lives in a drainpipe, trying to live by selling things he finds - is the prime suspect in the murder of 8-year-old Catherine Lake. But, the police don't have enough evidence to hold him. A true race against time for detectives Pierce and Cohen. They have 11-hours to get more evidence, a confession, something . . . or the suspect walks!

Speaking of time . . . the detectives had 11-hours; I finished this book in 7! Reached the 1/2-way mark before going to bed. Next morning, put on the coffee and started reading again. Author Thomas H. Cook kept pulling me in further and further. This is my first book by Cook and I WILL read him again.

'The Interrogation' is all about atmosphere.

If it were a movie it would be a classic black and white film noir starring George Raft.

If it were a painting it would be "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper.

If it were a sound it would be the echo of unseen footsteps in the dark streets of an empty city.

Thomas Cook has masterfully created a bleak and silent city filled with solitary characters that are almost without exception imprisoned by their own loneliness, loss and guilt. At the center of it all is the marathon interrogation session going on in interrogation room 3. Oddly, this sparring between the detective and the child murder suspect is by far the most personal and intimate exchange in the book. We hang on every question and response, whether verbal or by body language. Is he guilty? Will he crack? What will they do to him if he doesn't? What will the new day bring? Keep reading and find out.

Seldom have I read a genre book so skillfully written. This is the first of Cook's books that I have read and it most definitely will not be the last.

Word has come down from the top, Albert Jay Smalls, prime suspect in the murder of eight year old Cathy Lake, is to be released at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. With no witnesses or direct evidence to link him to the crime, the police have held Smalls for over a week, hoping he'll break and confess. But his steadfast denial has never wavered, and now detectives Norm Cohen and Jack Pierce have twelve hours, one last interrogation, to make their case or let him go. It's September 12, 1952, and these next few hours will forever change the lives of everyone involved in the Lake murder, as Cohen and Pierce race against the clock to find not only the truth, but justice..... Award winning, master storyteller, Thomas Cook weaves a compelling and intricate tale, that moves deftly, back and forth, between the crime itself, the continuing police investigation, and this last interrogation of Smalls, towards a stunning and powerfully haunting conclusion. This eloquently written, intelligent novel is tight, tense and suspenseful, and filled with vivid, riveting scenes, brilliant characterizations, and seemingly unrelated plot twists that keep the reader off balance and guessing to the end. Part police procedural, part psychological thriller, The Interrogation stands alone in its skill and art, and is a gripping drama that should be placed at the top of everyone's "must read" list.

I was very disappointed with this book. It started off nicely with spooky atmospherics and some gruesome details. But once the plot actually got moving, it became bland and also disjointed. The prose obstructed the telling of the story. It was like molasses. Also, the story meandered, with little suspense. Finally, while it's not indispensable in a mystery, it would be nice to have a few clues, however abstruse, tossed into the plot as it moves along (sarcasm!). And now for a positive: if you want to read a good book, read one of Michael Connely''s, especially Void Moon, The Poet, Trunk Music, The Black Echo and The Wild Coyote.

Unfortunately I read this book after INSTRUMENTS OF NIGHT (which was published later). The two books are similar in plot and tone, but I liked INSTRUMENTS much better. Thomas Cook is always an interesting read, but this one didn't quite measure up. It was strung out a little more, more pointless details, slower moving and the mystery was not as riveting. It was still better than most books though, and I plan on reading all of this books.

Awesome. Cook breaks the rules with his dynamite flashbacks showing the relationship of childhood friends, Ray and Jackson. I haven't seen this done with such skill in a long time, and the ending was truly a surprise. As Jackson reconstructs the circumstances surrounding his friend's death, Cook draws in the reader effortlessly. If you like Thomas Cook's style and treatment of flashbacks, you will love Laurie Moore's new novel, THE LADY GODIVA MURDER. Mariel Watson

the book did not start off to well. I wanted to know what started carl isaac's life of crime. How was his childhood. Is this the reason for what he did. also I am writing a term paper on this for a criminl investigation class and there just wasn't enough gory details or pictures of the slain bodies. I know this may sound a little bizzare and sick. But, my grade is dependent on this book. so I did not think it was all that great.

I thought it extremely intelligent and compassionate in that, for once, the feelings of the family of the victims was taken into account. I was deeply moved by the authors' earnest attempts to portray the slain family members as living, feeling people with a sense of humor whose absence forever changed the remaining family members. I cannot get this book out of my head and have been trying to find out if Isaacs was ever finally executed. I hope so...

On May 14, 1973, six members of the Alday family were brutally slaughtered by a roving gang of brigands who were on the run from the law. For their family and friends, however, that was only the beginning of their ordeal.

The surviving Aldays lost their farm. With that, they lost their livelihood. They lost their privacy. They lost their innocence. Most significantly, they lost their faith in justice.

