具体描述
Last seen in bestseller Hoag's Dark Horse, Elena Estes, a former undercover cop turned PI, is devastated at the start of this captivating thriller when she realizes a body she finds in a south Florida canal is that of her friend Irina Markova, a beautiful groom with whom she once worked at a horse stable. Assisted by ex-lover Det. James Landry, the tough-as-nails Elena immerses herself in Irina's murder investigation. One of the suspects happens to be Bennett Walker, the ex-fiancé Elena hasn't seen in 20 years, who was previously tried and acquitted of rape and attempted murder despite her testimony against him. The suspense builds when Elena learns that Bennett is a member of the Alibi Club, a group of wealthy Palm Beach "bad boys" who cover for each other when trouble befalls them. Elena believes she can trust no one, especially after Russian mobster Alexi Kulak insists that Elena help him unearth Irina's killer. Elena, who eschewed her elitist Palm Beach family to preserve her integrity, is a heroine readers will want to see more of. (Mar. 27)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Beth McDonald renders this hard-boiled detective fiction in just the right manner. She captures the weariness and cynicism of Elena Estes, a former Palm Beach County detective now on disability retirement. Yet she projects the characters softer side as well. The authors use of both the first- and third-person points of view makes listening difficult. In audio the switches are abrupt--especially when the narration goes from Elena speaking in first person to the author writing about her in the third person. The story focuses on the polo set of Palm Beach. A beautiful Russian groom is murdered, and a local socialite is the most likely suspect. McDonald has a little trouble with accents--specifically, her Spanish and Russian characters sound alike. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Elena Estes, former policewoman, former member of the elite of Palm Beach, Florida, is thrust back into both aspects of her former life when she discovers a woman's body in a canal. Physically healed from the wounds she sustained while working on a meth-lab bust, she has yet to recover emotionally from causing another officer's death and has been living and working at her best friend's horse farm. When she realizes that the victim is the farm's beautiful, vibrant young groom Irina, Elena is determined to bring her justice no matter what. Her search leads to the creme de la creme of Palm Beach society and the powerbrokers who hang out at the tony polo fields, including her ex-fiance, who, Elena knows, is capable of committing the crime. Hoag revisits her tragically flawed and reluctant protagonist from I^ Dark Horse (2002) in a superbly taut thriller. Written in a staccato style that will have readers racing through the pages, Hoag conducts a whirlwind tour of the high-flying world of the superrich and its tawdry underbelly that will leave readers breathless and satisfied. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"A superbly taut thriller…. Hoag conducts a whirlwind tour of the high-flying world of the superrich and its tawdry underbelly that will leave readers breathless and satisfied."—Booklist
“A heroine readers will want to see more of.”—Publishers Weekly
From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
"A superbly taut thriller…. Hoag conducts a whirlwind tour of the high-flying world of the superrich and its tawdry underbelly that will leave readers breathless and satisfied."—Booklist
“A heroine readers will want to see more of.”—Publishers Weekly
From the Hardcover edition.
