Dark Lady

by Richard North Patterson and Patterson Richard North

Book Overview

In Dark Lady, Richard North Patterson displays the mastery of setting, psychology, and story that makes him unique among writers of suspense, and one of today's most original and enthralling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679450432
• ISBN13: 9780679450436
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Dark Lady is One Tough Cookie

Steelton is a fictional American Midwest town on the shores of Lake Erie, where the proposed construction of a two hundred and seventy-five million dollar baseball stadium is the background for a political battle. Mayor Tom Krajek hails the proposal as the hallmark of a new era of urban renewal. The Prosecutor of Erie County, Arthur Bright, calls it a boondoggle, saying the money would be better spent elsewhere. Bright's ally in his attempt to unseat the mayor is his protégé, Stella Marz, dubbed the "Dark Lady" by defense lawyers, who don't take kindly to her aggressive style and relentless pursuit of convictions. Stella's latched onto Bright's coattails, so she has a real interest in his political future. Things turn nasty when Tommy Fielding, the project manager of the stadium, is found dead with a hooker, both of an apparent heroin overdose. However Chief Detective Nathaniel Dance suspects more than just foul play, particularly when Stella's ex-lover and Bright supporter Jack Novak is also found dead, castrated and hanging in his closet, dressed in a garter belt and stockings. It's of no small significance that Jack was a Mob lawyer. Though her relationship with Novak is long over, Stella can't help but feel the collision of her personal and professional lives at the crime scene. But she hangs tough, partly because it's her nature, but also because she has is a political animal. She wants to be the first woman prosecutor of Erie County, after all. And for her to reach that goal, Arthur Bright has to win the Democratic primary against incumbent Mayor Thomas Krajek. Is there a connection between the Fielding and Novak murders? Where does the stadium construction belong in all of this? Can Stella draw the threads together? In answering these questions you'll find that you have the makings of a good thriller, but wait, there's more, add a some greed and corruption, a whole lot of double-dealing and back-stabbing and you've added the fixings of a blockbuster.

Blown away

After just finishing this book (as an audiobook read my Ann Twomey) I was blown away... so I check here to see what other people thought, expecting the occasional disgruntled review among a majority of rave reviews only to get the feeling that I read a different book than the reviewers here. I was rapt in the story until the end, looking forward to driving somewhere so I could continue to listen to it. It was complex and interesting, with a number of bizarre twists. The mood was very dark, though not oppressively so. It was a surreal backdrop which made for great "mental cinematography." The characters were complex as were their relationships.As mysteries go, there was never a question who the main criminal was, just who was in with him and the how and why things were done. The results were at times surprising. This is my third RNP book ("Silent Witness" and "Protect and Defend", being the others), and I continue to love this author. In the manner that I've come to expect from RNP, the lines between good and bad and right and wrong are often blurry and ambiguous, and the choices we make aren't always so clear-cut. For audiobook afficionados, I also give two thumbs up for Ann Twomey. Though the story is mostly from the viewpoint of Stella Marz, she also captured the other characters effectively.I don't know if it happens to other readers here, but when I finish a book that really moves me, I often feel this sadness that the book is over. This was one of those books.

Patterson has done it again

Dark Lady starts with a bang and never lets up. The crime is startling and complex,the legal atmosphere authentic. Patterson uses his trial lawyer's gifts to create a character in Stella Marz who seems to turn the pages by herself. Patterson again deals with real issues most writers shy away from. He never pulls his punches and Dark Lady is a knockout.

great read; engrossing

I've read three of Mr. Patterson's books (this book, plus Silent Witness and No Safe Place). Dark Lady wasn't as good as Silent Witness, I enjoyed it nonetheless. I did not find it boring at all. The best thing about Mr. Patterson's novels are the characterizations: vivid flashbacks really brought prosecutor Stella Marz to life for me like no other characters in recent memory. Also, what I liked about this book, the story stayed with the main character throughout; when a chapter ended on an ominous note or a cliffhanger, instead of the next chapter going to something completely different in the story, it would follow up on what had gone before.The last 100 pages had me on the edge and I had to read through to the end til 2:30 in the morning. I can't recommend this book enough.

The maestro has done it againn-great thriller

In the late nineteenth century, Steelton, located where the Onondaga flows into Lake Erie, was a booming factory town that hosted the region's top steel manufacturing industry. Today, the steel industry is gone and the city remains depressed even though some urban improvement has occurred.A debate has broken out among the politicians over whether to construct a modern baseball park for the Steelton Blues, whose franchise in the city is nearing the century mark. Mayor Krajek sees the stadium as something good for the community, especially minority workers. His opponent in the mayoral race, Arthur Bright, condemns the project as a waste of public funds needed elsewhere. However, the controversy on Steelton 2000 turns ugly. The supervisor of the project Tommy Fielding of the Hall Development Company and a Mafia lawyer influential in the project Jack Novak are found dead. Though Jack was once her lover, Assistant County Prosecutor Stella Marz leads the investigation that she thinks should be considered two homicides. Stella and the police weed through layers of deception, corruption, and avarice trying to resolve the double mystery.DARK LADY is Richard North Patterson's best tale to date as he paints a vivid yet depressing picture of a midwest city. The story line is entertaining as the driven Stella does everything to uncover the truth. Stella's obsession feels genuine and the support cast augments the tale by making Steelton seem like a real American city. The plot suffers from the real success stories of Jacobs Field and Cameron Yards, and from a not-to-believe villain. Still, fans will feel the passions as a debate occurs when a city decides whether to construct a new stadium.Harriet Klausner