They gained the attention of unfeeling authors and film-makers whose only intention was to exploit this horror in order to make a quick buck and a name for themselves. These "people" made it possible for the smug, sociopathic Carl Isaacs to spew even viler invective upon this shattered family. But Isaacs and his cohorts assailed the Aldays only once (and I use the word "once" VERY lightly indeed). The inexcuseable judicial machinations of the American legal system has victimised this family repeatedly for the past 28 years.

You will shed many tears while reading this moving and disturbing dramatic work. Tears of sorrow for the lost lives of the Aldays and their remaining loved ones, tears of anguish that this kind of atrocity can occur, and tears of frustration and rage over the continuing persecution that the Aldays have endured.

The inscription on Mary Aldays tombstone reads; "Love can hope, where reason would despair." In this case, reason is more than despairing. In this case, reason is inconsoleable.

This is Cook's first novel, written back in 1980 and is a commendable beginning. The book is a well thought out, well constructed crime mystery with a believable, realistic conclusion. It is unfortunately a rather short piece (only 230 pages) and because of that limitation, the main character, Reardon, lacks a little depth. I found myself enjoying the book but wishing to know more about the man the book centered around. This book could have been more than just good, but instead excellent if Cook had spent a few more words on the subplots.

I've been following this case for a very long time. Read the book, and would like to see it back in print. Many,many people are still searching for this book!

We have 3 young men in prison for commiting a crime that I truly believe they did not commit.

Almost 10 years after this awful crime, the case has not been put to rest. One of the young men is currently on "Death Row"!

This book is a "must read" for all. Many things that were written in the book were not consistant. Check the times of who was where/when on the night the 3 young victims were murdered. These 3 young victims suffered a horrible death.

It just doesn't add up.

A MUST READ for the American Public. Watch how out justice system falls apart. For many American's this Justice System just "does not work"END

Thomas H. Cook's other novels--I've read all I can--offer a tragic but ultimately humane vision of human fallibility, remorse, and reparation through love and decency. Usually, his main characters are suffering greatly from a wrong in which they somehow participated, through naivete, misunderstanding, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even outright wrongdoing. This novel is no exception, but unfortunately the darkness of past experience is not just too much for the main character in the novel, it's too much for Cook himself. His usual excellence is eclipsed. Literally, something is blocking the light that keeps shining in the world, no matter what evil is done there. There's a truth in what Cook creates--a person who has seen and experienced the horror that haunts the main character, aptly named Graves, is unlikely to be able to recover. Suicidal thinking and self destructive isolation are truly and honestly the frequent resort of people who have been so inhumanly traumatized. What's worrying about this book is that Graves and Cook himself start to seem indistinguishable. Graves's past, his fictional creations, and the case he's working on merge into a single story--and through accidents of writing, Cook seems to reveal that he is merging with all of it himself. At one point Graves INCORRECTLY quotes Tolstoy's famous saying: "Happy families are all alike. Unhappy families are each unhappy in their own way," by saying: "All families are unhappy,..." Whose mistake is that? I'm afraid it is Cook's mistake, one that reveals him in so dark a frame of mind that his memory is distorted, his vision as dark and negative as his character's. Clearly his purpose in writing this meditation on a downward spiral was not the putative MAIN plot, which is weak, and reuses plot devices Cook has used more skilfully before. He really intends to get right to the bottom with Graves. It's always a temptation in reading him to feel a confusion between narrator and author, to wonder who really WAS that lost girl with the dark hair and what really WAS the irretrievable moment for which he can't atone. This time, those sources of anguish seem to have overwhelmed the artist's ability to get distance from his own work, or to give us any air or light. I, for one, hope that the novel's last line "Never, no. Never." will be true, and that Mr. Cook will not surrender, and WILL return many more times, with the incandescence of his beautiful prose, to cast the light of simple decency on whatever darkness haunts his characters--or him.

Breakheart Hill held me spellbound from start to finish and I have read all of Cook's works since then. This one is not up to par. Cook's use of the mind flipping plot twist is used to a sickening degree. When I discovered the truth I felt nothing but hatred and disgust for Graves. There was no humanity in this character. Lots of maudlin self pity but not much else. I guess I just didn't buy into the premise that there was no choice.

Despite all this the book is still well written. Cook has a way with words. Usually he has a way with plot as well but Instruments of Night falls short.

To those initiates lucky enough to have discovered Thomas H. Cook, it is no surprise that he has won an Edgar, it is more of a surprise that he has not won more. Cook tends to write novels that focus on the inner workings of characters (and the demons they face) as they work on solving a mystery, the original crimes have usually taken place in the past and are still somehow linked to the present.

Cook weaves his narratives so well that you never know what is coming - he leads you where he wants and suddenly the twists and turns set in and by the end of the book, you never know what hit you! Instruments of Night is much like his other novels in that the main character, Paul Graves, is helping to discover the truth about a mystery of the past. Graves is an author who writes a series about a killer named Kessler, his lackey Sykes and the detective that is always in pursuit Slovak, which is set in old New York. Graves is invited up to Riverwood, an artist's retreat, by the owner Alison Davies to look into a murder that happened 30 years earlier.

