A Slow Walk to Hell

by Patrick A. Davis

Book Overview

Called in to investigate the torture slaying of Major Franklin Talbot, Air Force detective Martin Collins becomes embroiled in the most controversial case of his career when evidence begins to suggest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743474309
• ISBN13: 9780743474306
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 417 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A SLOW WALK TO HELL

One of his outstanding books. Patrick A. Davis has become one of my favorite authors.

Loved It!

A thouroughly entertaining military police procedural. Marty, Amanda, and Simon once again do what they do best by solving a grippping, sad murder story with many twist and turns, and shocking revelations. Mr Davis fans will not be disappointed with this well written novel. As usual, I can't wait to see what comes next with these three.

A neat surprise

Davis has foud niche with his military crime fiction. A terrific story with a neat surprise at end. He moves through the world of the Pentagon and joint chief of staff easily, and his characters have a lot of bite to them. The one problem he has fallen into, and why I gave this only 4 stars, is that he is becoming repetitve in his books with witnesses being shot just as they are being interviewed. It happens in nearly every book he has written.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Air Force investigator Martin Collins and Major Amanda Gardner are called upon to investigate the torture-slaying of Major Franklin Talbot, the nephew of the next president of the United Sates. Major Talbot revealed that he was gay to Colonel Kelly, but after Colonel Kelly reported him and brought him up on charges, Talbot denied it. Talbot's powerful uncle, Congressman Harris, circumvented what could have been blown up into a full-blown scandal. Unable to prove his charges, Kelly was conveniently reassigned out of the country. Now Talbot is dead and Kelly is back in the country and a prime suspect. The further along in their investigation Martin and Amanda get,the more complicated it gets and the more people end up dead. He and Major Gardner have many times worked investigations together, but this time proves awkward for them. Martin has lost his wife Nicole five years earlier and is raising his 13-year old daaugher. He and Amanda have had a romantic relationship, but Amanda decided to move on when Martin was not ready to let go of his deceased wife. Now Amanda is engaged and Martin realizes that he loves her. The dynamic in their relationship coupled with an interesting plot makes for a very good story.Patrick Davis does know how to tell an interesting story. It was an intricately woven plot that examines the military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy along with some religious/homosexual behavior/guilt issues. The one thing that annoyed me though, was a plot device that Mr. Davis used to keep the reader from knowing some pertinent details of the story. It was almost like the characters were whispering behind your back. Once or twice would have been okay, but it happened time and time again. There had to be a better way to move the story along with the obvious one character telling another character something, but leaving the reader in the dark.

Great police procedural

Warrentown, Virginia Chief of Police Martin Collins raises his thirteen-year-old daughter on his own since his wife died five years ago. He is not ready to let go of the past even though he cares deeply for Major Amanda Gardner, a situation that becomes very awkward when they are forced to work together. That happens whenever Martin works as a civilian consultant for the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations.Their latest case involves the death of Major Franklin Talbot who was involved in a scandal when his boss Colonel Kelly brought charges against him because his subordinate told him he was a homosexual. That affair was squashed thanks to the machinations of Congressman Garrison Harris, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the person expected to become the next President of the United States. As Martin and Amanda delve into the homicide, the body count rises.A SLOW WALK TO HELL is a fascinating police procedural that is a partnership between the OSI and the Arlington Police Department. Readers get a fascinating look at how the same investigation is handled by civilians and the military. The issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is used as a plot device to emphasize how unworkable the policy actually is (sexual preference does not protect anyone from enemy weapons). Patrick A. Davis knows how to tell a terrific story by creating characters that matter.Harriet Klausner