Product Description

Edgar Award-winning author Jan Burke, acclaimed for her Irene Kelly novels, hits the ground running with a harrowing thriller featuring homicide detective Frank Harriman. When the wreckage of a small plane belonging to a Las Piernas Police Department detective who disappeared a decade ago is discovered in the San Bernardino Mountains, an emotional and disturbing triple-homicide case is reopened with a vengeance. Was the pilot a sellout who murdered a key witness? Alone, following his instincts, Frank traces the path of his predecessor to uncover the truth -- and comes face-to-face with a madman whose killing intent has just taken off.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257022 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 560 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780743439770
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Jan Burke is best known as the author who gave life to Irene Kelly, the sassy, slightly hard-edged southern California journalist with a Pandoran penchant for getting herself into sticky situations. Her latest novel, however, perches adroitly on a tangential narrative branch: Burke focuses on Kelly's husband, Las Piernas Detective Frank Harriman, and in doing so turns her narrative color wheel several notches to the darker side.

Flight is really the story of two men, Harriman and Philip Lefebvre. Ten years ago, when businessman Trent Randolph and his daughter were murdered, Lefebvre was the officer in charge of the case. Moody and isolated, he became not only investigator but guardian angel to Randolph's young son Seth, left clinging to life after the attack. His colleagues and the community were convinced Whitey Dane, a local mobster with grand ambitions, was behind the murders, but when Seth was killed in his hospital bed and both Lefebvre and all the evidence against Dane disappeared, the department was left reeling in the wake of crooked-cop iniquity.

But now Lefebvre's apparently sabotaged plane has been discovered in the mountains, along with his bones. Frank Harriman must ease through a maze of anger and recrimination as he pursues the possibility of Lefebvre's innocence. But if this cop was innocent, that means another one wasn't--and that individual will stop at nothing to protect his guilty secret.

The novel's opening chapters, which place the original murders in stark relief and reveal the trap slowly closing around Lefebvre, are as good as anything Burke has written--maybe better. Their intensity is difficult to match, but Harriman's investigation still has plenty of surprises, including a nifty twist at the very end. Flight's solid writing, deftly nuanced relationships, and delicate bad-guy balance between chilling and camp are as on target here as elsewhere. Here's to Irene and Frank; long may they take turns at the wheel. --Kelly Flynn

From Publishers Weekly
Like Burke's Edgar-winning Bones (1999), this ambitious, if overlong, suspense novel focuses on an intense search for a pathological killer. In Las Piernas, Calif., newspaper reporter Irene Kelly, Burke's series heroine, takes backseat to her husband, prickly, tenacious homicide detective Frank Harriman. Ten years earlier, when brilliant police detective Philip Lefebvre disappeared in the middle of a triple homicide investigation, the cops believed he'd sold out to the suspected killer, drug lord Whitey Dane. When Lefebvre's 10-year-old corpse and sabotaged airplane are found in the San Bernadino Mountains, Frank reopens the case, suspecting that both Lefebvre and Dane were wrongly accused. Irene knew Lefebvre, but, except for a clunky plot device that places her in peril at the finale, this is Frank's book, as he exactingly unearths new evidence and uncovers a possible cover-up. Burke delves into the mind of the real murderer, still at large and unsuspected. The reader gradually identifies this frightening individual, but waits in suspense too long for Frank to do likewise. Burke's strength is her understanding of personal relationships and motivation, plus the memorable characters she creates, notably the murderer, who is so crazy he passes for sane. The author's thorough research is praiseworthy but it often slows down the story, and she isn't a great stylist. Unfortunately, that combination produces a book that takes too many pages to come to the point. Agent, Lowenstein-Morel. (Mar. 6)Forecast: The publisher is behind this title in a big way, with a 50,000 first printing and a 17-city author tour, and Burke's shelf-full of awards for previous books will draw many readers to this new one. This isn't the author's strongest outing, though, and in the long run, sales may not meet the publisher's expectations.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Discovery of the wreckage of a Cessna in the mountain underbrush reopens old wounds and a cold case. The pilot's remains are identified as those of Detective Philip Lefebvre of the Las Piernas Police Department, reviled ten years earlier for taking a payoff and killing the sole witness to a family's murder before disappearing, along with the material evidence that would have taken a major crime lord off the streets. As he investigates, Detective Frank Harriman must overcome the hostility of the other detectives and Lefebvre's family, the reluctance of his superiors, and threats from unexpected sources. Gradually convinced of Lefebvre's innocence, Harriman backtracks through the late detective's personal and professional lives to find the true killer, uncovering secrets that will rattle the Las Piernas force as much as Lefebvre's presumed guilt once did. Fans of the Irene Kelly series should know that Flight is told from the perspective of Harriman, Kelly's husband, with Kelly as a supporting player. This book will whet the appetite of those who have never read any of this series. Start at the beginning with Goodnight, Irene. Highly recommended.
- Anne C. Tomlin, Auburn Memorial Hosp., NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

She just keeps getting better
I have read ALL of the novels by Jan Burke, and thought her last book, BONES, was the best until I read THIS one. I think switching the focus to Irene's husband Frank was timely, and I have very much enjoyed getting to know that character better, and seeing Irene and her quirks through his eyes. The reader becomes involved in the plot right away. There are twists and turns, but the book never stalls.......what more could a reader want? Read this one, for sure.

Brilliant writing , story and plotting
Trent Randolph and his two children went sailing when a pirate suddenly appeared and killed the father and his daughter, but only wounded the son. Phillip Lefebvre comes on board and rescues the lad, who bonds with his savior. At that time, the police believe they finally have the goods on a local crime boss. The department and Phillip agree until Seth hears a do- rei-me of a watch that terorizes the youngster. Lefebvre rethinks the case and illegally takes evidence out of the precinct. He goes flying, but his plane crashes leaving everyone to believe that he killed Seth and absconded with the evidence before vanishing.

Ten years later, the plane is found and the case reopened with Detective Frank Harriman in charge. He does a paradigm shift assuming Lefebvre is innocent. His efforts bring him to the attention of someone who prefers the cop dead than having the law enforcement official learn the truth of what happened over a decade ago.

There have been seven previous books in this series starring Irene Kelly, but this one is different as she plays a minor role and Frank tells the narrative. FLIGHT takes some adjustments for those familiar with Jan Burke's works, but once the reader adapts, the novel gracefully soars. The tale is loaded with suspense, red herrings, and false leads that turn this who-done-it into a powerful reading experience while Ms. Burke deserves kudos for successfully trying something different.

Harriet Klausner

Compulsively readable
Jan has brought so much more than mystery to this novel. Its extremely well written with layers of intrigue and sub plots throughout. Reading from the perspective of Frank was a nice deviation from her previous novels but it will be nice to catch up with Irene again. This whole series is thoroughly enjoyable. Good on you Jan.