Davies is looking for closure and as Graves, with the help of the other summer guest Eleanor Stern, delves deeper into murder of young Faye he also must look deep within himself to keep his own demons at bay. Graves must face his past, the death of his parents and the gruesome murder of his sister Gwen, in order to create a plausible story about Faye's death and complete the task that Davies has put before him.

Cook does what he does best in Instruments - he keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and keeps them guessing. I thought I had it all figured out and then WHAMO!!!! A new twist and turn, then I thought I had it wrapped up again and BLAM!!!! Out of no where - I was stunned!

This is what makes Thomas Cook one of the best writers out there. You always know that there are twists and turns but the endings never cease to amaze - and they are always so realistic. He also has Graves imagine different stories throughout the book - and even tho most of them are short - they are so well drawn that the reader can't imagine another possibility. I highly recommend Cook and Instruments of Night.

I saw the miniseries "Taken" on SciFi and loved every minute of it. I bought the book hoping--no, praying--to get an outside narration and portrayal of characters. I'm still praying. From what I've heard, Cook is a superb author, but one day this book will go to the bottom of a bargain bin and no one will care. 20 beautifully crafted hours of science fiction and UFOs go to waste in about 350 pages. The magical essence you get from watching the show is just not there. The characters are untangible voids, whereas in the series they emit floods of emotions. The scenes, especially the beginning, are rushed and skimpy, missing out on important details and vital information about these extra-terrestrials. All the events just rushed out all at once and in such a small amount of time that in the end I was left confused and disappointed. Allie's wise antics and philosophies are omitted. The ending was not nearly as moving as the series. I hardly finished the first paragraph and I already fell asleep. Do yourself a favor. Don't be a chump like me and buy this time waster. Wait for the Taken DVD. Perhaps then you'll get a better perspective of the characters and events than in this lame excuse for a novel.

I was completely hooked on the SCIFI epic miniseries event, TAKEN. I received the book as a Christmas present, and I read through it in two days. It almost mirrors the series itself, although, I was disappointed to find that the book dropped several good characters and skimmed through several scenes that were in the series. I noticed that some scenes were altered. For example, in Alaska 1970, Sam Crawford, Dr. Powell, Buzz, and Sarah split up to search for the missing student Daryl in the series, in the book they searched for Wendy. The book lacked many details, but I was rather surprised that Cook managed to squeeze 20 hours of television drama into a 355 page book pretty well. The characters certainly needed to be explained more, and after I read the book I was still asking questions that I thought would be answered. I just hope there's a sequel, and maybe someone else can patch up the holes that many people have given the Taken novelization a thumbs down for. It was adequate work, but improvement was needed.

Although I did not see the series, I gather from the book jacket that Taken was based on one. Whatever the quality of the acting may have been, the quality of the written work is quite good. It's not exactly major literature, but it definitely has major entertainment value-and how many of us would actually sit down with Tolstoy for an afternoon without a grade point average hanging over us?

The characters are made multidimensional through a series of individual vignettes that carry the reader through the lives and interactions of several people in at least three families. The perspective changes in each of these vignettes, which allows the reader to take in more information than any one of the characters has, much like the diaries in Dracula do. The tale itself is not given in any great depth. There is no build up based entirely on the emotive impact of colorful imagery; the narrative is primarily responsible for giving information on the settings and that alone. The mini-chapters last mere paragraphs and the drama takes place predominantly in dialogue rather than descriptive form and are designed to engage the reader in the lives and personalities of the characters. This probably reflects the cinematic venue of the original work where The Character is everything. This makes the story a rapid read and difficult to put down; I finished it in a matter of hours despite multiple interruptions.

I wasn't quite as enamored with the ending, though. It was as if the author enjoyed tailoring his characters and telling the story of their experiences, but couldn't find as tailored an ending for the work. It just sort of stops, as though he wasn't sure what great message he was trying to convey. There doesn't seem to be any impacting moral or definitive statement to be made, no real purpose to the story that would bring the whole to a conclusion. The little girl brings all the pieces together, but that is all that is accomplished. The only surprise is that there isn't a surprise. (I wondered if the little girl wouldn't turn out to be the second coming of Christ, or something similar). I suspect that this too is a function of the story's original starting point. A series based on a collection of characters and their interactions isn't really designed to have a "point" only to entertain and keep the audience returning every week. Although there is an effort to provide continuity from week to week, the end of the series is not necessarily designed into the project from inception. One presumes the authors hope it goes on for some time. Certainly endings can be designed to meet the need when a series ends, but that usually arises when the need for it does. In fact the finale for a popular series can be a media event.

The book is a quick and satisfying read.