South of Hell. P.J. Parrish

by P.J. Parrish

Book Overview

Dig up the past. Pay the price. With one phone call from a man he barely recalls meeting years ago, South Florida detective Louis Kincaid heads to the Michigan town of his college days to reopen a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847391362
• ISBN13: 9781847391360
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 385 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

great book

10 all the way

hits close to home

I live north of Hell, in Michigan that is. I live in Livingston, county so I found the book very interesting. I have been to many places in the book, so it was very relevant. Since reading my first P.J.Parrish book, I have read 2 more and have 2 more waiting to be read and 1 on the way. Their writing is very interesting since it takes place in my home state a lot.

A stark and unflinching point of view

P. J. Parrish is the collaborative name of two sisters, Kristy Montee and Kelly Nichols, who publish a seamless series of novels set in the 1980s that concern private investigator Louis Kincaid and his love interest, a former rookie policewoman and now detective Joe Frye. SOUTH OF HELL, the latest installment in this superlative series, contains all of the elements that have made these books a commanding and addicting reading experience almost from their inception. Kincaid is an ex-Michigan cop, a golden boy who experienced a sudden and dramatic fall from grace and who now finds himself making ends meet, if barely, as a South Florida private detective. Frye, on the other hand, is on an upward career trajectory, employed in northern Michigan and planning a run for the sheriff's office. The two of them make an unlikely couple: she's white, he's of mixed race; she's squared away, he's not; and both are, each relative to the other, geographically undesirable. They have so many rough edges that it's inevitable someone gets cut, and often. Rough edges, however, also provide stimulation, and Parrish, with subtle revelation, communicates the unspoken attraction between the couple as well. Kincaid is beginning to feel somewhat prickly over the fact that he has not heard from Frye for several days. When he eventually receives a call from Michigan, it is not from Frye but from Jake Shockey, a middle-aged police detective. Shockey wants Kincaid to come up to Ann Arbor to assist him in reopening an old missing person case. Kincaid handled the initial investigation, though his memory of doing so is next to none. His education at the university in Ann Arbor ended in disappointment, his career in law enforcement terminated in bitterness, and he is considered to be "toxic." And, as we come to learn, he has a secret buried in the past that is a source of sharp if silent shame to him. Still, a trip there will bring Kincaid closer to Frye. Hoping to fill time as well as salvage the relationship, Kincaid returns only to almost immediately regret it. Shockey, though not broken, is so badly bent as to make little difference between the two. The case he would like to reopen is that of Jean Brandt, with whom he was involved at the time of her disappearance. Her husband, Owen, who has since been imprisoned for assaulting another woman, is about to be released. Shockey is convinced that Owen murdered his wife and hid the body, perhaps on his ramshackle farm. He wants Kincaid to assist him in tampering with evidence in the case. A horrified Kincaid refuses but reluctantly agrees to help him revive the investigation. Assisted by Frye in a non-official capacity, Kincaid conducts a search of Brandt's abandoned farm --- located, ironically, just south of hell --- only to find a young woman hiding in the decrepit house. It develops that the girl, unknown to Shockey, is Amy, Jean's daughter. Amy is close to feral as the result of a number of factors, not the least of which is

great Transaction

My book arrived promptly and in a good condition. It was a very fast and enjoyable experience. Thank you!

Excellent

For any of you PJ Parrish fans out there, this should definitely be on your list to read. It ranks right up there with her other books.

I LOVE PARRISH

This is the most recent book in the Louis Kincaid series. PJ Parrish (who are actually two authors) have written another winner!I love Louis Kincaid - he is dark, broody and honest!!! In this latest book, we find Kincaid back in his old stomping grounds trying to help another cop try to put away a murderer - but there are a few problems - one of them being that the cop is not being totally honest with Kincaid.With the help of Joe, Kincaid will find himself, investigating a cold case, in which a young girl's life may be at stake.Parrish is great with details - just enough to give you a real sens of the surroundings in which Kincaid finds himself. In most of their books, there is a decrepit, abandoned (or almos) building and South of Hell is no exception - I LOVED the chilling description of the house, especially the kitchen and the barn. I was getting goose bumps just reading it - you just know something bad happened there.The pace of this book is just perfect - however, I have to say that I prefer Louis minus Joe. For some reason, the relationship does not jive for me and I do see Louis as a loner - but I do see why Joe had to play such an important role in this book.What is also interesting is that with each book, we get a little more of an insight into who Louis truly is and where he came from.I LOVED, LOVED this book. RUN TO BUY IT.