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Flight

Review

Flight

Fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff. Jan Burke's FLIGHT is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats.

Many of Ms. Burke's readers are already familiar with the feisty reporter Irene Kelly and her husband Frank Harriman. Frank is a stubborn homicide detective with the Las Piernas Police Department. This book is written from Frank's point of view and gives some interesting new insights into not only the man but also his relationships with his work and his wife.

In FLIGHT, Frank finds himself investigating three murders that happened 10 years ago and the more recent death of another homicide detective.

Burke begins her tale with the homicides of Trent Randolph and his children. We see the first murder victim, Mr. Randolph, through the eyes of his children, and it makes him more real to us. It also makes the children more real, so when Amanda and ultimately Seth are also victims of the killer it touches us and makes us vested in the outcome of the story.

But, the biggest impact comes from getting a chance to meet homicide detective Philip Lefebvre. We get to know the character as a man. We see his relationship to Seth Randolph grow as the young boy clings to life and as Lefebvre ventures into a tentative romance. We get to see the exceptional talent of this detective as he relentlessly investigates the Randolph murders --- even though his investigation leads him to suspect corruption in his own department, placing him in mortal danger.

Lefebvre is killed in a plane crash before solving the Randolph murders, and his name becomes taboo throughout the entire department. Lefebvre is blamed for young Seth Randolph's death and is accused of being on the payroll of criminal entrepreneur Whitey Dane.

Frank Harriman is called to the scene of Lefebvre's crashed plane a decade later and is assigned to reinvestigate the Randolph murders. Frank discovers that detective Lefebvre also was murdered.

As his investigation continues, Frank comes to see the same ugliness within his own department that Lefebvre encountered. Not knowing whom he can trust, Frank keeps to himself, but he is opening up a can of worms to secrets that a lot of people want kept. Frank's constant companions become dangers as does the shadow of Philip Lefebvre.

About two-thirds of the way through the book, it starts to take some effort to keep all of the characters straight. But Ms. Burke's deft writing style makes the work worthwhile. She introduces us to a cast of characters, some of whom warm your heart, others who sicken you, and all of whom make you want to keep reading. She also connects us to the familiar by making Irene Kelly, her pets, and neighbor, Jack, a comforting presence throughout.

FLIGHT has so much going on toward the end that you'll have trouble putting the book down until you've finished it. Mystery readers love the challenge of figuring out "who done it." But the ending of FLIGHT provides such a delicious twist that I found myself cheering for Jan Burke and hoping her next book will be finished soon.

Reviewed by Michelle Calabro Hubbard on January 22, 2011

Flight
by Jan Burke

  • Publication Date: April 1, 2002
  • Genres: Fiction, Thriller
  • Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket
  • ISBN-10: 0743439775
  • ISBN-13: 9780743439770