作者简介
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这本书的叙事节奏把握得如同大师级的指挥家。它并不是那种一味追求快节奏的惊悚小说，而是懂得何时收紧，何时放缓。在关键的转折点前，情节会明显地慢下来，用大段的内心独白或者对某个微小场景的细致描摹来积蓄力量，仿佛是暴风雨来临前的宁静，空气都变得稀薄起来。然而，一旦关键信息被揭示，叙事线索就会瞬间拉紧，信息量陡增，让你感觉像是在高速公路上突然被要求阅读路标，必须全神贯注才能跟上。这种节奏的张弛有度，让阅读体验变得非常富有层次感，丝毫不会让人产生阅读疲劳。特别是当两条看似无关的线索在书中段汇合时，那种“原来如此”的震撼感，完全得益于作者前期铺垫的耐心和精准，让人不得不为这种结构上的严谨拍案叫绝。
评分从主题探讨的角度来看，这本书的深度远远超出了一个简单的悬疑故事范畴。它探讨了记忆的不可靠性，以及一个人如何用自己构建的“不在场证明”来定义自己的存在。书中反复出现关于“真实”与“表象”的辩证关系，让人不禁反思我们自己生活中所依赖的那些看似坚固的认知基础，究竟有多少是基于客观事实，又有多少是基于自我安慰或社会建构的谎言。这种对存在主义困境的触及，让这本书读完之后依然能在脑海中萦绕很久，它迫使你跳出故事本身，去审视那些更宏大、更本质的人类困境。这种思考的余韵，才是区分一本优秀小说和一部伟大作品的关键所在，而这本书，无疑具备了后者的潜质，它不仅讲述了一个故事，更像是一次对人性复杂性的哲学探问。
评分阅读过程中，我发现作者在人物刻画上展现了一种近乎残忍的细腻。那些配角，即便是只出现寥寥数页，也都有着清晰的轮廓和动机，绝非推动情节的工具人。比如那位常年经营着一家老旧酒吧的老板，他那双看透世事的眼睛，以及总是带着一丝嘲讽的微笑，让我感觉他知道的比他说的要多得多。而主角的内心挣扎更是被剖析得淋漓尽致，他那种对真相的执着与对自身处境的清醒认知之间的矛盾，贯穿始终，让人既同情又敬佩。有时候，你会觉得他像是一台精密运转但又随时可能过热的机器，被过去的某个事件卡住了齿轮。作者的高明之处在于，她没有直接告诉我们这个“卡点”是什么，而是通过他与他人的互动，通过他无意识的肢体语言，一点点地拼凑出那个破碎的自我。这种“留白”的处理，极大地激发了读者的想象力，让我们不得不代入角色，去完成那些未曾言明的心理构建。
评分这本书的封面设计简直是视觉上的享受，那种深邃的蓝色调配上烫金的字体，立刻就给人一种高级而神秘的感觉。我是在书店偶然瞥见它的，当时就被那种低调的奢华感吸引住了。拿到手里，那种厚实而略带粗糙的纸质触感，也恰到好处地烘托出故事本身的厚重感。我特别喜欢封面上的那个小小的、仿佛被擦拭过的徽章图案，它似乎暗示着某种隐藏的秘密或者家族的印记，让人忍不住想去探究这背后到底藏着什么。每次把它放在书架上，它就像一个沉默的艺术品，散发着一种老派的魅力，与周围那些设计更现代的平装书形成了鲜明的对比。从设计美学上来说，这本书绝对是值得收藏的，它不仅仅是一个阅读的载体，更像是一个可以摆在客厅里供人品味的物件。那种精心打磨的细节，比如书脊的处理，都体现了出版方在制作工艺上的用心，让人感觉这不仅仅是一次普通的阅读体验，更像是一场对经典手工艺的致敬。光是看着它，就已经能感受到某种故事的重量了。
评分这本书的开篇布局极其巧妙，作者似乎深谙如何用最少的笔墨勾勒出最复杂的背景氛围。第一章的场景设定在一个雨夜的港口，那种潮湿、阴冷、弥漫着柴油和海水的味道，一下子就把人拉进了那种略带颓废和危险的境地。主角的出场也是不动声色，没有那种戏剧化的登场，而是在环境的烘托下，自然而然地显露出他那种游走在边缘的特质。我最欣赏的是作者对环境声音的捕捉，比如远处汽笛的低鸣，近处雨水滴落在生锈铁皮上的声响，这些细节构建出的听觉画面感，比任何直白的描述都要来得有力。整个开场给我一种老式侦探小说的韵味，但又带着一丝现代主义的疏离感，仿佛所有人物都心事重重，言语之间充满了试探和未尽之意。这种克制的情绪表达，反而比歇斯底里的爆发更具有张力，让人迫不及待地想知道，到底是什么样的过往，才能塑造出如此谨慎而又充满故事感的人物。
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