 |
||
 |
||
|
|
||
Critic's Corner
|
|
BOOK
REVIEW: Reviewed by: Patricia Ann Jones Bernhardt's 18th novel, "Dark Eye," begins a new series offering readers a thriller with a pair of protagonists full of shock and awe. Susan Pulaski provides the "shock." Pulaski explains her position with the Las Vegas Police Department: "My specialty is the psychological profiling of deviant personalities. They call me a detective, but what I really do is provide detailed descriptions of creeps they haven't been able to catch." I rarely use quotes from a book jacket, but this time, the writer got it right and the description of Pulaski's situation is on the money. "Eight months after her cop husband's death, Pulaski's life is spinning out of control—just as her detective colleagues start searching for a serial killer who methodically stalks his female victims and plunges them into an orgy of terror. When a violent incident earns Pulaski a pink slip from the LVPD and a trip to detox, she's out of the hunt altogether, and she begins desperately to try to regain her job, her reputation, and custody of the niece she's been raising on her own. It seems hopeless—until Pulaski meets the one person who can lead her into the mind of a madman . . ." Darcy O'Bannon, provides the "awe," and is the son of Police Chief O'Bannon. He is a 25-year-old autistic savant whose relationship with the world around him is so unusual that it forces Pulaski to view the current murders from a bizarre, but ultimately insightful, perspective. Darcy is one of the best defined and interesting characters I've read in years. The young man's photographic memory and keen sense of observation and ability to decode cryptic messages becomes essential to the case of the psychotic killer practicing his craft on the streets of Vegas. Bernhardt's understanding of autism amazed me as I feel it will all readers. Darcy and Susan get together when the Chief recognizes his need for Susan's expertise and hires her back as a consultant on the case. Darcy's dream is to be a police officer, and Susan's is to get her life back and retain custody of her niece, Rachel. These goals appear unobtainable, but strange things happen in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. What these two do not know is that the deranged killer is watching them and they have put themselves upon his warped stage of drama. Each character in this story is honed to a sharp edge. The antagonist, the man the police and FBI call "Edgar" and who calls himself, "The Raven," is a work of art. This character who believes he's found divine inspiration in the works of Edgar Allan Poe is one Stephen King and Dean Koontz would fight for. As you follow this character, you learn more about Poe. I had no idea that Poe was the first to use ciphers in his writing. Las Vegas itself becomes a major player in the story with perfect depictions of various landmarks and casinos. Had Bernhardt made a major slip in description or history of this city that most know so well, credibility would have been lost. He didn't. As a reader, he took me into the heart of the city and into the tourist attractions and even to places a tourist would never risk visiting. The author also did his research in police procedures. In the story one character explains that contrary to what everyone thinks from watching, C.S.I. on TV, the Vegas PD has no department called a C.S.I. Those TV creations are a blanket fiction that allows characters to do the work of a wide range of criminalists . . . The only thing the TV show doesn't exaggerate is the importance of this work. Again, this information gave even more credibility to an incredible story. "Dark Eye" is not your usual fare in the thriller genre. It has a complex, multilayered plot and a vocabulary that will send not a few readers to their dictionaries. Bravo to Bernhardt, he never writes down to his audience, a rare commodity in today's fiction. One caveat I must mention. Susan Pulaski's addiction to alcohol and decadence and even her graphic language, is over the top. Readers will have to forgive her, this is a woman who has dropped into the pit of hell and survived to tell about it. Bernhardt says in his acknowledgments, "As the academician in the book says, Edgar Allen Poe's contributions to American literature are enormous, and if you haven't read any of his work, this might be a good time to start. Just don't take it too seriously, okay?" Believe me, once you've read "Dark Eye," you won't. William Bernhardt, a Tulsan, has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and in 2000 he was presented the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award "in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has Copyright January 30, 2005 Patricia Ann Jones Save Up to 30% on this book at Amazon.com Jones is a published writer and book reviewer for Tulsa World newspaper. To comment on this review you may email pattij777@aol.com |
|
|
