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by: Thomas H. Cook
Amazon.com's Price: $6.99 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780553582505
ISBN: 055358250X
Label: Bantam
Manufacturer: Bantam
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: October 01, 2002
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: October 01, 2002
Sales Rank: 317119
Studio: Bantam
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
In his latest novel of unrelenting suspense, Edgar Award—winning author Thomas Cook journeys into the darkest corners of the human heart to tell a mesmerizing story of crime and retribution–and the forces that push even good people to the breaking point.
THE INTERROGATION
Albert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable crime. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, but they are certain he is hiding the truth. With less than twelve hours before he must be released, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation. I
It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man’s shattered mind–and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate seaside town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy autumn afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, between the innocent and the guilty, between the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave.
Against a gripping backdrop of murder and redemption, master storyteller Thomas Cook probes the uneasy, shifting bonds of family, love, and unbearable loss, proving once again why he is “perhaps the best American writer of crime fiction currently practicing” (Drood Review).
From the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com Review:
In this tight, suspenseful tale of a race against the clock to get a confession out of the chief suspect in the death of young Cathy Lake, every cop has his own private burden, his own reason for wanting to crack Albert Jay Smalls wide open and confirm him as the killer. Jack Pierce has the memory of his own murdered daughter and the promise he made to Cathy's mother. Norman Cohen has the vision of the terrible things he saw at the liberation of a concentration camp, the certain knowledge of the presence of evil in the world. Thomas Burke, the chief of police, has a dying son who's been dead to him for a long time.
Cook weaves the tragedies of all their lives almost seamlessly into the last 12 hours of their interrogation of the suspect; when it's over, if there's no confession, they must let Smalls go. This suspenseful thriller showcases Cook's skill at interpreting the psychological complexities of his well-drawn characters and his ability to turn an otherwise ordinary police procedural into a tense, haunting, and resonant novel. --Jane Adams
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Very solid story built around an unlikely premise
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, so it was at the bottom of my pile. The premise of a lengthy interrogation didn't seem that promising.
But when I finally got to it, i realized it was a hidden gem.
As usual with Cook book's, the characters are great - well drawn and vivid. Interesting, though often filled with dark and painful thoughts.
The storyline is very strong as it traces the murder of a young girl. Lots of twists and turns - right down ... Read More
Rating:  - For anybody but Cook it would be a 5 ...
This is a very good, well-written mystery, but, since Thomas Cook writes absolutely phenomenal mystery-novels (The Chatham School Affair, Places in the Dark), for him, it's merely OK.
The story is driven by a deadline early tomorrow morning to either get a confession or release the suspect, i.e., an all-night interrogation of a weak, seemingly pathetic little character, Albert Smalls, who later proves more legitimate than you would have anticipated.
With two detectives, ... Read More
Rating: - another great read
Cook's books can be dark and a little depressing, but his prose is top notch. His plots are intricate without insulting the reader. Yes, some of the circumstances are very hard to buy, but he writes it in such a way that its not unbelievable.
He has become one of my new favorite writers.
Rating: - Good Till The Last Drop!
I began this book intending to relax before having a nap. I ended up devouring the entire book, all thoughts of sleep having disappeared. It is rare when I haven't guessed the end of a movie or book by the 3/4 mark. Cook kept me guessing until the last chapter and successfully surprised me.
In the book the unthinkable horror happens - a child is killed in a park. The suspect seems clear, but the police cannot determine a motive. Each character has fascinating reasons for wanting the ... Read More
Rating: - Noir Novelist
No other mystery writer today captures the essence of noir as well as Thomas Cook. The review amazon has pegged as their "Spotlight" review misses the point if this is the first of his books that they have read. His stories are more character driven than plot driven; they are more instrospective, moody, atmospheric, and for me, they never fall short. If the "Spotlight" reviewer didn't get the ending, it's because Mr. Cook's hallmark is that his clever intracies don't become evident until the end. ... Read More
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