Jim Michael Hansen Reviews

Added January 19, 2006

Shadow Laws

A Bryson Coventry Thriller

Author: Jim Michael Hansen
Publisher: Dark Sky Publishing, Inc
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: Early 2007
Genre: Fiction: Legal/Crime Thriller
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0976924340
Author Email/Website: www.JimHansenBooks.com
Reviewer: Kathy Martin
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Denver Homicide Detective Bryson Coventry is spending his time right now trying to figure out how to survive the extreme summer heat wave that has hit the city. What he does not need on top of it is a high-profile case that is going to keep him in the public eye. But that is exactly what he gets.

At first, the situation was just the possible kidnapping of a young art student. But wanting as much attention as possible, the kidnapper sent the student's name to every news station in town. And to be sure the situation stayed in the headlines, he sent another note letting everyone know when he would take another woman. Coventry now not only needs to find the kidnapped student before her body shows up somewhere, but needs to make sure this guy doesn't succeed in taking someone else.

Taylor Sutton is a young lawyer who has been retained by one of her good friends for a very mysterious case. The friend was retained as counsel by a mystery man who only calls on the phone - never shows up in person. Getting suspicious as to what this so-called client was up to, every phone conversation was taped.

As Taylor listens to the tapes and does a little digging herself, she realizes that her friend is not telling her everything he knows. Then, as more time passes, Taylor begins to believe this mysterious client is a killer, and could possibly be the one who has recently been taking young women in Denver.

This book is the second in a trilogy, and is a great example of how a writer is to show and not tell their readers. The characters are made into real flesh and blood people through listening to their thoughts and what they say to each other. There is no better way to understand what drives a person than by what they say and do. I personally enjoyed getting to meet up with Bryson Coventry again. He is an engaging and sexy character because he continually tries to just do right by everyone.

The plot development and movement in this book is superb. I never felt the pace slow down, but it was not too fast that I ever missed a subtle clue that I would need to help me along my way to solve the mystery.

I believed that Jim Hansen did a good job with his first novel, Night Laws, and I expected to feel the same satisfaction from this second part of the trilogy. But I have to say Shadow Laws blew my socks off! While the first novel left me walking down the road to the wrong conclusion at times, this one kept me on a mystery merry-go-round until the last ten pages. And when the realities became clear, they slapped me in the face like a blast of cold winter air.

If you like crime thrillers, this is a must read!

Return to top of page.

UPDATED! December 17, 2005

Night Laws

A Bryson Coventry Thriller

Author: Jim Michael Hansen
Publisher: Dark Sky Publishing, Inc
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: March 1, 2006
Genre: Fiction: Legal/Crime Thriller
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0976924307
Author Email/Website: www.JimHansenBooks.com
Reviewer: Kathy Martin
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Kelly Parks is an up-and-coming attorney in one of Denver's largest law firms. She is both beautiful and smart. Her life was going along just fine until the day Homicide Detective Bryson Coventry walked in.

Coventry is investigating a murder where the perpetrator used the victim's cell phone to warn Kelly that she was on his murder list. With every question she is asked, Kelly realizes that Coventry's murder is tied to a not so legal situation she had participated in for the firm; a situation where Kelly might have actually participated in a murder herself. Needing to know, Kelly begins her own investigation into the particulars of that incident from her past.

As the two dig deeper into their respective inquiries, unbeknownst to them, they are on a circular path leading back to a place where no one is safe.

This is a gritty crime novel that grabs your attention in the first few pages, like a fire-fight in a movie. Jim Hansen has created characters and details that are three-dimensional and vibrant.

Every page is filled with details that give you more and more insight into the characters. But these same details keep you constantly off-guard. You may think you are closer to solving the crime than Coventry is, but read one more page, and you come to find you are actually way off the mark.

This reviewer says to turn off your crime thrillers on television and tune-in to this book.

Return to top of page.

This page was last updated on June 6, 2008

This page and all its contents are Copyright© 2002-2008 In the Library Reviews and the individual reviewers. Except where noted, all graphics are Copyright© Eos Development and are used with permission. All book covers are Copyright© their respective publishers and are used with permission. The In the Library Reviews logo is Copyright© 2002 by In the Library Reviews/Sharyn McGinty. Site maintained by In the Library Reviews.