BOOK REVIEW: Midnight Alley by Miles Corwin

Midnight Alley:  An Ash Levine Novel

Author:  Miles Corwin
Paperback:  284 pages
Publisher:  Oceanview Publishing (April 16, 2012)
Language:  English

Ash Levine, the top detective in the LAPD's elite Felony Special Squad, is called out to solve the murder of two young black men found shot to death in a Venice alley.  The case is a high priority because one of the victims is the son of City Councilman Isaac Pinkne, a frequent critic of the LAPD.

Searching for the killer throws Levine into the world of Los Angeles's Russian Mafia, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and Middle Eastern acrchaeologists.

Ash's history as a child of a Holocaust survivor gives him a unique perspective on murder, redemption and justice.  His background as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, and his relentless, single~minded focus on his investigations make him a thoroughly absorbing character.

As Ash closes in on the killer, the investigation becomes increasingly complex ~ and personal.  Ash soon discovers that he is not just an investigator, but a target.

As far as mysteries goes this wasn't a bad book to indulge.  I found the pace was a little slow and sometimes too much information was given in the descriptives, however, the characters were written with depth and understanding and balanced the overall book nicely.

I thought the plot was a fair one even though I found some of the tie~ins to be lacking in depth and merit.  It was intriguing to read about the ancient artifacts and the connections to everyone via the Mask of Ellasar.  The greed in which people would go to achieve their goals was given with insight and clarity.

I felt the antagonist to be a bit of an oaf and I felt he was a bit wooden and stale and I didn't find him overly believable as a sociopath.  I would've liked to have got inside of his head a bit more and perhaps his inner demons would've given him an added perspective that was needed.  I couldn't help but feeling that he was no threat to Ash.

I thought some of the dialogue was wooden and clichéd, especially when it was police banter, I felt it just didn't pull right with me and sometimes it was confusing as you lost direction on who was talking.  

I would give Midnight Alley a three out of five stars.  I found the ending to be predictable whence all the pieces were in play and I didn't find myself challenged.  I prefer to have more twists and turns in my mysteries however, many would find this an enjoyable read especially fans of the Ash Levine series.

Miles Corwin

**  Reviewed by me...as I see it~!!  **